Badlands Fieldcraft: Junk On The Bunk: 5 minute artificial shooting support

This originally appeared on Badlands Fieldcraft. -NCS

I was cleaning down in the gear room and I had an old “sand sock” that was starting to fall apart after about a decade of use so I thought I’d rebuild it. I thought it might be useful information to share.

So what is a “Sand Sock”? Back in the day before PRS, and all the gear that has evolved from that competition, precision shooters didn’t have the assortment of artificial support options available to them that there are now. As I’ve stated before, anytime you are shooting you should be looking to take advantage of any support you have available.

The classic setup for a precision gun has always been a bipod and rear bag, and it’s been around for a long time for good reason. A “Sand Sock” is just a field expedient rear bag. It’s a simple, cheap and effective project that most people can complete in a few minutes with common items available in most homes. As easy as these are to build, there’s no reason to not have a few at least.

To start off with, you’ll want a pair of old socks, about a foot of cordage, and about two cups of filler. For filler I like these plastic craft beads. They are waterproof and lightweight. I wouldn’t recommend anything that can absorb moisture or anything heavy.

First I put one sock inside the other. Then I rolled both cuffs of the sock outward. I then took a piece of notebook paper and made a funnel, then poured the beads down into the inner sock.

After this I worked them all down towards the bottom. This left the socks about half full, which is roughly what I was wanting for size. Another great reason to build some of your own is that you can add or remove fill to get the bag to your liking.

I then wrapped my cordage around the sock, right above the beads, and tied it off with a square knot and two overhand security knots. After this I simply pulled down the extra sock material over the rest of the beads.

The completed project is durable, lightweight and it didn’t cost me anything. What’s even more interesting is how easily these are built with common items, yet they are such an effective shooting aid.

By NC ScoutPublished On: December 28, 2020Categories: AP Staff, Training, Weapons4 Comments

About the Author: NC Scout

NC Scout is the nom de guerre of a former Infantry Scout and Sergeant in one of the Army’s best Reconnaissance Units. He has combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He teaches a series of courses focusing on small unit skills rarely if ever taught anywhere else in the prepping and survival field, including his RTO Course which focuses on small unit communications. In his free time he is an avid hunter, bushcrafter, writer, long range shooter, prepper, amateur radio operator and Libertarian activist. He can be contacted at [email protected] or via his blog at brushbeater.wordpress.com .

4 Comments

Anonymous December 28, 2020 at 12:11

4.5
Johnny Paratrooper December 28, 2020 at 12:51

Great Project.
Nice Rifle.
Good Post for a Monday morning. I need one of these for my 8mm.
Daryle Cochran December 28, 2020 at 12:55

I use boot socks and poly craft fill beads. I have a couple of different sizes for different guns. Works like a champ, just like the article says.
James December 28, 2020 at 13:16

Cool,another use for olds socks.I use em as oil rags/mitts for working in shit situations like replacing septic pumps/a few rolls of pennies with a good knot for,well……,you get the idea.Tis nice to have another use.

Me old t-shirts when beyond use as shirts use as oil rags ect.,then when finally on last leg cut em up for cleaning patches,funny how much of recyclers we can be when situation dictates or yankee stubbornness kicks in!

I have seem pics of folks using bootlaces with a knot as bore snakes,do what you have to do.