How do you organize your shooting bag?

So I ordered a possibles bag which has one small inside pocket. Wondered if you all buy smaller bags/pouches to keep things organized and not have to dig through the bottom for things.

Yeah, that's the general idea.
A ball pouch keeps the ball together, a capper keeps the caps together,,,
But no matter how hard ya try, heavy things end up on the bottom and light things on top.
And the item you need first is always on the bottom no matter how much it weighs, :haha:

Actually, after awhile you'll figure out you don't really need that much stuff.

And theres no rule that say's you can't stitch/glue other pockets or pouches to your bag as you see fit.

You are supposed to toss everything inside the bag and shake it three times. Then it's ready for use.

The reason it's called a possibles bag is because nothing is kept in a specific place. That forces the owner to have to dig thru the contents of the bag while he tells the guy who asked for a patch worm, "Well, it's possible that one's in here somewhere."

If everything was supposed to be kept in specific places so things would be easy to find they would call it a "filing bag" or a "storage bag" instead of a possibles bag.

Course, it's your bag and if you want to carry a "filing bag" I won't tell anybody. I'll just let them think you have a possibles bag and your really good at finding things in it. :grin:

Organize??????? :rotf:

Fowler


Rifle

Now that 's where I flunk out! I only shake it once! :hmm:
:rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

Start out as organized as you like, it won't stay that way. I think it has something to do with Newton's fifth law of motion. :grin: Actually, I've improved. I can now lose things in a shooting box you can see into, not just a bag to grope through. I'm beginning to think my gear has "stealth" capability.

Stumpkiller: I love that tool-holding wallet. It looks incredibly practical. Also, what is the make of that clasp knife? It looks like an old Case CV (carbon) model.

Jeff

Organize a possibles bag???
Yer joking. That's oxymoronic.
Ignore Stump. He forgot his medications. :wink:

To much stuff. I have a possibles box now.
I try and keep it organsied, but possibles gremlins get into my stuff as soon as I put it all away, because every time I get it out it is a disaster again.

I carry two bags on long hunts- a larger haversack or "possibles" bag slung around behind my torso, and a smaller "shooting bag."

The possibles bag holds everything I might possibly need and a lot more. Even my lunch.

The shooting bag holds a small loading block and a small powder horn and maybe a short starter, depending on the gun. There'll be a capper if I'm shooting a cap gun. Dats it. Only stuff needed for a followup shot. Anything else is in the way of a followup and can wait long enough for me to get into the larger bag and sort through the mess.

BrownBear said:

I carry two bags on long hunts- a larger haversack or "possibles" bag slung around behind my torso, and a smaller "shooting bag."

The possibles bag holds everything I might possibly need and a lot more. Even my lunch.

The shooting bag holds a small loading block and a small powder horn and maybe a short starter, depending on the gun. There'll be a capper if I'm shooting a cap gun. Dats it. Only stuff needed for a followup shot. Anything else is in the way of a followup and can wait long enough for me to get into the larger bag and sort through the mess.

Click to expand...

Thank you for calling it a "shooting bag" and putting all the non shooting stuff & misc gun gear into the "possibles bag".
I have a shooting bag (Madison Grant called them "hunting pouches") for each gun that only holds what is necessary to shoot that gun. Some balls, some precut parches, and a little leather roll that holds a turnscrew (ground to fit the gun in question) & 2 flints. The fowler bag has two compartments so a flask of shot & overshot cards go in the 2nd pouch of that bag. A vent pick & powder measure are attached to each bag with a cord & carried in the bag when moving. The less stuff you have, the easier to carry & to find.

BullRunBear said:

Stumpkiller: I love that tool-holding wallet. It looks incredibly practical. Also, what is the make of that clasp knife? It looks like an old Case CV (carbon) model.

Jeff

Click to expand...

Thanky. That pouch was based on a pattern from an old Tandy Leathers shooting accesories book.

The knife is by A.G. Russell and, as I recall, they called it the "Toothpick". I's a modern take on "vintage" design - like the Case Texas Toothpick. Bone scales and the steel is ATS-34 (Japan) and is shaving sharp, relatively thin blade and keeps the edge very well. Also has a "hidden" Walker style liner lock for the blade. I've field dressed a couple deer with it and filleted many perch - just a great folding knife. Of course it's no longer made. :shake:

You have to work out your own system but the way I do it- some things you'll need every reload (ball, patches, caps/capper, etc) and some things (tools, jags, co2 dispenser, etc) you won't need that often. I carry some patching material (ticking) and I wrap up all the stuff I don't use that much and put that in the bottom. I squash it down so it forms a shelf and then I have a small bag with a wood stopper for the balls, a short starter, an old cap tin for lubed patches resting on top. I shoot percussion and have a capper on the bag's strap. Pretty fast and simple.

crockett said:

You have to work out your own system but the way I do it- some things you'll need every reload (ball, patches, caps/capper, etc) and some things (tools, jags, co2 dispenser, etc) you won't need that often. I carry some patching material (ticking) and I wrap up all the stuff I don't use that much and put that in the bottom. I squash it down so it forms a shelf and then I have a small bag with a wood stopper for the balls, a short starter, an old cap tin for lubed patches resting on top. I shoot percussion and have a capper on the bag's strap. Pretty fast and simple.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a real good setup. Thanks for the insights! :hatsoff:

My shoulder/shooting/possible bags are like the rest of my daily life, totally DIS-organized. What would be the fun or even the point of having a nicely organized bag?

I might find anything in mine; a crumpled dollar bill, grocery list, two M&Ms, balls and patches (maybe) and sometimes even a short starter.

Coot said:

BrownBear said:

I carry two bags on long hunts- a larger haversack or "possibles" bag slung around behind my torso, and a smaller "shooting bag."

The possibles bag holds everything I might possibly need and a lot more. Even my lunch.

The shooting bag holds a small loading block and a small powder horn and maybe a short starter, depending on the gun. There'll be a capper if I'm shooting a cap gun. Dats it. Only stuff needed for a followup shot. Anything else is in the way of a followup and can wait long enough for me to get into the larger bag and sort through the mess.

Click to expand...

Thank you for calling it a "shooting bag" and putting all the non shooting stuff & misc gun gear into the "possibles bag".
I have a shooting bag (Madison Grant called them "hunting pouches") for each gun that only holds what is necessary to shoot that gun. Some balls, some precut parches, and a little leather roll that holds a turnscrew (ground to fit the gun in question) & 2 flints. The fowler bag has two compartments so a flask of shot & overshot cards go in the 2nd pouch of that bag. A vent pick & powder measure are attached to each bag with a cord & carried in the bag when moving. The less stuff you have, the easier to carry & to find.

Click to expand...

I have seen the thread on the correct terminology, however it seems that enough people have the terms mixed up that doing internet search I have to search for possibles bag because searching for a shooting bag finds hundreds of pictures of (large duffel type) range bags.

So yes I'm actually looking for how others setup their shooting bags. Seems like when I reach into mine I get poked by one of many sharp objects in the bottom

I ordered a capping tool, that looks like a good idea. What is a loading block?

hanshi said:

My shoulder/shooting/possible bags are like the rest of my daily life, totally DIS-organized. What would be the fun or even the point of having a nicely organized bag?

I might find anything in mine; a crumpled dollar bill, grocery list, two M&Ms, balls and patches (maybe) and sometimes even a short starter.

Click to expand...

I find part of the fun in organizing gear, you get^D^D^D have to buy more bags

Eugene Nine said:

I ordered a capping tool, that looks like a good idea. What is a loading block?

Click to expand...

A loading block is the best thing since metal gun barrels.

Slide a few patched balls in one of these and you don't need to fish around in your hunting pouch. I have a three holer on the strap of my powderhorn along with a powder measure and I have hunted out the back hill without the shooting bag at all.

Stumpkiller said:

Fowler

Rifle

Click to expand...

Looking at this makes me want to convert to the neatness side of the fence :applause:

Stumpkiller,

Thanks for the info. It seems I am fated to make that wallet. The Tandy book you mentioned is long out of print but the company recently made it available in a download only version. My wife downloaded it 2 weeks ago but I hadn't looked through it yet. When I showed her your response, she smiled, printed it out and handed it to me. :grin: (Now I just have to learn to work leather!)

Case makes a Slimline Trapper in CV with the yellow grip I like so much. It's the same size and blade shape. Their Texas Toothpick has the look of the Russell but is much smaller. I have one on order.

Jeff