Caldwell Shooting Bags

When practising, tightening up groups, zeroing a scope or even honing up your trigger control skills, a shooting bag is essential.

Not only do they give an all-important stable and cushioned platform to shoot from but take the strain out of dedicated target sessions making the job a much more comfortable and enjoyable one.

Caldwell Shooting Supplies Inc. bags are a very respected brand and are manufactured from durable, water-resistant 600 Denier Polyester and Leather – the latter on most being used for contact areas and the channel the rifle sits into. They’re water resistant and come ‘un-filled’ for ease of delivery, all have heavy-duty zips which makes emptying and refilling them with the recommended medium of sand or very small poly balls a very easy task.

First up is the Caldwell Dead Shot Shooting Bag Combo. This familiar design comprises of a separate front and rear bag favoured and used by many target shooters. The front bag measures 10- wide x 8½- high x 6-inches deep while the rear is 5- wide x 5- high x 4½-inches.

In the bag

A USP of the Deadshot’s is that the front bag is the industry’s largest, meaning stability isn’t an issue, neither is portability as they have a quick-connect feature that links them together making them easy to store and transport.

The Tack Driver is for shooters who prefer a large single standalone unit which can often be a more comfortable space saving option. The built-in handle makes carrying a lot easier plus there’s a heavy-duty shoulder strap. When filled, the Tack Driver measures 11- long x 8- high x 9-inches wide. The channel across the top, is roomy and provides a very solid rest for most sporter style rifles. The self-tightening surface area of the forend channel grips your rifle and noticeably reduces felt recoil therefore less to worry over that might affect your aim.

Special friend

The Hunter Blind Bag is the more specialised of the three, but don’t be misled by the name as this is a far more versatile unit than implied. Reason being, it can often be the answer when other types of support are unsuitable. It can quickly be set on any narrow surface such as deer stands, fence posts, tree limbs, brick walls or the side door of your vehicle – obviously window down that is. Key to its versatility is the trim profile and generously sized ‘split’ base design.

The bag looks a tad unusual as the top section measures 5-inches wide with quite a narrow channel for resting the rifle forend while the lower section consists of two separate ‘sections’ measuring 6½-inches long x 5-inches wide. The top won’t sag and equally the base won’t lose the secure feel it offers on the wide variety of structures it can be placed on/over. The lower weight distribution helps exert what can be described as ‘a gripping’ power plus its strong cord side ties can be adjusted to draw the bag inwards to give even more stability and security in use.