Filling rear bag- what a PIA

[rjtfroggy]

Just a follow up to a previous post.
After searching for a couple days for "heavy sand" That I did not find I took some advice from a member and found that "leveling sand" isn't acceptable for use in a bag. When I opened the bag I found it to be damp and it had gravel in it, it would need to be dried and sifted, I now have a 50 lb. bag in the garage to be dumped out in the yard somewhere.
I ended up using a crushed black quartz from the pet supply store, normally for the bottom of fish tanks. I only got about 6.5 lbs. in the bag after roughly 2.5 hours of shaking, pounding, and molding to get it in. I will probably need to put more after I use it 1 or 2 times.
After a long winded account, I guess this post is just to say when you buy a front or rear bag buy it prefilled spend the extra couple of bucks for the shipping and filling, you will save a lot of aggravation and time, plus the bag maker probably has the heavy sand and will get it filled to the right consistency the first time.

 

[PopCharlie]

Been there, done that....
AND...my wife said "you bought sand? "

PopCharlie

 

[Mark W]

I’ve always used play sand from Home Depot. It’a cheap and easy.

 

[joshb]

I once had a whimsical thought about using gold dust. The thought of having a hidden reserve of wealth stashed in plain site seemed like a fun idea.

 

[6BRA]

I’ve always used play sand from Home Depot. It’a cheap and easy.

Bake the sand first

 

[BoydAllen]

Years ago. I took a piece of aluminum tubing that would just fit into the fill tubes, and attached it to a small aluminum funnel. The tube is long enough to reach all the way down the tube with an inch or so to spare. I generally use play sand for the ears and front bags, and a suitable grit of garnet blast media for the bottom cavity of the rear bag. It does not take me long to fill my bags. I transfer the sand to the funnel with a little pill bottle, and when things get to the point that there is enough in the bag so that it will not simply pour down the funnel, I fill it, part way and start cycling the tube in and out of the fill tube with perhaps a half or three quarter inch stroke, so that the blunt end of the tubing packs the sand. Doing it this way, I can get the bag as hard as I require, with relative ease. The trick is to have the right tool for the job. Since I did not see one for sale, I made one. It is old and ugly, but it works really well. Generally, bags will stretch some after their initial filling so I may have to top them off. The other trick is to use a good sized flat blade screwdriver to tuck the tubes into their respective pockets, and carefully pull them out when that is needed. Some time back, when I told a shooter that he might need to adjust the amount of sand in a bag so that it would work better, he told me that he assumed that the manufacturer would put the right amount of sand in. Bad assumption. Bag tuning is a bit of an art, that generally requires taking your materials to the range so that you can do shooting tests. You would not believe how much difference a bag and how it is filled can make. With a really good rifle and ammunition it can be a major factor.

 

[JFrank]

Many moons ago when I was living in a small cabin near the most remote part of the cabinet mountains and faced with the task of filling a set of bags, I made my funnel extension from a plastic tube and taped that to a simple plastic funnel and while I finished my morning coffee I used a plastic cap off a spray paint can to scoop the sand up and put it in the funnel.

Roger..
Ya can tap on the side of the bag and pack the stuff down with a small hammer.
Jim

 

[DiffEQ]

Been there, done that....
AND...my wife said "you bought sand? "

PopCharlie

Overheard from my garage...
"Yeah, woman - can't you see I'm pounding it !??"

 

[rjtfroggy]

I used a plastic funnel with a Bic pen for the extension tube and like Boyd I kept going in and out packing and filling at the same time.
I think 21st century sells a bag filling tool but next time I will make sure the bag is filled when I buy it.

 

[Rhodester]

I used kitty litter. Not heavy like sand and works great. Filling the bag sucked big time since I did not have a large funnel.

 

[mikeinct]

Too easy, My Buddy John & I have "Volunteered" our wife's to that task. You should see them go....

 

[Bill Norris]

Fine walnut shell media seems to work well in one of my bags. Very flexible and light weight. Plan to try it in another one soon.

 

[JayHHI6818]

Just filled a Edgewood rear bag and here’s what I use. Cut an aluminum arrow and wrapped it with painters tape so it would fit tight in funnel. Works great

 

[Steel Baron]

I bought weighted poly pellets weighted stuffing beads off of Amazon. They work great and no big deal if they get wet and the bag has a pouring spout.

 

[rjtfroggy]

All of my bags are filled by what is covered under the IBS rules, including this one.
For those of you wondering 21st Century sells a bag filling tool, plastic bottle screwed onto a billet adapter and tube, $48.

 

[freebird22/250]

I used a cutoff 7mm rem. mag empty shell & a 17 cal. reloading funnel to fill mine.

 

[Ccrider]

Get the cheap Harbor Freight 3pc plastic funnel set.

 

[GL]

Just a follow up to a previous post.
After searching for a couple days for "heavy sand" That I did not find I took some advice from a member and found that "leveling sand" isn't acceptable for use in a bag. When I opened the bag I found it to be damp and it had gravel in it, it would need to be dried and sifted, I now have a 50 lb. bag in the garage to be dumped out in the yard somewhere.
I ended up using a crushed black quartz from the pet supply store, normally for the bottom of fish tanks. I only got about 6.5 lbs. in the bag after roughly 2.5 hours of shaking, pounding, and molding to get it in. I will probably need to put more after I use it 1 or 2 times.
After a long winded account, I guess this post is just to say when you buy a front or rear bag buy it prefilled spend the extra couple of bucks for the shipping and filling, you will save a lot of aggravation and time, plus the bag maker probably has the heavy sand and will get it filled to the right consistency the first time.

Best thing I found is 'blasting sand' - the stuff that you use in sand blasters to clean metal parts. Cheap and heavy. If you want a soft bag - crushed walnut shell - you can get it from pet supply places (not cheap) used in the floor of reptile tanks.

 

[Steve Blair]

Just a follow up to a previous post.
After searching for a couple days for "heavy sand" That I did not find

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Chromite sand is very common and widely used in foundry operations.

 

[FNSafari]

Just a follow up to a previous post.
After searching for a couple days for "heavy sand" That I did not find I took some advice from a member and found that "leveling sand" isn't acceptable for use in a bag. When I opened the bag I found it to be damp and it had gravel in it, it would need to be dried and sifted, I now have a 50 lb. bag in the garage to be dumped out in the yard somewhere.
I ended up using a crushed black quartz from the pet supply store, normally for the bottom of fish tanks. I only got about 6.5 lbs. in the bag after roughly 2.5 hours of shaking, pounding, and molding to get it in. I will probably need to put more after I use it 1 or 2 times.
After a long winded account, I guess this post is just to say when you buy a front or rear bag buy it prefilled spend the extra couple of bucks for the shipping and filling, you will save a lot of aggravation and time, plus the bag maker probably has the heavy sand and will get it filled to the right consistency the first time.

Buy a bag from Protektor already filled.