Horn straps...

[bwhoffman]

going to card weave some horn straps,
What does the general concensus feel is the "best" width? I'm thinking 5/8" +/-
but would like to hear your thoughts!

 

[Claude Mathis]

1 1/4" minimum for me.

 

[soggy]

I usually make them 1" on the inkle loom. I've found that 45 wraps of # 3 crochet cotton will equal 1" of finished strap width.
Soggy

 

[braintan]

I am pretty much a rank beginner here but I have been thinking about the same thing lately. It seem that most of the early depictions of people wearing horns that have their own strap shows a very thin strap sometimes looking like lacing. That being said, it seems (from my research)that more were attached to the bag strap by extentions or additions to the bag strap. This arrangement would certainly be less tangleing and easier to put off and on.
At this point it seems to me that a strap too narrow would be annoying and one too wide would get in the way.
The answer is no, I have not carried a full horn all day but I'm headed that way quick. Time will tell. :grin:

 

[BrownBear]

Interesting point Braintan. I tried putting my horns on their own straps, but in the woods they made me nuts. Tangling and snarling in brush, wandering all over the place on my body when the going got rough. Often tangling with the bag strap and really constipating a quick load.

All three of my horns are now on my bags, and that works great. Eliminated all the problems.

Don't get me wrong. I love these straps I'm seeing here and will probably make some. But those are going to be show pieces unless they're a lot shorter and attached to my bag strap.

 

[Crossfire]

Hey Brownbear, do you have any pics of how you attach your horn to your bag? Just curious how you might do that and still easily pour powder. I'm began working on a strap for my horn and was thinking of putting a horn button on the shoulder strap of my bag so that I could button them together to keep them from shifting... But, I might change my mind if i can put it on the bag somehow and make it work easily.

 

[BrownBear]

I'm embarrassed to say that for now I'm using leather boot laces while search for the "right" material. Wanted to test the idea and get the lengths right before moving on. I'll take a pic and post it in the morning, if y'all promise not to laugh too hard.

Your idea for the button sounds interesting. I just borrowed a tabletop loom today, planning on trying my hand at strap weaving. I sure like the looks of those things, but I'm not sure yet how I'll rig one and still hang the horn the way I want.

 

[BrownBear]

Well, it's 9:30AM now, and in a couple of more hours it could be light enough to take pictures.

In the meantime, does anyone have examples of attaching horns to woven bag straps like the ones we were orginally discussing? I'm also real interested in seeing the details on how woven straps are attached to horns.

 

[Soinkuhndog]

I just picked out my first horn. I've been trying different combinations. One of the "inconveniences" -- for me -- is that the horn just seems to be in the way. I've tried it higher and lower. Perhaps It just needs getting used to.
I'll be interested in seeing a photo. Does the horn hand well above the flap for easy access to the bag, or lower and over the flap? Where the best place to hang the powder measure?

 

[BrownBear]

The horn hangs about 2" above the bag on straps (okay, boot laces) that are about 15" long. It can't swing far and get out of control when you stoop over, and along with the bag you can hold it in place with a squeeze of your elbow when you are stooping to go under brush. I hang my bag low enough that I can just reach into the bottom of it with my fingers extended, so everything is in easy reach, but the opening isn't too high for easy access.

With the horn where it is, those 15" hangers are plenty long enough for convenience and easy use. I hang my measure off the thong securing the stopper to the main bag strap. It's on its own thong about a foot long, and conveniently I push it down into the bag under the flap when I'm not using it. It may be helping keep the horn from swinging, but mostly I put it in there so it won't rattle against the horn or tangle in the brush.

Starting to sound to you like lots of straps and thongs and such? Yeah, me too, but it works until I can come up with something that works better or at least as well while being cleaner.

This whole getup is put together around my usual hunting in really dense brush, which I figure is a pretty good test for any other terrain.

 

[Black Hand]

I like my horn to hang low enough to overlap the bag flap a bit. I hang my measure from the horn strap and keep it tucked in my belt when not in use.

I prefer a strap that is at least 1 inch wide.

 

[Sherlock]

Oh I like a bit lower hanging bag. To me that's the key. Then a horn on the strap enough above the flap with the charger on a short piece of braided sinew near the tip, such that you can unplug and later pour a charge in the barrel, drop the charger and plug the horn tip with one hand. I like the option of sliding that bag and horn around behind me to slither through a thick place in the woods at an angle to reduce snagging up. Now if the horn is not tied off to the bag and has a string to it, I like it in the same place but even a little higher up where I can push the bag behind, clamp my upper arm on the horn and keep going. Now I hunt a lot and it is rather thick here in some places. Wonky

 

[braintan]

In Grant's book on the hunting pouch, there are one hundred original pouches shown with their powder horns attached. Of these, only eighteen horns were hanging below the pouch flap. The flaps on almost all of these bags were buttoned. All of the rest, 82 of them, had the horns hanging in such a manner as to hold the flap down.
In this same book, and in his book on powder horns, of the ones that have their original straps, they are all very thin with one exception.
As far as positioning, the only photos of people wearing bags and horns, it appears that most carried the bags a little bit to the front of them instead of directly under the arm on the side. One photo of Joe Young shows him with his horn strung around his neck so as to hang in front of him to the right, and the strap doesn't even go around behind him; it's just hung around his neck.
There is one painting that looks like an English officer; the strap on this bag and horn looks to be four to six inches wide and very decorative. So as far as historical correctness, it seems that most of the time, the horn should be mounted off of the bag strap in such a manner as to help secure the flap.

 

[braintan]

My post above is a general post not necessarily a reply to Gixmo Wonky. Didn't realize the individual response was working again and there is no edit button.

 

[Crossfire]

Thanks for the reply Brownbear. I'm looking forward to seeing the pic.

 

[AeroncaTAL]

going to card weave some horn straps,
What does the general concensus feel is the "best" width? I'm thinking 5/8" +/-
but would like to hear your thoughts!

Brett,
A 5/8" strap should work fine with your horn.
Scott

 

[BrownBear]

Sorry for the delay in getting these shot and posted. A dump of new snow, a long driveway and a snowshovel interfered.

Lots of clutter in the background, but you can see how I tied the horn hangings into the bag strap. I had it a couple of inches higher for quite a while, but everyone was talking about putting it down over the bag flap. Man that makes me nuts! It's always in the way when I'm reaching into the bag. Up higher the hangings were 15" long. To get it down to where it is now just above the bag they're 17". That kind of adjustment and messing around is why I used boot laces for now. I think I'm going to like it here. Note how the strap for my powder measure is long enough I can slip it into the bag when not in use.

Here's a closer view of where it's sitting just above the bag.

While I was taking pics I thought folks might be interested in one little idea I had that has worked out better than anything I've done in a long time. While I was whittling a spout plug, I incorporated a 25 grain powder measure. That's perfect for my small bores and snowshoe hare hunts, and it's as handy as you would imagine.

 

[smo]

I like your ideal with the powder measure in the plug. I have been considering hanging my horn from the bag strap also. My horn just has a leather lace attached to it also.

 

[BrownBear]

Looks dandy to me. I debated long and hard about putting a fill plug in the butt, and in fact have one ready if I decide to do it. How do you like it?

 

[Crossfire]

Thanks for the pics Brownbear. I really like the powder measure in the plug idea. I may just have to try that.
:thumbsup:
Question - does the horn get in the way when you are getting stuff out of your bag?
Another question - what is the wooden piece hanging down from the front of the horn?