From: toby@u.washington.edu (Toby Bradshaw)
Subject: Re: Rifle Rest Bag Fill
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

In article <3FEB199417552993@venus.lerc.nasa.gov>,
Stefan <smpod@venus.lerc.nasa.gov> wrote:
#I've bought a Hart's rifle rest along with the front and rear bags.
#What is the proper material to fill these bags.  Living in the city I could
#not readily get sand so I bought some No. 9 (I think) shot. Is that safe and
#appropriate?

Shot is a pretty good bag filler, except it's not legal for benchrest
competition.  Regular sand is fine for us mortals; some of the
bigger names use casting sand in their bags.  If you're shooting
a real benchrest rifle pack the bags as tight as you can.  Shooting
from a bench looks easy, but doing it well takes some skill and
practice along with the right equipment.  Good luck.

-Toby Bradshaw
toby@u.washington.edu

From: toby@u.washington.edu (Toby Bradshaw)
Subject: Re: Rifle Rest Bag Fill
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

In article <d57_9402050433@blkcat.fidonet.org>,
Dave Aronson <Dave.Aronson@blkcat.fidonet.org> wrote:
#toby@u.washington.edu (Toby Bradshaw) writes:
#
# t> Shot is a pretty good bag filler, except it's not legal for benchrest
# t> competition.
#
#Why not?  Seems like a decent alternate use for something you might well have
#on hand anyway.  Or is it considered too heavy?

I'm not sure why shot is illegal as a filler.  Back in the old days
of loose-packed bags perhaps it seemed like shot-filled bags would
provide too much guidance.  Now my benchrest rifles ride (legally)
on teflon tape in hard-packed, tamped down bags with a "pinch"
front bag.  It's not a rail gun, but it's as close as you can get
and still be legal in the varmint and sporter classes :)

To answer another question in this thread, casting sand is what's
used for sand casting metal.  It packs firmer and more uniformly
than beach sand.  I'm not sure where it comes from, though.

-Toby Bradshaw
toby@u.washington.edu