The mailman delivered my copy of Karl Smith's book "Gettin' The Lead Out" this afternoon. Another fine offering from ML. Everything seems to be well documented.
All of the bags he shows had ball or shot in them at the time he acquired them, many with a mix. I was surprised to find most had a clothespin stopper, although it makes sense to secure them that way. There are a couple with two bags, and it is noted that they held two different sizes of shot or ball/shot. It would be really good with a fusil or smoothbore; to have instant access to buck and or ball.

Good read, if a bit dry.

Rich

Sounds like good reading Idaho. What exactly is a clothspin stopper? I think I know but im not sure.

Clothes pin stopper?
Do you mean like a tompion with a split bottom?
Pics would help.

Imagine:

a horn or wood hollow tube, with the leather bag pulled partially up the tube, and wrapped to secure it.
The stopper, is cylindrical, with a turned knob at the top. They split the stopper bottom in half, yes,like a tompion. It appears to be a snug fit, as a tompion would be, so that ball/shot would not spill if it were dropped.

I can't figure out a way to post a picture (computer klutz).

My favorite shown is a double bag, gathered at the top, each can be loaded or dispensed by pulling the stopper and pinching the other bag near the top to keep ball/shot from coming out.

I am busy making one of those for my fusil, since it is PC from F&I War on.

Rich

support ML Magazine, buy one!!

I thumbed through a copy of this book and noticed right away that the over-the-shoulder shot snake was not represented, or very little, in the book. At first I was thinking that maybe that type of shot bag was just a much later design. And maybe that IS the case.

But in reading the description of the book I see that it is the author's personal collection, not an exhaustive survey of all bullet and shot bags out there. So it is possible that the author had an eye for a particular design he liked and that is what he collected. Then he made a book of his preferred style of bags.

you may be correct in that regard. But, that said, it still has a lot to offer for the $30.
The survival rate is sooooo low, since there was not much in the area of ornamentation available. It's the neat thing about horns, so many were a record of service. If you took the time to pay for one, or spend days engraving it yourself, you took good care of it.
I brought a Montagnard Crossbow and darts home from RVN, and a pair of "Ho Chi Minh Racers" with me and still have them on a wall.

Rich
Sua Sponte

quote:

I brought a Montagnard Crossbow and darts home from RVN, and a pair of "Ho Chi Minh Racers" with me and still have them on a wall

I think I read or heard that this particular design was based on surviving 16th century Delaware pieces. I do not know if this is correct or not