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Long Distance Shooting Discuss tools, techniques, tips and theories of long distance shooting

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  #1  
Old 11-22-2020, 5:30 AM
mtenenhaus mtenenhaus is offline
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Default Shooting Bag Fill.....What works best?

With respect to the rear shooting bag, i was wondering what in your experience works best as fill?

The most recent bag i purchased had some sort of styrofoam beads which felt fine the first time out but as you might imagine, they've gone on to compress significantly and no longer fill much of the bag nor do they conform all that well to the stock.

I tried new aquarium gravel but it's hard and heavy and not all that great.

I'd prefer to stay away from using food items like beans or rice. Not too fond of sand either as it was really heavy and got waterlogged when shooting outdoors once.

Thought perhaps the airsoft bbs but reading some of the reviews weren't all that favorable.

Appreciate any suggestions for intermediate weight to light weight options, thanks
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  #2  
Old 11-22-2020, 5:34 AM
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I use those small plastic air soft BBs
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Old 11-22-2020, 5:38 AM
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I have a lot of plastic and pvc sawdust works great light and does not compress and is not water soluble.
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Old 11-22-2020, 5:45 AM
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Sand. Put it a plastic bag first. I used a vacuum seal bag without the vacuum.
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Old 11-22-2020, 6:47 AM
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Corn cob or walnut tumbling media.

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Old 11-22-2020, 9:26 AM
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Air soft bb’s. They’re expensive but the don’t soak up water.
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Old 11-22-2020, 1:56 PM
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Raw Dry Beans. They are inexpensive and last a long time if kept dry. Remember the original Bean Bag Chairs?
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  #8  
Old 11-22-2020, 2:28 PM
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I use the light weight kitty litter when its on sale. Haven't had any issues in 5 years. Note, never used it in heavy rain.
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  #9  
Old 11-22-2020, 6:16 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NaClAddict View Post
Sand. Put it a plastic bag first. I used a vacuum seal bag without the vacuum.

Hadn't thought of vacuum sealing it first, but yeah - sand.
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Old 11-22-2020, 6:52 PM
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Long grain rice
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  #11  
Old 11-22-2020, 7:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The War Wagon View Post
Hadn't thought of vacuum sealing it first, but yeah - sand.
Too messy if you don’t bag it. Didn’t want tears or burst seals.
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Old 11-22-2020, 8:03 PM
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Poly Pellets.
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  #13  
Old 11-22-2020, 10:19 PM
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I use rice. I also have a sock full of rice I use sometimes under the buttstock for minor elevation changes on a bench, a light squeeze will change your POA
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  #14  
Old 11-22-2020, 11:08 PM
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Air soft bbs, lighter than sand, but heavy enough.
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Old 11-23-2020, 7:08 AM
mtenenhaus mtenenhaus is offline
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for those using the airsoft bbs...do you find that they conform well supporting the rifle buttstock and facilitate point of aim change by squeezing or releasing pressure on the bag?
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  #16  
Old 11-23-2020, 11:36 AM
mtenenhaus mtenenhaus is offline
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thanks
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  #17  
Old 11-23-2020, 11:59 AM
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If you never shoot in rain sand, rice etc isn’t going to be a problem. I’ve competed in pouring rain in all day events shooting prone at multiple stations without any cover. Sand gets pretty heavy and messy when it rains.
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  #18  
Old 11-23-2020, 3:49 PM
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https://wiebad.com/spex-lite/
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  #19  
Old 11-23-2020, 4:00 PM
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Actually dried pinto beans double sealed in ziplocs would work great . If you can't shoot worth a dam to get food. eat the rifle support.

Last edited by edgerly779; 11-23-2020 at 4:06 PM..
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  #20  
Old 11-23-2020, 5:57 PM
mtenenhaus mtenenhaus is offline
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thanks everyone....going to try MarikinaMan's suggestion...they've got a free shipping promotion going. pinto beans sounds like cool option as well and had we had some old no longer enticing beans perhaps... but for some reason i feel a bit uneasy using food products.
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  #21  
Old 11-24-2020, 5:30 AM
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Here are some lower-cost poly pellets that work well for the "squeeze method"

https://plasticpellets4fun.com/produ...r-light-weight

The "pros" use the Spexlite that MarikinaMan suggests, smaller pellets produced with polymers that are similar to running shoe sole material. Average bag might cost $20- $50 to fill depending on size:
https://spexlite.com/shooting-bag-fill-1

Edit: I see the prices on Spexlite have come down dramatically since it first came out something like 9 years ago. It used to be more than double.

Last edited by smoothy8500; 11-24-2020 at 6:46 AM..
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  #22  
Old 11-24-2020, 5:57 PM
mtenenhaus mtenenhaus is offline
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thank you smoothy8500, you're always so helpful....i really appreciate it.

Yesterday I went ahead and ordered spex-lite from WieBad....they have a free shipping promotion going on. Looking forward to trying it out. That Poly Pellet filler sounds like a great deal.

Last edited by mtenenhaus; 11-24-2020 at 6:01 PM..
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  #23  
Old 11-24-2020, 9:23 PM
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Sure thing. Funny, but since you mentioned the free shipping I ended up ordering some Spexlite from Wiebad too.
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  #24  
Old 11-28-2020, 12:23 PM
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What kind of bags are you guys using that you can used sealed bags in?
All the bags I use you can't get something that large in the bag
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  #25  
Old 11-28-2020, 4:28 PM
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Walnut polishing media. Inexpensive and won't compress.
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  #26  
Old 11-28-2020, 8:05 PM
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split peas.
Part of emergency planning. More than 10 pound of food that can last for years before spoilage. When hell breaks, take your gun and shoot bag
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  #27  
Old 12-14-2020, 2:03 PM
MarikinaMan MarikinaMan is offline
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I bought a bag of wood pellets from the hardware. 8 bucks for a 20 pound bag, which is plenty.

I put it in my old Caldwell bags.

For starters, its looking good. I don't think I want in for a rear bag, as it doesnt give as much control as the good stuff.
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  #28  
Old 12-14-2020, 2:22 PM
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"Heavy sand" is the best but, if you want a light weight bag for plinking, rice, beans, plastic, etc. will work just fine.
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  #29  
Old 12-15-2020, 7:06 AM
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I use these nylon beads. They are the same ones that came in my Armageddon bag:

https://www.michaels.com/poly-fil-po.../10553835.html

Ed
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  #30  
Old 12-15-2020, 9:08 AM
MarikinaMan MarikinaMan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chromatica View Post
I use these nylon beads. They are the same ones that came in my Armageddon bag:

https://www.michaels.com/poly-fil-po.../10553835.html

Ed
How many did you use for a front bag? The item says 2.8oz by volume. Thats really little right?
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  #31  
Old 12-16-2020, 12:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarikinaMan View Post
How many did you use for a front bag? The item says 2.8oz by volume. Thats really little right?
I do not have their front bag - only the rear bag. I like them firm so I added about as many beads as I could fit in the bag. (They have a convenient zipper hidden underneath a flap.) Now the bag doesn't settle as much after each firing.
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