Strap bag vs belt bag?

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awreis

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Which do you prefer for deer hunting from a stand? I am in no way hunting period correct clothing. I'm leaning towards a straped bag so it's easy to put on and take off with my backpack but wanted other people's thoughts.
 
Strap bag always. I find the combined weight of everything I need for shooting and afterward to be too much for my body all day. Once posted I can shed some of the weight. My shoulder bag is not PC, has multiple compartments for different needs. I do keep two speed loaders in my pocket.
 
For deer hunting in a stand, a speed loader and a short starter is all one needs. Very seldom is more than two shots required. However, considering I always big game hunt with my small backpack to carry the necessary items for field dressing the critter, as well as several other items, there’s plenty of room for any additional ML components one might need.

For squirrel hunting, which I seldom sit and I'm most always on the go, I cannot stand a single shoulder strap nor a belt bag. Neither one is conducive for hunting in steep terrain. Therefore, I split the difference. The weight is distributed evenly and how I want and the bag can be slid forward or aft if one desires. The belt is strapped up high around my body, about half way up. I generally keep the bag slid back out of the way until needed.
 

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I use a larger shoulder bag. I am generally dressing traditional now and a lack of pockets means a bottle of water and some candy bars for the day go in the bag along with field dressing gloves, some paper toweling, hunting knife, etc. along with the day's load supplies. I have several bags by caliber set up, but my favorite is an October Country Traveler bag I've had a couple decades that is set up for .54, which is what all my big game guns are.

https://www.octobercountry.com/traveler-possible-bag/
 
Shoulder strap bag for me. I carry my field dressing goods, "toiletries", a hunk of dragging rope and a headlamp in it. No shooting supplies are in it. Those few things hang around my neck.
 
I'm experimenting with a belt pouch these days,mainly for when I go for sambar deer. That way I can carry enough gear for half a dozen shots,its easily accessible, its out of the way through the thick bush and I can still wear a backpack
 

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Which do you prefer for deer hunting from a stand? I am in no way hunting period correct clothing. I'm leaning towards a straped bag so it's easy to put on and take off with my backpack but wanted other people's thoughts.
I use one of those simple waist packs from the stand.. to hold what I need handy in there.

Gloves. Phone. Cigarettes. Lighter.

I want to get one of the hand Warmer ones. Stuff my phone and butts in there.
 

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Bag for me. I keep my priming thingy attached to the strap. I prefer the bag because all my possible are in it all the time. I mean it is ready to go at any time so I don't have to get together anything.
 
We see lots of belt bags in the old days. And lots of strapped
I find belt bags heavy on the belt, and at times if one is loading from the bag one might want it in a different place when walking or sitting.
I find strapped just more convenient
However, bodies being bodies, eighteenth century people moved in the same way we do. So some folks liked belt bags, and they walked and sat and loaded just like we do.
Before season put on you hunting kit, historic or not and spend the day in it and see what you like best
What you like best is the best.
 
Strap bag. With 77 YO eyes it is good to be able to pull it up to look inside. And if I am still hunting I can easily take it off for comfort. Do NOT put your car keys in the bag! The bag will be hard to find when you have forgotten it and it is getting dark!!!
 
I carry my immediate hunting and reloads in my pocket.(see picture). My muzzle loading tools, should they be required, and field dressing gear all go in my day pack with lunch, snacks and water.
 

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I found out years ago that a shoulder bag swings way forward when you bend foward like if you pick up something from the ground. Easy fixes: wear the bag high - tucked under your arm, but that can make it difficult to retrieve bag contents. Or you can tie or clip the bag to a point on your waist, like a belt loop. Myself, I wear a belt to hold my knife period hatchet. That belt goes across the bag straps and holds everything in place.
 
Which do you prefer for deer hunting from a stand? I am in no way hunting period correct clothing. I'm leaning towards a straped bag so it's easy to put on and take off with my backpack but wanted other people's thoughts.
When I carry a bag it’s on a strap over my left shoulder. When I’m up a tree, like this morning, I usually have my flat horn in my left breast pocket, a few balls, several inches of patch cloth and my capper (or spare flint) in the right breast pocket, and my fixed measure on a thong attached
IMG_0726.jpeg
a my buttonhole.
 
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