Possibles bag and caps when hunting

[Robby]

Many moons ago while hunting I spotted a couple bucks sparring and four does rapt with the spectacle before them, I was using a beautiful English long bow made by Val Rawnsley and carrying my hand made arrows in a back quiver. It was a hard frost, I belly crawled down into a small grassy swale and up the other side trying to close the distance to about thirty yards. It was slow going but with the intensity of the moment I never took note of any problem with the quiver in the way, or noise from it, or the cold sopping I was getting for that matter, the single mindedness of youth I guess. Oh yeah, I got to the other side, just below the crest, rocked up on one knee, came to full draw, and made a clean miss. The whole gang did a What? and left in a hurry.
I use the equipment I feel is proper for the hunt and adapt to it.
Robby

 

[SOLANCO]

Of note:
Many times we have in journals from longhunter days through mountain man days of a man or two being caught out and having to journey some distance with just what they had on them. Often a full horn, but only a few ball.
Because our guns are primitive weapons we expect them to have to be disassembled and restocked in the woods between shots. And ofcouse no self respecting woodsman would ever think of stepping one step out of camp without enough ammo to fight off a British regiment or the whole Sioux nation
In reality our guns are reliable and it’s rare you would need five reloads with you hunting big game and ten is plenty for small
While some big bags were seen in the past bags they would be small for a girl in evening dress were seen too.
I’ve been belly down in the tall timber before, but generally figure my ancestors did not struggle to stand on their own two feet so I could crawl. Thats why God made arroyos, branches, gullies, swails, dips, ect.

Agree completely, except that 10 may not be enough if you are following a bird dog in a productive area. I have absolutely missed more than ten ruffed grouse in a day with unmentionables.

 

[LongWalker]

Where do you hunt antelope at? Im in south dakota. Been seeing a lot lately. Bucks are rounding up harems currently

Western Nebraska, Wyoming. Just for fun I like to put the sneak on them any time I see them.

 

[.36Rooster]

Western Nebraska, Wyoming. Just for fun I like to put the sneak on them any time I see them.

Ive done a few stalks on them with a longbow, not too far off from your area on the SD side. But the only sneaking im doing this year is if i sneak out of work. I switched jobs this year so i had no vacation time for hunting season. Most years i get the whole early archery off. But i say dont complain. Good things dont always taste the best going down... next year is coming.

 

[Billy Boy]

I've been tossing up on the idea of a possibles bag but they just dont seem practical. To give you a scenario, last weekend I was stalking in on some red stags. They were 50 yards into the neighbouring property I don't have access to so I was trying to close the gap and get to a track that separates the two properties. From here I'd have a clear shot as soon as they cleared the fence. To get there though I had to basically crawl on my hands and knees through thick brush. I was thinking at the time if I had a possibles bag how much of a pain in the A it would be swinging around, dragging on the ground and getting hung up on things. Do people have this issue and how do you get around it? I currently have a gun belt for centrefires that has a couple of pouches. I can fit powder vials, patches and balls in there but no more room for say tools that I may require in the field. Locally that's fine, but when I'm doing a 4 or 5 day hunt into the mountains it's not practical.

The other part of my question relating to caps is pretty simple, on this stalk I went through 3 caps just falling off. Am I safe to lightly crimp one with pliers to keep it on or will this affect it?

Two pre-measured charges in my pocket, two patched balls in the block around my neck (and under my shirt) and caps in a strip on the same thong.
No noise, no snags and usually about twice as much ammo as you need..

 

[Okie Hog]

My patched round balls are carried in this. Remove both ends and use short starter to push ball into muzzle.

Yeah, i know it ain't HC.

 

[Zutt-man]

Last fall, I thought my possibles bag was kind of a pain in the A too, but mainly because the straps were too long and it seemed to dangle. I solved this by putting a cleaning jag, ball puller, fouling scraper, toothpick, an extra flint, a couple of patches and a couple of balls in my patch box of my flinter. My powder measure is attached to my powder horn. I had everything I needed right there for a day hunt. I really just need to get my strap adjusted.

I would think a bet pouch would also be a reasonable alternative.