In a small check with a .308 hunting rifle at 105 yards, 3 shots each way, shots landed 33% closer to the bullseye with Sling Steady under the stock. The group itself did not get smaller: the with-bag group was wider, and the gain was in how close the shots landed to the center.
That is a similar gain to our 10-shot test with an AR-platform rifle, where shots landed 28% closer to the bullseye. This check used a hunting-style .308. It is a small check, not a full test. Here is what the .308 targets show, and what they do not.
The .308 used in the check.
The .308 used in the check, at the bench.
What we shot
- Rifle: a .308 bolt-action hunting rifle, the black rifle in the photos.
- Shooter: DJ, one of the two shooters from our 105-yard AR-platform test.
- Shots: 3 without the bag, then 3 with Sling Steady under the stock.
- Targets: Birchwood Casey Big Burst on a range backer, each group circled and labeled by hand at the target.
- Distance: 105 yards, the same as our AR-platform test.
- When: our range day, 20 October 2026.
How we measured it
We estimated from the photo of the targets, the same way as the AR-platform test. Each hole's distance from the center of its bull was measured in the diameter of that target's own printed ring, so the numbers compare evenly between bulls. These are estimates from a photo, not measurements on the paper.
What the targets show
| Measure | Without the bag | With Sling Steady |
|---|---|---|
| Average distance from the bullseye, in ring diameters | about 0.48 | about 0.32 |
| Hits inside the inner ring | 0 | 1 |
That is 33% closer to the bullseye with the bag, 3 shots each way. All 6 shots landed high of the bullseye, with and without the bag. With the bag, they landed closer to it.
What it does not show
Group size, the distance between the two widest holes, did not shrink. The with-bag group was about 25% wider than the without-bag group. So this check is about centering, not about a smaller group.
Three shots a side is a small sample. One shot more or less in either group would move the numbers a lot. Treat this as a quick check that points the same way as our 10-shot test, not as a result on its own.
Muzzle rise: what the video showed
In the same session, muzzle rise was about 75% lower with Sling Steady under the stock (3 shots each way, measured from video). It also helps manage recoil.
How we measured it: a fixed 4K camera filmed a shooter firing the same .308 off its bipod, 3 shots with the bag under the stock and then 3 with only his fist under it. We tracked the scope frame by frame (30 frames a second) against the wall behind it at each shot.
| Measure, average of 3 shots | Fist under the stock | With Sling Steady |
|---|---|---|
| Muzzle rise: upward jump of the scope | 13 px | 3 px (about 75% less) |
| Total rifle movement at the shot | 55 px | 45 px (about 18% less) |
| Distance from the starting point 1 second later | 23 px | 17 px (about 25% closer) |
The figures are in pixels on the video, so they compare the two strings with each other, not with any other rifle or camera. Three shots each way is a small sample, the same as the target check above.
With Sling Steady under the stock (mostly hidden by his hand in this frame)
Fist only
How it fits with our 10-shot test
In our main test, two shooters fired 10 shots each without the bag and 10 with it, with the same AR-platform rifle at 105 yards. In our testing, shots landed 28% closer to the bullseye with Sling Steady under the stock. Group size shrank for one shooter and grew for the other. The full write-up and targets are in our 105-yard test.
The .308 check shows the same pattern in a smaller sample with a different rifle: shots closer to center, group size not smaller.
How a rear bag can help centering
Without rear support, your support hand holds up the butt of the rifle, and any movement in that hand shows in where the shot lands. With the toe of the stock on the bag, the rifle settles and the support hand only fine-tunes the height with a squeeze. Our post on why rear support improves accuracy goes through it.
Try it with your own hunting rifle
You can run the same check in a few minutes: one group without the bag, one with it, same rifle, same distance, same position. Shoot more than 3 a side if you can. How to run the test yourself has the steps and the measuring method.
For hunting rifles: the Pro 9" is a rear shooting rest bag that sits under the stock. It rides on your sling or attaches directly, weighs 9.5 oz, ships filled with SteadyFill and costs $89.99. Sling Steady is a veteran-run company, and every bag is made in the USA.
Related reading: Prone hunting · Field positions for hunters
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