First person documentation lumps the bag, horn, and knife into their historical term, “hunting tools”. A lot of us carry the same three items for fashion and not function. Sometimes I walk around camps and the only thing I can think is, “he with the prettiest accoutrements wins”. But are they functional?
When it comes to my hunting bag, it has very little in it, and what is floats around freely. My horn rides on the flap to keep it closed and the bag rides high under my arm to keep it from bouncing around, especially when on the run, both foot and horseback.
Inside is loose ball, patching material, and a couple flints. In a hurry, the last thing I want is to reach into my hunting bag, to pull out another bag to get at ball or flint. I have read journals that talked about loose ball in the bottom of their bag, and so I do. Once in a great while I will have a flint and steel in there with char cloth in a tin, but usually that is in my saddle bags. When I am on foot my fire kit is in my haversack. Keeping it simple makes rapid reloading a snap.
Pictured are the only bags I have ever owned. The first is an Eastern Native American bag acquired from my first mentor in the hobby, Ron Poppe, when I was with Captain Benjamin Logan’s Company of Kentucky County Militia. The heart bag I made along with the patch knife on the side. It is hand forged from an 1800’s buggy spring.
The last one is my favorite, a beaver tail bag made by Jeff “Po-Boy” Luke. He is one of the finest bag makers in the country and I carried this bag on my Ashley’s Return trip for 95 days in all conditions. The bags performance and craftmanship is impeccable. The two pictures are of it before and on the trek.
When trekking, I have a strip of patching material hanging from the strap. I don’t carry patch lube (neither did our forefathers) and very rarely a loading block, only recently adding one to a bag. It was made by Spark Mumma, good friend, and superb craftsman. Hanging from each bag is a vent pick, brush, and powder measure. That’s it. It is a hunting bag, not a purse or haversack. For me it has a simple function to load and shoot, period. Not to hold everything “possible”.
I am looking forward to seeing folks at Friendship this June. I’ll have a fire and coffee on, stop by for a chat!
Written by Gerry "Lucky" Messmer. Reprinted with permission from the author.
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