As I evolved from a buckskinner to an 18th cent rifleman I changed from a roomy "possibles bag" to a small bullet pouch. The darn thing does not hold much stuff--and most of the old ones did not either. I have pared it down to only what is essential for shooting and field servicing the rifle. All "other " stuff such as spare lead, molds, lock vises, fire kits, etc. are carried elsewhere in my baggage. To shoot a rifle-gun you need only lead balls, patching, tallow or spit, and a horn of powder. I prime from the main horn. To field service a rifle-gun you need only a worm, vent pick, patching or tow, and a spare flint or two. Desirable but not absolutley needed are a jag, ball puller screw and turnscrew. I pack the tools needed into a small buckskin bag in my pouch to keep them separate from ball and patching. I keep a small tin of tallow in there, too, but could carry it in the patchbox. If one was going on a long trek or campaign he would pack more stuff in horse or cart baggage.

If I'm shooting targets, I have a pouch with a small bag of balls, ten or so, a filled capper, the powder measure and a tin with a strip of greased patch material. My powder horn is tied to the straps of my shooting pouch. All my other gun related foofaraw is in a wooden box behind the firing line.

If I'm hunting, I carry my target shooting pouch with the stuff mentioned above, and the powder horn tied to the strap. All the other gun related foofaraw is in camp or back of the seat of my pickup.

I've found that the less foofaraw I carry the easier life is.

A hint. Get very familiar with your rifle(s). The better you know them the better you will get along. I have shot my .50 T-C Hawken for going on forty years now and have yet to experience a misfire. (I expect it any day now.)

I have several other muzzleloaders, but that ol' T-C's the one what I loves the best.

Three Hawks

The most important thing to understand is what the pouch will be used for, target shooting, hunting, trekking, and so on.

I have one pouch for target shooting. It has everything in it I need to shoot every muzzleloader I oun though I have a seperate pouch for my trade gun.

I have stuff in that target & go to rondy pouch than if often needed. It has a pocket on the front and one on the back, both outside of the pouch. The front pocket has all the jags one ever needs for 54 cal rifles. The back pocket has all the jags one ever needs for 45 cal rifles and an extra flint primer.

My hunting pouches are set up for only one specific rifle, be it my caplock 54, flintlock 54, or the 62 cal trade gun.

The caplock pouch is the smallest and only had one extra pocket inside. The flintlock pouch is a little larger and has 2 pockets on the inside. The trade gun pouch is October Countries second to their largest pouches and it has 2 pockets inside. The smallest pocket has all the jags and the larger pocket has the pan brush, vent pick, and flint jaw screw driver.

Each one of these pouches has 1 or 2 leather wallets for extra flints and flint knapping tools. Obviously the caplock pouch doesn't need this last.

I also have October Countires largest Fowlers Pouch that I have set up for a 12 gauge double barrel caplock. That pouch has the shot snake built right into the shoulder strap.

The only hunting pouch that does double duty is the trade gun pouch. I use it on the trade gun trails and while hunting. The only diff is that I attach a small hunting horn to it for hunting where as I replace that with a much larger horn for target shooting. I also cary seperate bags for balls, buck, and shot when on a trail walk where as hunting, I'm either carrying balls or #6 shot for grouse.

I bought bag moulds for each caliber thinking I'd put them with my gear to be more authentic at mountain doins' but they stay behind. That;s just extra baggage I don't really have to take. the same goes for the lead melting ladle.

I've read of people making their balls in camp over the fire but as far as I'm concerned, that's an accident waiting to happen. I have other things to do while in camp. Lets face it, sometimes its hard enough to get the guns cleaned before dark. At one time, I was cleaning my rifle, pistol, and trade gun, and my wifes pistol and rifle. When my son was small, I also had to clean his rifle. That was 6 firearms but as a family, we did enjoy shooting the trails together.

Before anybody makes remarks about cleaning my wifes rifle and pistol, keep in mind that she was fixing dinner while I was cleaning. I wanted to eat, you know. She was also fixing enough for the potluck too. It was always creamed potatoes and peas. She had to cook the spuds, make the cream sauce, and cook the peas (fresh frozen). No, she did not go out and pick them fresh from a garden, Safeway most likely.

Well, I've rambled on and have gotten really off topic, sorry.

Loa fast and aim slow.