Consumerism is a disease of the mind and of the soul. This is no revelation to anyone who has to park their car on the driveway because their garage is too full of possessions too worthless to sell and too dear to throw away. Consumerism is not a modern disease. It has plagued every prosperous people from time immemorial, and the end result is too much “stuff”.

I bought my first black powder rifle back in 1985. It was a bargain basement rifle on sale at Sam’s Wholesale Club for $125 out the door. I read the instruction manual front to back, bought some powder, cap, and ball, and began my  journey as a “plainsman”. (Not a lot of hills or mountains in Texas, so I couldn’t call myself a mountain man.) Being the curious sort, I purchased some books on the topic of muzzle-loading firearms, and my eyes beheld the wonders of geegaws, gizmos, and gadgets beyond belief. Fortunately, my modest income prevented me from going completely crazy, but I did manage to acquire enough plunder to require a “possibles” bag.

This is leather or canvas bag worn across the body on a shoulder strap to carry the things that make shooting a muzzle-loading rifle or shotgun “possible”. The length of the strap is a personal preference. Some shooters use a short strap, so the bag stays closer to the armpit. Longer straps are used to carry the bag at waist height, and the broad waist belt crosses over the strap to hold the bag close to the body. Almost any kind of bag will do as long as it is made from a durable material. I have even seen a pattern for making a bag out of the cut-off legs of blue jeans. Let your imagination run wild, or just go online and order a bag.

But how big a bag do you need?

Now we come back to consumerism.

Two answers exist for that question, so it begs another question. “What are you planning to carry?”

If it sounds like a vicious circle, it isn’t. Think about how long you PLAN to be out and away from civilization. If I am going on a day hunt, or a weekend, I’ll carry only my basic gear. If I will be out longer than 48 ours, I add more kit.

The Basics take care of the needs of the rifle, and some my own so:

  1. Powder Flask full of powder
  2. Powder Measure 
  3. Capper
  4. Two SEALED tins of  caps or spare flints if you shoot a rock.
  5. Spare nipples
  6. Patch Material for 100 patches. I buy 100% cotton Mattress ticking from the fabric store and cut/tear it into 1″ wide strips.
  7. Patch Lube (Commercial or home made does not matter. Just don’t use spit.)
  8. Patch knife
  9. Short Starter
  10. Screw driver that fits the screws on the gun.
  11. Nipple wrench
  12. Nipple pick
  13. Cleaning jag & worm
  14. Pipe cleaners
  15. Cotton washcloth
  16. Small bottle of gun oil*
  17. Strike anywhere matches in waterproof container
  18. Fire steel/magnesium block
  19. 100 feet of paracord
  20. Water purification tablets
  21. Compass
  22. Topographical map of the area I am hunting

*One of the great things about black powder arms, is they can be cleaned with only hot water and elbow grease, so no extra chemicals need to be packed along. The oil is used to prevent rust.

This list sounds like a ton of stuff, but most of these items are small. I organize the items into small bags based on common function, and each of those bags goes into the shoulder bag. This gives me what I need to load ,shoot, clean, and perform basic maintenance on my rifle. I also have the ability to find my way, and keep warm if I need to stay out unexpectedly. 

I always carry at least one military style canteen with the aluminum cup that fits on the bottom. A heavy belt knife like a K-Bar Marine Combat knife or a tomahawk comes along to make a shelter and split firewood. A heavy duty poncho handles any rain, and can be a shelter in its own right. It can also be set up as a rain trap to fill my canteen. 

After the Basics, the shooter can throw in half the comforts of home if the bag allows, but I would rather carry a smaller possibles bag and put the rest of the gear in a backpack.