I got my first bag yest this week and I wanted to try filling it with something other than sand or bbs. I thought long and hard on what filler to use when I finally hit on using aluminized plastic film!
Amazon.com : TWOD Outdoor Shooting Rest Bags Target Sports Shooting Bench Rest Front & Rear Support SandBag Stand Holders for Gun Rifle Shooting Hunting Photography - Unfilled-Army Green : Sports & Outdoors
See, I get this stuff at work. We make parts for aerosol cans and one of the products I'm responsible for are the bags that contain that actual product inside the can and the material we make them from is similar to mylar, but much thicker. What I ended up using is that edge we sometimes trim off the film as its being fed into the machine. We scrap tons, literally, of the stuff everymonth so getting some wasn't a problem. If fact, the scrap usually ends up in a landfill because its so difficult to actually recycle from the mix of plastic and metal. Most recyclers just end up burning it, if they take it at all.
So I got about 5 lbs of the stuff and started stuffing the bag full. What I like most is how light the bags are, like they are stuffed with straw. I was able to try them out today and so far, I'm liking what they can do. The material is stuffed tightly enough to provide support, but it can still compress. It won't suck up moisture like sand, and its MUCH lighter too. Unlike plastic BBs, I won't have to worry about this stuff just spilling out. And I don't think this stuff will compress down much, due to the plastic material. I think if I can get this stuff shredded, I could get it packed tighter and heavier.
Now, its not perfect. The smaller bag was much harder to stuff, since the two tabs meant to hold the stock had small holes to stuff the material into and it would move more than if it was filled with sand, but overall, I'm happy with the results. I might try to add something to give the rear bag some weight, like a flat piece of steel on the bottom to give it more stability.
Amazon.com : TWOD Outdoor Shooting Rest Bags Target Sports Shooting Bench Rest Front & Rear Support SandBag Stand Holders for Gun Rifle Shooting Hunting Photography - Unfilled-Army Green : Sports & Outdoors
See, I get this stuff at work. We make parts for aerosol cans and one of the products I'm responsible for are the bags that contain that actual product inside the can and the material we make them from is similar to mylar, but much thicker. What I ended up using is that edge we sometimes trim off the film as its being fed into the machine. We scrap tons, literally, of the stuff everymonth so getting some wasn't a problem. If fact, the scrap usually ends up in a landfill because its so difficult to actually recycle from the mix of plastic and metal. Most recyclers just end up burning it, if they take it at all.
So I got about 5 lbs of the stuff and started stuffing the bag full. What I like most is how light the bags are, like they are stuffed with straw. I was able to try them out today and so far, I'm liking what they can do. The material is stuffed tightly enough to provide support, but it can still compress. It won't suck up moisture like sand, and its MUCH lighter too. Unlike plastic BBs, I won't have to worry about this stuff just spilling out. And I don't think this stuff will compress down much, due to the plastic material. I think if I can get this stuff shredded, I could get it packed tighter and heavier.
Now, its not perfect. The smaller bag was much harder to stuff, since the two tabs meant to hold the stock had small holes to stuff the material into and it would move more than if it was filled with sand, but overall, I'm happy with the results. I might try to add something to give the rear bag some weight, like a flat piece of steel on the bottom to give it more stability.
