Backcountry Rifle Support Bag: Rear Support That Rides Along

On a backcountry hunt, everything you bring is carried for miles, so a backcountry rifle support bag has to earn its place. Sling Steady does it by staying out of the pack. The Pro 9" weighs 9.5 oz and the Sport 7" 6.3 to 6.8 oz, it goes on your sling with no tools, and it rides with the rifle from the trailhead to the shot. That is Sling Steady Ready. In our testing, shots landed 28% closer to the bullseye with Sling Steady under the stock. Muzzle rise was about 75% lower. It also helps manage recoil.

Sling Steady Pro 9 inch rear squeeze bag, Woodland Camo

Counting ounces on a backcountry hunt

Backcountry hunters weigh their gear because they carry it. Every item gets the same question: is it worth the ounces, every mile, for every day of the trip?

Rear support is an easy thing to cut. It is not food, water, shelter or optics, and on a long climb it can feel optional. Then the shot comes, prone off a ridge or across a basin, and the rear of the rifle has nothing under it but a fist or a rolled jacket.

So the real question is not only how much the bag weighs. It is where the bag is when you need it.

Shooter seen from the side with a camo rifle slung on his back, muzzle down

Where rear support usually ends up: the bottom of the pack

A standalone rear bag is one more item to pack. On a backcountry hunt it competes for space with everything else, and it tends to go where the less urgent gear goes: low in the pack, under the layers and the food bag.

That is a fine place for it on the walk in. It is a poor place for it when you have spotted an animal and the window is short. Taking the pack off, opening it and digging for a bag costs time and movement at exactly the moment you want neither.

Carrying a backcountry rifle support bag on the sling

Sling Steady puts the rear bag on the rifle sling. It rides on your sling or attaches directly, and fits most sling widths. No sling is included.

The weights are for the bag itself, filled and ready to use:

Pro 9": 9" × 2.5", 9.5 oz. For bolt-action, sport and hunting rifles.
Sport 7": 7" × 2.5", 6.3 oz (Black) or 6.8 oz (other colors). For AR-platform rifles.

For most backcountry rifles that means the Pro 9". It is light enough to carry all day, and there are no tools to pack for it.

Some hunting stocks have no rear sling stud. For those, the All-Stock Adapter ($35.95, left or right hand) gives the bag an attachment point. It is nylon webbing with a hook-and-loop strap.

Over-the-shoulder view of a shooter prone behind a scoped bolt-action rifle on a bipod

From glassing to the shot

You glass, you find the animal, you close the distance and you pick your spot. When you drop into position, the bag is already at the back of the rifle. There is nothing to unpack. It is built for the shot you didn't plan on.

The contact face is an abrasion-resistant grip fabric, part of a three-layer build. Every bag ships filled with SteadyFill, and hook-and-loop ports let you add or remove fill to set the firmness you want.

How you build the position from there is the same as with any rear bag. Our posts on prone hunting and field positions for hunters cover it, so we will not repeat it here.

Stability you have with you, not stability you left in the truck.

Color for the country you hunt

Both sizes come in four colors: Black, Sand, Digital Camo and Woodland Camo. Pick the one that matches your stock, the rest of your gear or the country you hunt.

Sling Steady Pro 9 inch rear squeeze bag, Sand

Sling Steady Sport bag in Digital Camo on the sling at the stock of an AR-platform rifle

Pre-trip checklist

Set the bag up at home, not at the trailhead.

Bag on the sling. Thread it on and check it sits at the back of the rifle, where the toe of the stock will rest on it. Our install guide shows how.
No rear stud? Fit the All-Stock Adapter before the trip. See how the All-Stock Adapter works.
Firmness set. Add or remove SteadyFill through the ports until the bag feels right in your hand, and leave any spare fill at home.
Carry test. Wear the rifle on the sling with your loaded pack for a while and check the bag rides where you want it.
Position test. Get into your field positions with the full kit on, so finding the bag under the stock is automatic before opening day.

Every Sling Steady bag is made in the USA and costs $89.99. Shop the Pro 9".

Sling Steady is Ready When You Are.

The Backcountry Rifle Support Bag: Rear Support Without the Pack Weight