Modern Mountain Man Possibles Bag

Carry everything you need with a modern mountain man possibles bag.

It appears to me, that as a group, outdoorsmen have a natural fondness for history. Perhaps, partly this is because we engage in the same arena and have some of the same experiences as people of the past. As I’ve written many times on this website, the world is still the world, and it doesn’t care about your feelings or lower the bar so you can get over. Cold is still cold, rain is still rain, and thirst is still thirst. Sure, some things have changed, but many elements are the same. As a result, there are certainly some tricks of the trade we can apply from historical outdoorsmen. Take the mountain men for example.

Trappers of the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade era, or mountain men, have almost become the American icon of wilderness survival. The best of the best lived for years, even decades, in the remote Rocky Mountain region. They hunted, trapped, and traded for what they needed. Free as any person could hope to be, they traveled from place to place with their horse’s stamina as the only limitation. As any nomadic people do, they traveled light, keeping their belongings to a minimum. Whenever you travel light, you must supplement gear and tools with knowledge and skills. This is still true today, and part of the KISS camping approach.

As much as we’ve come to glorify the mountain men for their survival skills, it’s worth recognizing that most of them required at least a few manufactured items to survive. Few of them proved capable of surviving with access to only Stone Age technology. There are some exceptions, but not many. Most people know that mountain men carried what they called a possibles bag. It contained everything they could “possibly” need. Different men carried different things, but items were often similar. If you want to see what mountain men carried in their possibles bag, you can reference this article sharing primary sources. As mentioned in the article, it’s impossible to say exactly what was in a mountain man’s possibles bag, or more accurately, bullet pouch. Each one was different. It was based on what he thought he needed to survive. However, there were some similarities.

Before starting, it might be worth noting that the mountain man bullet pouch contained their most essential tools. If you think of the kit as their essential tools, then the bullet pouch actually extended beyond the pouch itself. Take firearms, for example. Although firearms weren’t technically part of the kit, they were certainly essential. Mountain men needed a gun for safety and survival. Of course, the gun wouldn’t fit inside the pouch, but it was still part of what they would need. Knives are another tool that were also essential, but they didn’t go in the bullet pouch either. So, if you want to imagine a modern mountain man survival kit, it may help to realize that all your necessary tools might not actually be in a bag.

So, what was inside the mountain man bullet pouch? Inside their pouch, trappers almost always carried their shooting accouterments. They needed the accouterments to make the firearm useful. Things like powder (often carried in a powder horn attached to their bag), balls, caps or flints, in addition to maintenance tools, were part of the bag. In addition to the shooting accouterments, items carried inside the bullet pouch could have been things like a sewing and fire kit. Again, each person was different, but those are some examples.

For today’s outdoorsmen, we can look to the mountain man bullet pouch to create our own modern examples. Of course, people are already doing this. Instead of a possibles bag, they may call it a bug-out bag, survival kit, or day bag. Like the mountain man bullet pouch, it simply contains the items you feel are most essential to spending an unexpected night in the woods.

If you’re interested in creating your own modern mountain man bullet pouch, here are some things you might consider.

Purpose

First off, you will want to consider the purpose of the bag. Mountain men packed things they needed for their situation and geography. We need to do the same. Are you trying to stay alive for a single night, or do you want the ability to stay for several days, weeks, or months? If you live in the lower 48 states, your situation will be different than a trapper in northern Canada. Are you trying to hunt with limited gear, or are you preparing for more of a true survival situation kit? The purpose of the bag will have a big impact on the contents. For the rest of the article, we’ll look at a modern mountain man bullet pouch that would carry the items a modern hunter might want on a wilderness hunt.

6 C’s

As you develop your own bullet pouch, you might be advised to keep the 6 C’s in mind. If you’ve browsed this article on essential wilderness tools, you might already be familiar with the 6 C’s of survivability. Most modern bushcrafters talk about the 5 C’s, but I’ve added one. Here are the original 5 C’s:

• Cutting

• Combustion

• Cover

• Containers

• Cordage

The one I’ve added is:

• Communication

It seems like in the 21st century we have the technology to offer communication with the rest of the world, we just as well use it.

The 6 C’s are a good guide because they address most of the basic tasks that you’ll want to cover. If you cover those bases, then you can rest assured that you should be able to take care of yourself in most situations. It simplifies things. Keep it simple.

Now, let’s take a look at what we might include in a modern mountain man bullet pouch if we use the 6 C’s as a guide.

Cutting

Personally, I don’t need to include a knife in my actual bag. Like the frontiersmen of old, I like to use a pancake-style knife sheath. It goes with me wherever I go, and I think it is the most convenient way to carry a fixed-blade knife. However, in the bag I may carry a sharpening stone of some kind. Some people also like to carry a secondary knife as well. This could go in the bag, or be a simple pocket knife.

Combustion

It would not be a surprise to realize you probably want to have a lighter of some sort. This could be as technologically advanced as you want, or as primitive as you want. You could probably guess that a Bic lighter is a common form of combustion.

It might also be a good idea to pack some sort of fire starter in your bag as well. I can’t say that I’ve found historical evidence that mountain men put tinder in their pouches, but I know at least some living historians include some dry tinder in their bullet pouch at all times. What good is a spark if all the fuel is damp? A fire starter could include something advanced like a Trioxane bar or something simple like dried cottonwood bark. You could also include cotton balls infused with Vaseline. Whatever it is, it should help you go from spark/flame to fire.

Cover

Cover is another way to reference shelter. Depending on how big your bag is, depends on whether you can carry a shelter or not. There are not many shelters that would fit into a small bag. One that does come to mind is one of the reflective blankets. If your bag is larger, say a backpack, you could take a tarp shelter along.

Another approach is to always dress in a way where your clothing is effective shelter. If you dress effectively, you should have a decent shelter with you at all times. In another article, I discuss a few principles of functional wilderness clothing. Some good rain gear might be something that fits into your bag. If you eliminate an actual shelter from your bag, it is probably a good idea to understand the basics of making primitive shelters. That way, you don’t always have to carry shelter with you, but you could still shelter yourself if necessary. Here is an article about developing shelter-building skills.

Containers

Another of the 6 C’s is containers. This could include something as simple as a tin cup, kettle, or stainless steel tumbler. Plastic Nalgene bottles are also popular containers, but can’t be placed in a fire. Regardless, containers are nice to have.

Although containers are great to have, they may not be necessary to your bag. However, when you think about containers you are probably thinking about water. Water is, of course, essential. The question is, how will you purify your water? Some people may shrug it off and just drink right from the source. In some areas, this might be an ok option. In others, you’ll probably get sick. There are lots of options when it comes to water purification. In fact, I wrote an entire article about water purification that you can reference as you think about your bag. Perhaps, you’ll want to include a form of water purification in your bag, and perhaps not. Probably the simplest and most compact option for emergency water filtration is the Life Straw.

Cordage

If you were a trader who took bundles of paracord to a mountain man rendezvous, you may have been one of the busiest people there. I suspect that mountain men would have been eager to get their hands on such a good product. We take for granted how light, strong, and small paracord is. Even in an original mountain man bullet pouch, a 20-foot length of cord wouldn’t have taken up too much space. You might consider having at least a few feet available with you. People store paracord in lots of ways. From bracelets, to shoelaces, to knife handles, there are lots of ways to carry some cordage. If you toss in 20 feet, you’ll be looking at less than a pound to carry and have enough line to rig up many different shelter designs. Some bushcrafters prefer tarred bank line instead of paracrod, but the idea is still the same.

Communication

It’s worth remembering that although mountain men have become an icon of wilderness survivial, many of them did actually die in the wilderness. And not just a few of them; lots of them. The reality is that wilderness living can be dangerous. Many mountain men died from fighting, but a good many died from exposure or other accidents. In their world, they didn’t have the ability to call for help.

The C that I added was communication. Whether it is a cell phone, satellite phone, or a DeLorme InReach you can easily bring some form of communication along. Personally, I do bring a DeLorme InReach along on almost every trip, especially those in remote areas. Many locations I go are outside of cell phone service, so the DeLorme is a good option. The InReach is a small, relatively cheap, and dependable communication tool. I’ve taken many trips without one, and everything turned out just fine. I’ve also heard stories of people who passed away because they couldn’t call for help. I understand this can be seen as unnecessary to people who have gotten along just fine without it. That being said, I personally take a communication device and encourage other people to have one as well.

First Aid

Another thing that you will probably want to have along is a basic first aid kit. Some bandages, gauze, athletic tape, aspirin or ibuprofen, and neosporin seem pretty common. Several years ago I had a veteran friend of mine give me a tourniquet that I also bring along now. Personally, I usually have a silk scarf with me. Silk scarves are great in the winter time to keep the neck warm, but they also are handy for a lot of other purpose. One other purpose is for first aid. Remember, first aid doesn’t fix you, it patches you up long enough that you can get to help. Keep the kit light so you actually want to bring it.

Firearms

When you think about the mountain man’s bullet pouch, it’s worth remembering that they also carried a firearm at all times. They needed to be able to make meat and protect themselves at all times. If you are hunting, you already have a weapon of some kind. If you’re just camping, is there something you need to include? Do you need to make food or protect yourself? Are you in an area where bear spray or a handgun is necessary? Again, what are the essentials?

At this point, you’ve gone through the 6 C’s in addition to a few other areas, and thought about what is in your modern mountain man bullet pouch. What is missing? Is it too heavy? What can you take out? Is there something else you need in your first aid kit? Everyone strikes their own balance between taking things they need and limiting the weight they carry. Again, think about the purpose of the bag, what you can carry on your body, and what you can do without. If you do, you should end up with a modern mountain man bag you will appreciate.

Mountain men of the 1800s likely had a different bullet pouch than you’ll carry. Although the technology and gear may be different, the concept is the same. It is the kit you have with you that has everything you need to get along in the outdoors. As mentioned earlier, the duration of your stay will depend on your situation. Trappers carried them to get along in the place and time that they lived, using the best gear they had access to. We can do the same in the modern world and create our own version of the modern mountain man bag.