carrying bullets?

[OverMax]

Dandy salmon pix'ed. ~~Answer to you're question.

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categ...1/1/BAG-BALL-S

[Tom W.]

I can't imagine hunting with a traditional muzzle loader and not using some kind of a possibles bag and
sometimes that doesn't even have enough room, and needs to be supplemented with a fanny pack.

Perhaps when I first started hunting, I didn't realize all of the stuff that I would need to carry for contingencies.
After a while I started carrying more and more items into the woods, as I think that many of us do as we buy more stuff.

Whether it's a nipple wrench, ramrod accessories, ramrod handle, deer drag sling, rubber gloves, rags, powder, patches,
caps and balls. mini flashight, ball starter, mallet, knife, compass, map, lighter, water bottle, the list can go on for some of us.
Try to fit some of these necessities into pockets alone would be very difficult especially during a winter deer season in late December in the north
with layers of winter clothes on including gloves, hat and maybe even a facemask too.

A possibles bag becomes very comfortable resting on your buttside and serves an important purpose in the woods, not only for gun accessories,
but for emergency survival items in case one gets injured or stuck in the woods after dark, and also to help field dress a deer,
and to be able to get it back to the car and then into it.

One time I couldn't lift the deer into the trunk by myself because it was too heavy. Luckily someone came by on a deadend road and helped me out.
Another time I was able to call a warden to open a gated forest road to allow my car onto state land.
Or else the additional drag to the parking lot would have been too much of a burden.


That's when I finally bought a portable hoist with gambrel if someone isn't around to help.
And also a deer sleigh to help drag deer more easily through the woods which I usually stash close to the general hunting area.

Yep, when a muzzle loader hunter is alone in the woods, you can't always count on things going as planned.

I once found a dead deer that I thought was maybe shot by another hunter, so I went to the nearest house to get some help or a warden
to see if I should take the deer out of the woods or not.
The home owner came into the woods with me to relocate the deer, and as it got dark we dragged it to his house, and he said that
he knew the warden, would let him know about it and share some deer meat with me.
When I spoke to him later, he found that the deer had been hit by a car and wandered back into the woods to die.
He said that a lot of the meat was so hemorrhaged that it was not edible and only fit for dog food which I have no doubt was true.
The point is that anything can happen in the woods and even a simple gun problem can ruin a hunt unexpectedly.
It can depend on how deep into the woods a person is going, or if they get turned around and temporarily lost.
But try dragging a big deer for a mile after shooting it, tracking it down and field dressing it, and then get it into your car without help,
and we'll see if it's safer to be prepared than to not be.
It can be exhausting without bringing enough water along.
If you don't get your deer home, even in the dark, then the coyotes may end up eating it.
Nowdays there's GPS units but I still don't have one.
It's just another item to carry along with a smart phone which I also don't have.

Kinda sounds like Pat McManus's story about the "Sequential Vortex....."

[charlie b]

When hunting with conicals I preferred the commercial speedloaders. Just for backup I'd also put a brass capper in my pocket in case I drop a cap or it doesn't go off for some reason. I did drop a cap a couple of times but never had one fail to fire when in the field.

If I was out a ways from camp I'd also carry a ball puller, just in case. That did get used once on a very wet hunt when I loaded while raining. I did not use a good technique and powder got wet.

I usually wear cargo pants so everything would fit in a thigh pocket.

[arcticap]

Kinda sounds like Pat McManus's story about the "Sequential Vortex....."

I always liked his column, what a riot he was.

I found the "Sequential Vortex" story here:--->>> https://books.google.com/books?id=rn...Vortex&f=false

I may have left out some items, but you know what? I never used a speed loader!

Southern hunters are lucky that they don't usually need to deal with the same harsh deer hunting weather that northerners do!

[Tom W.]

True, even during deer season we have to look out for rattlesnakes. And Hornets. And fire ants. And....

[arcticap]

...And chiggers! I'll take the cold weather instead.

[Walks]

When I could still hunt, I carried the "Speedloaders" on a Lanyard around my neck, along with my short starter. The Speedloaders I used were the two compartment type with a percussion cap holder in one of the caps.

For storing cast & lubed bullets, I use TOBACCO "TINS". The kind the expensive tobacco comes in. I store them in the garage fridge. They work well for both 50cal & 54cal MAXI-BALLS.

I get my TOBACCO from the PipesandCigars.com. Perhaps if you know a Pipe Smoker, you could gift him a tin or 2 at XMAS, and ask for the tins when he's finished the TOBACCO in them.
They are them best storage box I've yet found, besides the ones for Factory Cast. At TWO DOLLARS A BULLET.

A "POSSIBLES" Bag can be anything. I made mine from Leather & Suede. But any kind of old bag with a strongly attached shoulder strap will do. My DAD used one of my MOM'S old Leather purses.