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What are you looking for when purchasing a rear bag?

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manabeknives

manabeknives

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Apr 1, 2015
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San Diego, California, United States
When I purchase my 1st rear bag, i just choose a popular brand that seemed like it was high enough work with my rest. I really didn't know what to expect.
Found out that the height was too low, so i made a block of wood as a riser and got a dead bottom. Everything seems to be working just fine. I did the testing on placement and reset to that spot. But i still wonder if this is the right set up.
My questions are; What are you looking for when purchasing a rear bag for BR?
It just seems to be hit/miss if you are getting one that works with your set up, did you also see it this way?
Do you fill the bag as tight as possible? Do you fill the ears the same?
How do you know if you have the right one? What are indications that you have the wrong one?
How many did you have to try to find the one that worked?

Thanks
Mike
 
It's all trial and error. Firmness, placement, ear spacing are all subjective to the particular gun, rest, and even bench.

You will know it's right because it will give you the best results.

If your barrel is the cause of flyers....you won't be able to fix it with anything else. If your rest is the cause of flyers, you won't be able to fix it with anything else. If your pellets are the cause of flyers.....you see where I'm going here?

Once you have it all going great, all you will need to do is go shoot on a more or less rigid bench and everything may change.

You are starting to see how complicated the simple looking game can be if you want to do well.

Mike
 
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manabeknives said:
When I purchase my 1st rear bag, i just choose a popular brand that seemed like it was high enough work with my rest. I really didn't know what to expect.
Found out that the height was too low, so i made a block of wood as a riser and got a dead bottom. Everything seems to be working just fine. I did the testing on placement and reset to that spot. But i still wonder if this is the right set up.
My questions are; What are you looking for when purchasing a rear bag for BR?
It just seems to be hit/miss if you are getting one that works with your set up, did you also see it this way?
Do you fill the bag as tight as possible? Do you fill the ears the same?
How do you know if you have the right one? What are indications that you have the wrong one?
How many did you have to try to find the one that worked?

Thanks
Mike
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I don't have a prescription other than to say all of those things can matter and ultimately there isn't one bag that can do it all.
- Every rifle has a different height
- Every range has a different elevation requirement
- Some rifles like wide ears some like narrow, some tall 'rabbit', some short 'bunny'
- Fill amount and weight can matter
- Fabric type can matter. I don't think having zero friction is the goal as much as having consistent friction and recoil.
- Ideally you'll see the POI hold through the shot cycle. Currently I'm having my best with a small amount of recoil movement.
- If you're lucky you have access to try other people bags and save a lot of time and money.

So far my experience has been the same as bicycle saddles or hiking boots - you won't know anything until you buy it and put a few hours of real miles on it and making adjustments. I will be reading this thread for any ideas for shortcuts. Maybe we should set up a service where you can rent various bags and return them for a modest cost if they don't work for you.
 
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Since November, i have made 2 purchases on rear bags
It is all trial and error with these bags .. small little things make a big difference
I also didn't consider how easy/difficult it would be to travel with this set up.
The first bag was an Edgewood mini gator and the bag donut.
Although an excellent bag, I soon realized it was just too big for my needs.
IMG_0539.jpeg

My second bag is a Protektor flat-top Bumble bee and donut ring.
The smaller size and flatter recoil path were what I was looking for.
IMG_0540.jpeg

I'll be keeping both, just in case a future rifle has a preference.
They are both excellent bags that will last my lifetime.
for size comparrison
IMG_0541.jpeg

Now i need to figure out where on the rest the stock should be placed
The powder on the ears is HBN for lubrication.
 
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Mike, You may already know this but if not, I would suggest putting a registration mark on your bag. Then stick a piece of painters tape along the edge of your butt stock and mark graduations every 1/2" on the tape. Then shoot 5 shot groups and align the rifle EACH time (after recoil) to each mark and you will soon find the happy place that your rifle shoots best. It takes some time to find it but once you do it can make a big difference in accuracy. You need to do the same on the front fore stock as well.

What is the donut for? Is it a height spacer?
 
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igolfat8 said:
Mike, You may already know this but if not, I would suggest putting a registration mark on your bag. Then stick a piece of painters tape along the edge of your butt stock and mark graduations every 1/2" on the tape. Then shoot 5 shot groups and align the rifle EACH time (after recoil) to each mark and you will soon find the happy place that your rifle shoots best. It takes some time to find it but once you do it can make a big difference in accuracy. You need to do the same on the front fore stock as well.

What is the donut for? Is it a height spacer?
Click to expand...
Excellent Tip Tim!
That is what i was doing this morning.
I had played around with it a bit at the range, but didn't have any markings yet.
Still need to go through it all, just to be certain.
The donuts are used for added stability,leveling and height ..don't really think i need the leveling since i'm shooting off a bench, but as a spacer, it's great

This is the article where i read about what you said

Experiment with Rifle Position on Rest and Bags for Best Accuracy « Daily Bulletin

To get the best accuracy out of any benchrest rifle, you need to find the optimal position of front rest and rear bag. The important point to remember is that each rig is different.
bulletin.accurateshooter.com bulletin.accurateshooter.com
 
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Another thing to consider is do you have a true parallel stock from to front to back, this may determine whether you have a flat top rear bag or one with a slight taper from front to back of bag? Then another is tall ears or short? The Edgewood is an excellent bag! I personally have an old protector BR model that’s probably 30yrs old but has worked wonderfully for me! Another is if you shoot free recoil? All this makes it a critical factor in setting up the gun in the bags so it tracks perfectly straight back and returns back to battery in the same spot each time which may require a front stop on your front rest.
Have I taken my own advice, Not since my cf days…
 
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nomojo65 said:
Another thing to consider is do you have a true parallel stock from to front to back, this may determine whether you have a flat top rear bag or one with a slight taper from front to back of bag? Then another is tall ears or short? The Edgewood is an excellent bag! I personally have an old protector BR model that’s probably 30yrs old but has worked wonderfully for me! Another is if you shoot free recoil? All this makes it a critical factor in setting up the gun in the bags so it tracks perfectly straight back and returns back to battery in the same spot each time which may require a front stop on your front rest.
Have I taken my own advice, Not since my cf days…
Click to expand...
Very good points to be aware of
I have just received a stock I ordered from Martin that has the 2 parallel flats.
IMG_0543.jpeg

This is why I switched to the flat top...for better free-recoil path..although from my few observations ..that stock is not moving
I did choose the widest spacing between the ears for this stock which was 3/4 inch and have the medium codura ears that i rubbed some HBN to keep it slick.
It's a little messy, but does a nice job...still need to test how it works if it is wet.
Appreciate all the advice

Question:..How tight are you filling the bags? ..I have mine as tightly packed as i could get it. The ears are not as tightly packed .
i figure that one would want to eliminate variables that a softer bag would present
 
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manabeknives said:
Very good points to be aware of
I have just received a stock I ordered from Martin that has the 2 parallel flats.
View attachment 535172
This is why I switched to the flat top...for better free-recoil path..although from my few observations ..that stock is not moving
I did choose the widest spacing between the ears for this stock which was 3/4 inch and have the medium codura ears that i rubbed some HBN to keep it slick.
It's a little messy, but does a nice job...still need to test how it works if it is wet.
Appreciate all the advice

Question:..How tight are you filling the bags? ..I have mine as tightly packed as i could get it. The ears are not as tightly packed .
i figure that one would want to eliminate variables that a softer bag would present
Click to expand...
You need to work with many variables one at a time. Personally do not shoot any of my rifles free recoil, I let the rifle show me on paper what it likes. My pellet or sportsman rifles do not recoil hardly at all pellet being nothing. They both use different tension from front rest. See if you can find some thin rectangle hard rubber pieces mine are .250 thick by 9"Lx7"w I have 4 that use for height under rear bags for different rifles.

Setting up a two piece is crucial and has been discussed in other threads and feel is more important vs how hard you rear bag is. As far as the rear bag fill you will figure it out, its not that difficult..

Good luck,
Joe.
 
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