Bag hardness ?

[fishbone]

Following Greg Walley's advice, I pulled some sand out of the front bag. The ears became very soft to where the ear tops felt a little empty. The flat area still felt hard although it could be squished with finger pressure. The next match showed very little vertical to deal with (the wind is another story). This is not much of a test, but looks to be in the right direction.
The rear bag is still packed full. I may look at that one for some softening.

 

[Carson]

I'll bet it would be more like 95% fail.
This rule is pretty antiquated if you ask me. They should either dump it or change it.

One of the things on my list on the benchrest wishlist thread from awhile back was a front bag and rear bag that have seperate, sewed-off compartments for sand. Imagine how nice it would be to have the sides of the front bag seperated from the bottom with a simple row of stitches. You could leave the bottom half empty and the sand from the sides wouldn't fall into it. Only then could you possibly follow the rules of 1/4" horizontal deflection.

The 95% part of your post reminded me of this;

"State speed limits are most often set based on a measurement known as the 85th percentile. The 85th percentile is the speed traveled by 85 percent of the cars using a roadway. Traffic engineers assume that 85 percent of the drivers travel at a reasonable and safe speed."


j. Sandbags:

i. The front sandbag.The front
shall be a bag, without
additions, containing sand only,
and at least ½” thick over its
entire surface. The bag must
be able to be deflected
horizontally at least ¼” with
finger pressure at any point.
The portion which contacts the
rifle shall contact the entire
surface under the fore end.
Tape on the sandbag is legal.

 

[abintx]

Technically, no. At least in the NBRSA. Rules state that the bag must be able to be deflected 1/4" by finger pressure. Of course, that is very vague, and I've never seen a M.D. enforce this rule. But you don't want a rock hard bag anyway. Was it TB who said that the bag should feel like a ripe orange? That is a good description to go by.

Deflected by 1/4" in the Horizontal Plane.

 

[Uthink Uknow]

I'm a squeezer. There I said it.
I use a Protektor bag with slick cloth front and back and a solid front rest, no wind age. I like softer bags and shoot better using them. Is that because of my style, my rifle, or I are better suited for this set up? Who cares? It works for me.
My point was this; with the softer bag and the looser sand, I'm squeezing as I fire and I can feel the sand filter down past my thumb and fingers after the shot. I'm shooting .30BR for score and 6PPC for group and I'm shooting free recoil. I make a point of setting up with my shoulders(big, massive) parallel to the firing line. The butt stock comes straight back and doesn't deflect left or right. After the shot my point of aim is about 6 or 8 inches above the point of impact at 100 yards. A gentle push forward puts me back on target. Before I push forward to check the target, I re-load and am ready to run.
I figure if harder was better for bags, we'd be shooting off of wooden blocks.