Aim Field Sport 40 Tactical Drag Bag

I was on the look out for a new gun bag for my Hunter Field Target rig, this being a Steyr LG-110 with a Schmidt and Bender 10X42 Klassik scope. This combo as you are no doubt aware is worth somewhere in the region of two grand, the thirty quid bag I was using had become completely non-water resistant (i.e. it lets water in like a worn sieve), the so called padding had squashed to the thickness of a postage stamp giving no protection at all and both the side pocket zips had broken… Enough was enough, why do we spend so much money on a gun and still put them in a rubbish bag? And I am as guilty as the next man.

A Shorter Option

I do treat my full-bore rifles much better with Aim Field Sports bags, but at 50 and 60 inches long they were just too big for my air rifles and rimfires. There is nothing worse than putting a small rifle in a massive gun bag. John Dean the man behind Aim Fieldsports came to my rescue with the news that he had just taken delivery of a new shorter bag for carbine rifles, airguns and rimfires. John is a shooter through and through, and it shows in the attention to detail and quality of all his products.

The Aim40 is as the name suggests a 40inch, or 1020mm long bag with the same features as his other two bigger tactical drag bags. Bit of a daft name as I would never be dragging my rifles anywhere! But it is the name given to the style of bag which has a strong handle at the sharp end to allow snipers to literally drag their rifle in the bag behind them as they crawl about sneaking up on their target.

Fully Featured

There are so many good features to the Aim TDB, including two large side pockets, one with a diagonal front zipped section for tools and certificates. The larger compartment has elasticised bands sown along its length for securing any items you wish to carry about. The smaller one behind the tool/certificate pouch has two elasticised pockets to hold more kit securely.

The full-length super strong zipper of the main compartment has two zips and in the new models the two sections have extra padding. Around the two sections of the zip are no less than 5 snap clips, which are in a nice green to match the rest of the bag - a nice touch. These snap clicks give even more piece of mind for the owner.

Inside the bag there is 10mm double dense thick padding protection for the sides with three snap clips looped through three segmented straps to allow any rifle and scope combination to be held securely within the bag. The rifle cannot slide about the bag or drop up or down inside once held in these straps. All this securing is for the final feature, hidden inside another zipped compartment on the opposite side to the two large pockets is a set of shoulder harnesses. These attach via strong metal spring loaded clips to anchor points on the side of the bag. This allows the bag to be carried ‘rucksack style’ on the back of the shooter.

Yet more thought has gone into the usefulness of the bag as it has a pocket with a Velcro flap in the bottom inside of the bag to take a cleaning rod down the spine of the bag, another clever little idea from Aim. It is not of much use to me with my Steyr air rifle, as it only gets pulled through, not rodded, but it is useful for my rimfire rifle where I carry a short rod to clear jammed cases.

Weatherproof

I know from experience of my other two Aim bags that they are very water resistant. One is four years old and has been rained and snowed on with no sign of anything getting through to my Remi 700. With a lot of HFT shoots taking place at game fairs etc. the need for a bag to hold all of your kit and go on your back has never been so strong.

The 2009 world HFT Champs, which Aim generously sponsored for some very nice Aim mats as prizes, had a car park some 1000 yards away from the shoot and it is going back to the same place next year. The Aim bag with its pockets and really secure rifle holding system will be perfect for getting from the car park up the shooting area and with strong handles on the top I can simply carry it from lane to lane as I shoot. In fact many HFT shoots now insist that rifles are covered unless they are on the firing line. With rifles and scopes costing so much, paying £120.75 for a top quality bag is peanuts and being so strong, with so many features, it will pay for itself time and again. In fact I am going to buy two to really set myself up. I have seen bags costing twice as much with not as many features, not as good quality and not as well made or strong.

Aim Field Sports continue to extend their product range and I for one am glad they are.