Best leather weight for shooting bag projects

Oh, forgot to mention deer skin, sorry.

Back in the late 70's, I tanned one and ONLY one deer skin I had shot using the authentic Brain Tan method.  It took an unbelievable amount of work and that's why I will never do it again.  Authentic Brain Tan buckskin is available from a few sources, but is so prohibitively expensive, it is out the financial realm for most people.

There is a commercial substitute for Brain Tan, though, that many people feel is very close to indistinguishable from Brain Tan.  It is called "German Tan" and a lot of folks use it for their leggings and some other things.  For me, the temper is too flexible/soft for a Shot Pouch or Hunting Bag, though.
www.crazycrow.com/buckskin-leather/german-tanned-buckskin-natural-14-22-sf
 
Gus

Armando,

One last general thing.  I cannot recommend highly enough that folks actually go to Tandy or another local leather supplier to actually feel the leathers in the different tanning styles and thicknesses.  There is nothing quite like feeling the leather yourself, to really understand some things I've mentioned.  

Also: many, many times over the years since I stepped into a Tandy Store the first time in 1972, I have looked at Tandy's Oak Tan "Craft" bellies and various pieces, which also don't seem to run true to the standard oz. weight that is advertised.  These "Craft" pieces really are too thick for Shot/Hunting Pouches/Bags, but are great for a variety of other uses.  I have lost track of how many of these pieces I've used and purchased over the years.

Gus

Thank you, I didn't know that.  I was going by what the Brain Tanning instruction pamphlet said about the brains.  Well, anyway after I followed the instructions and smoked the hide, it came out fine.  It was just too long and too labor intensive to justify every doing it again, at least for me.

Gus

Oh, FWIW I had no mentor and not much information was available when I made my first Shot Pouch in 1972.  The Tandy Store in Oceanside, CA did not have even commercial tanned buckskin.  They did have cowhide splits that were "Goldish Buckskin" Color, so I used that.  I did not know how to hand sew leather, so I used matching soft cowhide split lace to lace it up.  Didn't look bad at all, but it was so soft it folded in on itself when I carried items needed to shoot my TC Hawken Rifle with it and it was very difficult to find anything inside when I needed.  Total bust to try to use it.  Years later I found it useful as a storage pouch when hung from an Ozan rope in our Lodge, but that was all.  OK, so I learned my lesson on not having leather TOO soft/pliable for a Shot Pouch.  

The next Shot Pouch I made was not going to be too soft and I decided I was going to make a sort of Provincial Cartridge Pouch that could be used either for my Brown Bess Carbine or the Hand Built .45 Flint Rifle my best friend often loaned me to shoot.  I came across what was called an "Oiled Blacksmith Side" that was maybe 6-7 oz.  (NO, this was not Oil Tan Leather I described above.)  It was already a rather dark brown, so no need to dye it.  To this day I'm not sure what kind of modern commercial tanning was used to tan it, as when I cut the pieces out, the edges were very much lighter in color.  That proved to be a problem because the Oiled Hide would not take normal leather dye.  I finally solved that a couple years later by experimenting with brown "Edge Kote" and that pretty much did the trick to darken the edges, even though it was not authentic. 

I kind of went whole hog and used two Cartridge Pouch Buckles on both sides of the strap like some FIW Military Pouches and there is length adjustment on both sides.  I cut the flap with a pointed "double cyma curve" like a Military Pouch Flap and used a pewter button for closure as well.  I put a wide welt in it, so I could get my big hand in it and so a removable cartridge block I made would fit inside to do reenacting and an inside panel to divide the pouch into two sections..  (In those days I did probably 80 percent competition shooting in period clothing, 15 percent reenacting and only 5 percent hunting.)  Unfortunately, I chose artificial sinew for the thread, but at least it was the last time I used that to make Shot Pouches and other items, after switching over to period correct linen thread shortly after that.  It still is my favorite pouch for shooting, as it is so easy to reach inside and feel things I want from the Pouch, but the leather is really too thick for a Hunting Pouch.  

From the third Shot Pouch I made, I learned enough to use historically correct leather and thread and made that pouch out of thinner Oak Tan Leather and only used thicker leather for repro Military Cartridge Pouches I made over the years. 

I mention these things to show one can make mistakes and learn from them.  Hopefully by passing this along, others won't make the same mistakes I did.

Gus.       

I look forward to learning.  I have two buckskins that I chemical tanned (HTF) that came out stiff and hard and don't know if I can fix them or make anything with them.