I am interested in the whole Mountain man/ Coureur de Bois era of American history. This short phrase obviously covers all sorts of sins and is a very big area of study...I haven't got a muzzleloader but I think that will be coming soon hopefully.
In the meanwhile I have made leather bags in the style of the mountain men. This is one example.
This one is made of pigskin, the flap is double layer of leather. The bag is lined with linen and hand sewn with waxed linen thread and fully welted.
Posing with my first forged blade Nessie.
I used a brass buckle and brass rings to start with, but I didn't like the factory made look and shininess, It didn't go with the idea of being an old, hand made hunting pouch. So I removed them and made some forged mild steel rings and a buckle.
Not a bad looking shot pouch, the button closure is a good idea. Many shot pouches had no closure, but take just one fall down a creek bank or similar and the loss of some shot pouch items and I think one would add a button closure, as I have.
ReplyDeleteIf I can ever be of any assistance re muzzleloading and 18th century gear advice I would be very pleased to do so.
Regards, Le Loup.
http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com
I have noticed old pouches did not seem to have any closures. Would it have been because it's quicker to access the content in a hurry?
ReplyDeleteThis button is made of a round thick piece of veg tan leather covered with the same pig skin as the pouch itself. I tried to make it inconspicuous!
Thanks for your kind offer.
Joel
Many original shot pouches did not have a button closure, but some did. You have the option when stalking to leave the pouch open, but when trekking I always button it closed.
ReplyDeleteVery very nice! I've also seen some bags with a simple loop that closes over a toggle made from a small antler tip. Not sure if its historically accurate but it looks good! Maybe I'll try the antler toggle on a bag I make sometime.
ReplyDeletenice pouch,and nessy,i hope to have my own designed nessy soon.
ReplyDeleteJust a suggestion from experience: If you are really into the woodsman side of things in the early to mid 18th century, do you research first before you make too many items. The Mountain Man period was from roughly 1825 to 1840 (19th century), and these men used horses for transport all the time.
ReplyDeleteThe courier de bois were 17thc.-18th century and travelled on foot and by canoe. The woodsman was different again, but in the same time period as the courier de bois.
The guns would all have been flintlocks in both periods, but the rest of the equipment and clothing had differences.
You are not likely to find more apealing or better looking equipment than the originals, so in my opinion it will pay you to do some research and pin it down to a persona/charracter and a period before you start researching.
With respect and regards, Le Loup.
Very nice shooting-bag.
ReplyDeleteBest greetings from Polish muzzleloader :-)
Czarek Ponoka
Northern Trail Forum www.ponoka.pl/forum