I would like to hear what other shooters who use resting bags or Bench bags use for their medium fill ?. Sand is to heavy so I'm looking into other alternatives !.

No Bird Seed !. Wife found little creatures hatching out from the insides of my bags !. Then they invaded dark corners of where ever and every where !. Had to have the house garage fumigated !.
Boy was she pissed , none of my stuff is allowed in the house any more !. So looking for something else to fill em up with ?.

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Ground corn cob (like you would use in your tumbler) works nearly as well as sand and is a lot lighter and more portable. You can buy it in bulk at pet stores for much less than the type that is sold as tumbling media.

If you need to go even lighter, small polystyrene beads (like in a beanbag chair) also do okay.

Walnut tumbling media, you can add some sand ir the bag is too light. I used bird shot and walnut media, when I filled mine to get the weitht I wanted, but shot is so expensive today, that I wouldn't do that again.

I was thinking more along the lines of half the weight of sand . Shot is to heavy , I've got near a ton of it literally 8,71/2 6 5 4 !. Stocked up on a Club buy .

Corn cob I've got but do critters get in and lay eggs or are they already in it to begin with ?.

I've heard of using like pinto or some dried beans also . I'm just trying to come up with a half sand weight solution Bugs or critters don't nest in or hatch out of . I thought my bags were well sealed but was wrong !

Thanks for any and all suggestions .

Shoot Straight Know Your target . ...

Hey Doc, maybe cat litter. No bug's don't know about the weight.

Back when shot was cheap I used a mix of ground walnut and the shot. You might try sand and walnut or maybe sawdust and sand. Bugs will go for beans just like the bird seed.

Doc K, I have several bags from 'Dog-Gone-Good' shooting bags, and they are filled with polypropolene re-grind. They smell a little like Pepsi for a few weeks as they 'offgas'
the fellow at Dog-Gone-Good told me their regrind came from Pepsi.....it is right at 50% of the weight of sand, maybe a little over.

I also filled a couple of my good old shot bags with little itty bitty plastic beads from the sewing supply place, I think it's called 'Michaels'....it was a little pricey, a bit heavier than the regrind, but they really work good. These beads were the really tiny ones with a hole in the center of them--about a pin hole.

One other thing I've heard of using, but haven't tried myself yet is the 'clay' kitty litter, it is absorbent-- so I don't know what issues that might have in and of itself--, maybe being absorbent could be a good thing????-- at any rate, I ran into a fellow at the range who touted it, and had a Bud's Bulls Bag filled with it, and I didn't get to weight it, but it was WAY lighter than my Bud's bag that is filled with sand.

Good shooting--Don

All good suggestions , thank you for posting them . I'll look into those Beads .
I have mountains of saw dust in it's self would be ok but critters lurk in saw dust also .Although I never considered Saw Dust and Sand Silica 60-100 grit might be ok ?.

I kind of pardon the expression but sacked the Bean idea as it's a Food Item , breeding Critter capitol !.

I have small Urethane triangles I used them for polishing in the tumbler once upon a time . Doubt if I have enough to fill two bag sets .

If any one else has any Ideas please post them I'm trying to stay on top of this post before I commit . Again Many Thanks .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

If you're really worried about critters in the bag, you might put a crumbled up mothball in along with whatever filling you decide to use.

Hey DocK, I would advise against sawdust. First off, depending on the type of bag, it is a real pain in the ass to get into the bag. I have a good friend who went through the effort to pack it into a bunny ear rear bag, and it is really bad to take a set that you can't get out easily, and he packed it in there pretty well. The other thing is, it REALLY attracts moisture--his bag had lots of moisture seeping out of the bottom of it--it was a leather and cordura bag. I would definitely go another way. I haven't looked for it myself to buy, but I have spent a fair amount of time in plastic injection molding facilities, and buying some plastic pellets from one of them might be a good idea, also you might do an internet search for the poly regrind like Dog-Gone-Good uses, I really like the bags from them that I've got with it.

Good Luck--Don

I use rice. no bugs. roger

Loaded mine with Deer Tracks - that I found in sand.

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:
I use rice. no bugs. roger

Bartsche, how long have you had rice in your bags? I've heard of that before, but figure--where there's food, there will be bugs. I know rice is very susceptible to bugs and other vermin in a warehouse situation....yecccch!

Do you have any moisture issues? I actually through a few grains of rice in my salt-shakers to keep moisture absorbed--works pretty good too!

quote:

Originally posted by Fish30114:

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:
I use rice. no bugs. roger

Bartsche, how long have you had rice in your bags?The ones I have now---perhaps 8 years I've heard of that before, but figure--where there's food, there will be bugs. I know rice is very susceptible to bugs and other vermin in a warehouse situation....yecccch! If there are bugs I haven't seen them get out of the bags. The bags get a little worn but than I just put the whole thing in an old sock.

Do you have any moisture issues? Not that I can tell. We don't get a whole lot of rain though,I actually through a few grains of rice in my salt-shakers to keep moisture absorbed--works pretty good too!

The rice was a leftover from a vibrator media experiment. What I really like about it is it is relatively light , not dirty- dusty, and easily forms to the stock; much easier than deer tracks. roger

If you use rice bugs CAN eventually get into it particularly if the bags ever get damp... but this can be prevented by a simple trick, keep the rice in a Bag to occupy space and fill the rest of the bag with sand.

And as a final "screw you" to the bugs put a single old fashioned moth ball inside the plastic bag.

Until and unless the bag gets punctured the mothball will last indefinatly.

You can also do the same thing wiht a mothball and corncob media.

Me? I use a mixture of fine shot (#12) and sand

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quote:

Originally posted by Fish30114:
Doc K, I have several bags from 'Dog-Gone-Good' shooting bags, and they are filled with polypropolene re-grind. They smell a little like Pepsi for a few weeks as they 'offgas'
the fellow at Dog-Gone-Good told me their regrind came from Pepsi.....it is right at 50% of the weight of sand, maybe a little over.



Good shooting--Don

They have changed something, and the last bags I got from them had no odor.
IIRC, they changed suppliers of plastic regrind.

It is always a pleasure to do biz with Dog-gone-good

quote:

6.5 SWEDE
one of us
Posted 12 January 2008 03:30 Hide Post
Hey Doc, maybe cat litter. No bug's don't know about the weight.

+1

Bartsche Rice ?. I'll pass on that one buddy . I went to get some rice to cook it up for the dogs the other day ,(out of the Kitchen Pantry ) the bag had Worm larvae in it !. Problem is any more we really DON'T KNOW where our food is coming from !.
If it's anything like the Manufacturing of Toys , I may just be Hunting 7 months out of the year !.

I have given serious thought to this subject and am leaning towards plastic balls or pellets . UHMWPE or HDPE or Torlon . I may throw in a little shot as it would stay on the bottom of the bag .
Thanks to ALL of you for suggestions .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

quote:

Originally posted by Dr.K:
Bartsche Rice ?. I'll pass on that one buddy . I went to get some rice to cook it up for the dogs the other day ,(out of the Kitchen Pantry ) the bag had Worm larvae in it !.

Golly ! all that extra protein for rifle support and you're bitching. My My must be a slow day for you Doc. roger

quote:

Corn cob I've got but do critters get in and lay eggs or are they already in it to begin with ?.

The corn cob is mostly just cellulose, lacking any protein or carbs, and not supportive of the reproduction and nourishment of little wiggly critters. I live in a moderately dry climate but we sometimes have weeks of high humidity -- no problems yet with my corncob.