Global Sports: A Simple How To For Making Your Own Shooting Sandbags

Thursday, December 13, 2012

A Simple How To For Making Your Own Shooting Sandbags

By Celia Hall


Sandbags are simple items that have been made from different materials for different reasons through out the years. They have been made using everything from natural skins to plant fibers. They have been used for things like controlling flood waters to basic exercise equipment. Falling in the middle lies the basic shooting sandbags which are made by many firearm enthusiasts to help them with target practice.

Not surprisingly they are really not that difficult to construct by the average person. Most materials needed are very plentiful or can be bought at most every home improvement store in some form. The prep time is generally only a few hours at best. In truth getting all the material and then prepping it will likely take longer than it will to construct it.

The most commonly used filler material is sand. If you walk outside and look down, chances are you will be looking at some sand. Some people feel that it is too abrasive and does not flow well enough for use. Generally this is because it has not been prepped before use. By spending a few hours you will have an excellent material to work with.

Sand can be found in many places like beaches, rivers, gardens and stores. Once you have it, place it in a 5 gallon bucket so it is about half full. Fill the bucket the rest of the way with water. Agitate it vigorously for a few minutes and dump the cloudy water off. Replete until the water is no longer cloudy.

After getting all the small abrasive parts and organic material out your sand needs to dried out completely. There are various methods to get this task done. The easiest method would be to dump it on a some plastic sheeting with a cloth covering and let the sun dry it out. In a pinch though, you could try putting it inside the oven and dry it out at around 300 for a four hours.

Most sandbags can be made from almost any material that can hold sand. Lots of people will make a custom bag by sewing together fabric together different shapes and sizes. Felt and cotton and are very good materials for this, synthetic fibers can also be used with success. Never forget to have a hole at one end left for your filling point.

Filling the bag up is perhaps the simplest part of the process. Begin by breaking up the sand by sifting it through a screen so it will flow nicely with out any large clumps. Put the funnel into the filling hole and pour your sand into the bag slowly filling it up. A good point to fill it is around 3/4 to 4/5 full and finish by sewing the hole shut.

Firearm enthusiasts have been using shooting sandbags almost as long as guns have been used. You could stop at any firearm store to buy one. Though for how much they cost to construct this might be an option for you to use. The next time you are out on the range and you pull out your new homemade superman sandbag bench rest you could just make a new friend or two.




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