Preferred firmness for front & rear bags

[Brute]

What level of firmness am I looking for when I fill my front and rear bags? Slightly loose/rock hard or different for different stock styles? Also what about the fill of the ears of the rear bag? Should the ears be filled with lighter material than the base of the rear bag? Thanks in advance.

Brute

 

[dreever]

I initially fill my rear bag with as much Zircon as I can pack into it with my Forester bag funnel and tube. That goes for the ears too. After I'm certain it's jammed full if it's the type of bag with a non spacer bottom,Bald Eagle/Protector) I'll smash it down repeadly on the concrete floor or bench to flatten out the bottom. Then I'll rub in a couple of good coats of Wilson baseball glove conditioner which softens the leather somewhat and allows to bag to stretch just a bit. The codura ears I'll give one treatment of Sinclairs silicone spray and that's it. After that it seems about right to me. In fact I may have to add a bit more sand in a month or two as everything stretches and finds it's final shape.
I'm currently using an Edgewood Mini Gator www.edgebag.com with the built in spacer bottom so the smashing isn't needed.
Works for me.

Danny