Front and Rear bags for Sporter Class

H

Hozzie

Member
So I finally decided to finish my Sporter. Not having anywhere to shoot it locally it has sat in pieces for the most part for a while. I was going to sell the parts, but Sporters aren't a hot commodity most are looking to build so I decided to just start over with it and complete it.

While well versed in one piece rest setups for Unlimited, I am less knowledgeable about a good setup for a Sporter. I know it requires sandbags, but am curious what many are using for their front and rear bags. I have a Randolph front I will be using and have a couple of different tops for it including the adjustable top as well as one for a sandbag.

What I am really curious about is what you are using for a rear bag. What type of material, what width of ears and height of ears, etc. I was looking at something like the Edgewood Gater with the elongated profile to use as a handrest or a Protector BR model. I have a Protektor I like, but it is for an angled stock so I need something more purpose built.

I realize much of it is just personal preference, but any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jamie
 
I'm using a Mini Gator with straight Cordura ears. Have had a Gator as well as other bags with the angled ears I don't shoot any better/worse with the straight ones.
I prefer the standard Cordura over the slick ears as it seems easier to conform to the profile of the stock better & stay that way for the front bag. Not sure what mine is but not an Edgewood.
There are quite a few using the big Protektor bag with the straight ears with great success too. Don't remember what they're called.
The fill of the bags is going to be the biggest hurdle. I like both firm but with some "give". Definitely not hard. The rear bag seems to be the most important there.
Good luck with it & hope to see it/you down the road.

Keith
 
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The full gator might give elevation issues at some ranges, I used one for years with my 10 lb guns but found the mini with cordura better suited. These days I use a Lenzi rear for everything, best rear bag made.
 
Thanks guys. Tim, the Lenzi looks nice. Why do you consider it better than an Edgewood or Protektor? They all look robust, but know the devil is in the details.
 
Hozzie said:
Thanks guys. Tim, the Lenzi looks nice. Why do you consider it better than an Edgewood or Protektor? They all look robust, but know the devil is in the details.
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The base, more stable and the leather, particularly in the ears seems better quality.
The “ trick” with a rear bag is not to overfill it and make it bouncy, but don’t underfill to the point of sloppy, you want some give, top & bottom.
Same bag for my PPC which is super critical & with it rarely do I get any non-condition vertical unless I do something stupid.
Use it with a sissy bag leaning against the front to brace your hand, you won’t regret it, tons of group shooters have gravitated toward them, get the 1/2” ear spacing.
 
tim said:
The base, more stable and the leather, particularly in the ears seems better quality.
The “ trick” with a rear bag is not to overfill it and make it bouncy, but don’t underfill to the point of sloppy, you want some give, top & bottom.
Same bag for my PPC which is super critical & with it rarely do I get any non-condition vertical unless I do something stupid. street fighter duel
Use it with a sissy bag leaning against the front to brace your hand, you won’t regret it, tons of group shooters have gravitated toward them, get the 1/2” ear spacing.
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That's right, it's clearly better
 
Hey Jamie,
I'll throw some of that personal preference stuff in now. No doubt Lenzi is a first rate rear bag. I use a couple of Edgewood's. Both have Cordura ears and are spaced 3/8". I use a dead bottom for both.

If the adjustable front you have is a Randolph MKII, you may not like it for Sporter. I had one and Randolph took it back for credit and I bought another MKI from them. (I had one already) The MKII is too stiff for my tastes and does not conform to the Sporter very well, IMO. I know a few guys that have them, but several feel the same way I do and only use them for heavy gun. My Sporter bag is the standard Edgewood with Cordura. I tried the reinforced bag, and like the MKII top, it didn't form up on the forearm like I wanted. For heavy gun, it's a reinforced Edgewood, also with Cordura. I have tried the 3M material, both front and rear, and don't like it. Since I am mostly running a lot of tension these days, the slippery part is moot for me, and the material just doesn't form up on the stock the way Cordura does.

Scott

Edit: I have experimented with bags and especially the fill in them, for few years now. Totally agree with Keith, fill is very important.
 
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doclu60 said:
Hey Jamie,
I'll throw some of that personal preference stuff in now. No doubt Lenzi is a first rate rear bag. I use a couple of Edgewood's. Both have Cordura ears and are spaced 3/8". I use a dead bottom for both.

If the adjustable front you have is a Randolph MKII, you may not like it for Sporter. I had one and Randolph took it back for credit and I bought another MKI from them. (I had one already) The MKII is too stiff for my tastes and does not conform to the Sporter very well, IMO. I know a few guys that have them, but several feel the same way I do and only use them for heavy gun. My Sporter bag is the standard Edgewood with Cordura. I tried the reinforced bag, and like the MKII top, it didn't form up on the forearm like I wanted. For heavy gun, it's a reinforced Edgewood, also with Cordura. I have tried the 3M material, both front and rear, and don't like it. Since I am mostly running a lot of tension these days, the slippery part is moot for me, and the material just doesn't form up on the stock the way Cordura does.

Scott

Edit: I have experimented with bags and especially the fill in them, for few years now. Totally agree with Keith, fill is very important.
Click to expand...


I agree about fill being very important and it just takes a little fooling with. I have 2 SEB Bigfoot bags with angled ears and love them, and one with straight ears... but the Lenzi does look nice and they appear to be of high quality. Some is personal preference. I prefer my gun to be on the ears slightly as opposed to on the stitches between them. This has held true over a bunch of different rifles for me. You see some people that prefer on the stitches but I've never figured out why. It just hasn't worked as well for me. Granted, most of my shooting now is cf and that might matter a little bit. CF is certainly more violent and I'd say less forgiving in respect to the proper bag set up but I think it matters in both. I can live either way with slick material. The gun needs to be able to "break away" freely from whichever but still be snug as a bug in a rug. Too tight causes more trouble for me in cf than too loose. All that energy has got to go somewhere so cinching the gun down hard seems counter intuitive and IME...it doesn't work well either. Let it glide. Several factors when it gets to nut cutting this subject but gun balance on the bags is important to me and it can affect how you run your bags, to a pretty good extent. I think rf vs cf matters a fair amount to ideal bag setup. Just pick a good set of front and rear bags and play with them. It can take a bit for the leather to set and getting things just right for your equipment and taste..as well as shooting style. Not much is set in stone in regard to this subject. You'll figure out what you like and don't like pretty fast, though. I'd start fairly soft and add more sand as you go. One, you'll probably need to add a bit when the bags stretch and two, I think softer is more forgiving. Have fun!
 
Bags

I must be the odd one out, I like my bags hard as a rock. Rear is Minigater with the Edgewood spacer glued on for extra height, 3/8 spaced bunny ears Cordura, the front is Fudd top with a trough milled in under the bottom bag so it forms to the curved bottom of the sporter. Use the same bags for heavy guns. My sporter stock is very low profile and extra long so it rides almost as well as the heavy gun.


Dennis
 
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