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shooting, possibles bag, haversack
- Thread starter gjkershul
- Start date
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Haversacks are flat, shoulder or back carried general purpose bags. They are kind of the plastic grocery bags of the day. Something you might carry foodstuffs and cooking gear in.
Shooting/hunting/shot bags (IMHO) properly have what it takes to shoot and clean the firearm - nothing else. Possibles bags are for everything in between - what you would otherwise carry in your pockets or a pack. Strike-a-lights, sewing kit, fishing hand-line, beaver castor, pretty rocks, frying pan, etc., etc.
You don't want to dig around in all that junk when you need a flint or a ball in a bleeding hurry.
Shooting/hunting/shot bags (IMHO) properly have what it takes to shoot and clean the firearm - nothing else. Possibles bags are for everything in between - what you would otherwise carry in your pockets or a pack. Strike-a-lights, sewing kit, fishing hand-line, beaver castor, pretty rocks, frying pan, etc., etc.
You don't want to dig around in all that junk when you need a flint or a ball in a bleeding hurry.
I think the Haversack isa genuine term from the period and it is said to be a military item for carrying mainly food as I have heard on other forums, it has been said that one should not be used by civilians, I guess the concept was patented by the military, I prefer a linen or canvas bag with a button down flap and a single shoulder strap to carry my non shooting gear, such as food, rope, a chunk of rope and various odds and ends for a day or twos outing that way I am not in conflict with the non military use of a haversack rule. :hmm:
Haversack = PC can o' worms.
The military haversack is a bread or ration bag for soldiers on the march.
Fur trade employees were generally fed out of the pot, so no need for a personal food bag.
Farmers often had their dinner in the field, but that out of baskets most likely.
Hunters could carry food in pockets, wrapped in a cloth or handkerchief.
Longhunters and mountain men had pack animals to carry their food.
The market wallet is a good PC option.
If you don't care about PC, haversacks are very handy, and just about every vendor sells them.
Did you ever notice that Native Americans don't use haversacks, even though they were often on the move, just like soldiers? :hmm:
The military haversack is a bread or ration bag for soldiers on the march.
Fur trade employees were generally fed out of the pot, so no need for a personal food bag.
Farmers often had their dinner in the field, but that out of baskets most likely.
Hunters could carry food in pockets, wrapped in a cloth or handkerchief.
Longhunters and mountain men had pack animals to carry their food.
The market wallet is a good PC option.
If you don't care about PC, haversacks are very handy, and just about every vendor sells them.
Did you ever notice that Native Americans don't use haversacks, even though they were often on the move, just like soldiers? :hmm:
I have seen some Indian bags but they may have been for gun gear, I don't think the NA's had the same diet or basic social customs we do that would require them to carry the same stuff we do.I like a shoulder bag for carrying my gear and strapping my blanket and outer wrap to the strap at times...notice I said shouder bag and outer wrap, I don't have a haversack or open front hunting shirt, once again if on a hunt and someone asks me about the gear, I tell it as it is, I prefer a shoulder bag for my gear, in the past the shoulder bag called a haversack was a military issue and to date there is no documentation that the thousands of men who carried them in war time found any use for them or the general concept as civilians.I have had two wallets and find them much less usefull or handy than my shoulder bag. BTW Pichou those bags you have for sale are nice looking ones, I saw them on a trade blanket on another forum somewhere.I do have a rather small "wallet" that is more like a split pouch that I can carry quite a bit of stuff in and loop it over my sash, but still nothing beats the shouder bag for ease of access at least nothing I have found.
Pichou said:
Civilians used all sorts of bags, sacks, and bundles to carry personal items. The "haversack" was used by the military to carry one's food ration, or to carry oats for one's horse.
The budget, market bag, shoulder bag, pack, or what have you was used by many civilians throughout history. IMHO, my shoulder bag or "budget" doesn't look anything like a military haversack, but the basic principle remains the same.
I suspected the various terms for the various bags were often interchangeable, depending on one's location, country of origin, and time period. IMHO, I suspect this is a question of semantics, more than an actual distinction between the various bags. For example, the term "market bag" could be virtually any bag or sack used to carry items to, or from a market. IMHO, the same sack could become a "pack," or "wallet," depending on location, use, and time frame.
In truth, who really knows? In this case, we can only make a, somewhat, educated guess at what historic documents are telling us.
What's a market wallet? And where do "snapsacks" fit in?
J.D. said:
Do you suppose that military men would continue to call any shoulder bag a "haversack", once they left military service? I ask because I have an old retired Navy buddy who refers to a wall in his house as a "bulkhead".
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kansas_volunteer
45 Cal.
BillinOregon, here's a market wallet and snapsack:
http://www.18cnewenglandlife.org/18cnel/wallets.htm
http://www.18cnewenglandlife.org/18cnel/wallets.htm
Last edited by a moderator:
I am not familiar with the NA accuterments, Pichou has much more research in that area the following is a interesting sentence from the site posted above
"There appears to have been a variant of the haversack used by peddlers and farmers that was of a more rectangular shape, but more research is needed to document their use by the militia."
There as suggested were a lot of bag types,if the above is true one could use a haversack type bag that was not square as a civilian.I personally think that the square or rectangular shoulder hung bag likely goes back for centuries. I am not claiming any validation of using one as I do, just my thoughts on the issue.
"There appears to have been a variant of the haversack used by peddlers and farmers that was of a more rectangular shape, but more research is needed to document their use by the militia."
There as suggested were a lot of bag types,if the above is true one could use a haversack type bag that was not square as a civilian.I personally think that the square or rectangular shoulder hung bag likely goes back for centuries. I am not claiming any validation of using one as I do, just my thoughts on the issue.
Kansas: Many thanks for the URL on wallets and knapsacks.
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