A rear bag for barricade shooting only helps if it reaches the barricade with you. Sling Steady is a rear squeeze bag that rides on your sling: the Pro 9" weighs 9.5 oz, goes on with no tools and moves with the rifle from one prop to the next. Sling Steady Ready, at every position on the stage. 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.
Why rear support still matters off the bench
On the bench, the rifle sits on a front rest and a rear bag, and you have time to set both. A barricade stage takes that away. You shoot off a prop, a rooftop, a tank or a tripod, often in positions you only half-chose, and usually against the clock.
The front of the rifle gets support from the prop. The rear still needs it. A squeeze bag under the toe of the stock lets your support hand raise or lower the back of the rifle with grip pressure, instead of muscling the rifle onto target. That job does not go away because the ground has.
The transition problem: bags left on the last prop
Watch a few squads and you will see it. The shooter finishes position one, grabs the rifle and moves. The rear bag stays on the prop. Now the shooter either goes back for it, carries it in a hand that should be doing something else, or shoots the next position without it.
A rear bag is one more item to manage on every transition. Clip it to a belt, stuff it in a pocket or hold it with the rifle, and it is still a separate piece of gear that can be dropped or forgotten.
Bag on the sling: it moves with the rifle
Sling Steady takes the separate piece out of the transition. The Pro Series rear squeeze bag is made for precision, sport and field shooting. It rides on your sling or attaches directly, so it is on the rifle when you leave a position and on the rifle when you reach the next one. It is under the stock the moment you get into position.
- Size: 9" × 2.5"
- Weight: 9.5 oz
- Fitting: no tools
- In the box: the bag, filled with SteadyFill. No sling is included; slings and adapters are sold separately.
Already there when the shot presents itself.
Using a rear bag for barricade shooting
The squeeze works on a barricade the same way it works prone. With the front settled on the prop, take the bag in your support hand under the toe of the stock. Squeeze to raise the rear and relax to lower it, in small amounts, until the crosshairs sit where you want them.
The contact face is an abrasion-resistant grip fabric, part of the bag's three-layer build. That is the surface between the bag and the stock.
Barricade positions vary more than prone does, so practice the hold you will actually use. Our prone guide covers the fundamentals that carry over: a relaxed position, natural point of aim and fine elevation from the bag rather than the arms.
Firmness for props
Every bag ships filled with SteadyFill. Hook-and-loop ports let you add or remove fill and set the firmness yourself.
A firmer bag holds its shape and gives a more defined base. A softer bag gives more travel when you squeeze it. There is no single right answer for props. Set it, shoot a stage in practice, and adjust a little at a time. Our firmness guide walks through it.
Dry-fire and practice ideas
Transitions are a skill, and you can practice them at home with an unloaded rifle.
- Build a prop. A sawhorse, a step stool or a chair back will do. Set up two or three positions a few steps apart.
- Run the transition. Settle on position one, break a dry shot, move to position two and settle again. Each time, find the bag under the stock with your support hand without looking for it.
- Vary the height. Practice high, kneeling-height and low props, so the squeeze feels natural at each.
- Take it to the range. Run the same sequence live and keep notes on what felt different. Our range-day post has a simple routine to build on.
From our range day on October 20: groups marked without the bag (top left) and with the bag (bottom right).
Prefer to see it set up and shot? Watch Erik Cortina on our how-to page. Erik Cortina was paid by Sling Steady to make this video.
Every Sling Steady bag is made in the USA. Shop the Pro 9".
Related reading: Setting bag firmness with SteadyFill · Range day with a rear bag · Building a stable prone position
Sling Steady is Ready When You Are.