Looking into getting a cole tac cuddle bag, weibad pump pillow or a AG fat bag. Just wondering is there any reason to choose one over the other and why.
Opinions on pump pillows or fat bags?
- Thread starter Andrew863
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See if you can borrow someone else’s for awhile. You might find it’s not worth the investment. I have a wiebad PP, by the way. Only use it in one very specific circumstance involving a roof. Mostly it sits unused.
I carry a fat ass bag at matches. As oregun said i dont use it much but theres no substitute for it in certain situations. On average id say i use it once a match.
I have a pump pillow, I haven't brought it to a match in probably two years. A heavy gamechanger + a lightweight git-lite gamechanger does everything I need.
In general, if you can get your hands on the various bags for a test, sit “Indian style” at a low sitting height prop. Put the bag in your lap and lower your elbows down around it. See if it fills the space. That’s about as good a test as I’ve seen for “what size pump pillow”.
I still carry a pump pillow along with my shmedium+1, can't remember the last time I actually used it though. It does make a good sitting cushion when you have to wait a while between stages. It's so light that it's hard for me to not take it for "just in case".
I have a Big Ass Bag from Armageddon Gear. Didn't think I'd use it much but there are a number of stages where it comes in handy.
- Big black pipe: We have to shoot from INSIDE the slick pipe and the BAB is perfect for placing on my knee for one window and resting on for another window.
- Cargo Net: Yes, a wonky cargo net. But if you use the BAB as a rear support, placing it in the net opening below the one you're shooting out of, it really provides good stability.
- Slanted Lattice. A 60 degree lattice that I use the BAB as I do in the cargo net...Placed on the rung below the one I'm shooting off of, it is very stable.
- Swinging Window. Like it sounds, very unstable, but using the BAB on the lower panes of the window, it's easy to stabilize yourself and the rifle.
I’m with a few of the others that have already posted: they are excellent for rooftop and high prone stages. I haven’t figured out how to use it to my advantage in other situations yet, but it’s definitely the “easy button” for those two scenarios.
As with many accessories, “Is it worth it?” is up to you, but I can say that I use mine almost every match at some point. You can certainly learn to shoot without one, but it’s not really up for debate that they make for easy stability in certain positions. I wouldn’t give mine back, and although I feel silly carrying it around at a match when others aren’t, that feeling goes away when I watch half those people struggle-bus on a stage that is made effortless by a pillow.
Can’t tell you what size to buy, borrow several and see which one makes you happiest.
As with many accessories, “Is it worth it?” is up to you, but I can say that I use mine almost every match at some point. You can certainly learn to shoot without one, but it’s not really up for debate that they make for easy stability in certain positions. I wouldn’t give mine back, and although I feel silly carrying it around at a match when others aren’t, that feeling goes away when I watch half those people struggle-bus on a stage that is made effortless by a pillow.
Can’t tell you what size to buy, borrow several and see which one makes you happiest.
I carry a big ass fat bag and it gets used a fair bit more than I thought. While it’s definitely not a main bag, and can work without it, it does seriously fill certain voids. The big black pipes is a good example. It sits on top without falling through and you have a massive surface to shoot off of. We Shot a match where we needed 4 points on a tank trap and the 4th point being the crotch. Well the crops grew enough you couldn’t see the target properly without some kind of elevation and the bag filled that void. Rough tops it’s perfect. Carrying it around I get asked atleast twice a match from someone in the squad to use it. It’s definitely not a necessity like some other bags, but it isn’t a bad purchase either
I'm having some back issues right now and I am thinking this style bag will help me get a little more stable. Right now I am leaning towards the cole tac cuddle bag or the AG Large or big ass bag. I think I will mainly use it for a roof top or some of the lower positions I am having a issue getting my elbow to my knee for right now since my back is so stiff. Worst case I don't use it, but i'm for sure going to try one. Any of you tried the CT cuddle bag?
My shooting partner has back issues and while he is one hell of a shooter on a bench he struggles in positional shooting due to his limitations and shoots just for the fun. He loves the big ass fatbag. I’ve never used the cuddle bag but there is many that use the fat bag and find it too small, and the big ass fat bag works much better
Thanks for the heads up on that bag. Your shooting partner sounds like me. I shot a prone match out to a mile and got 10th 2 weeks ago out of 95 shooters. I shot a PRS match last weekend and got 65th out of 90. I have got to figure something out.
The CT Cuddle is what I have, but I don’t have any mobility limitations so I can’t weigh in on that side of it. I can say that I’m very happy with the size and weight, but I also haven’t tried one that’s significantly larger. I wouldn’t want one that was smaller.
I like to tease him a bit but between us he’s the better shooter, it’s just I’m not limited by a back disability and tend to favor higher in the scores. he generally places towards the bottom 1/3 of the pack in prs. It’s taken him a while to live with that frustration. It’s a lot of mental game in all shooting sports and his scores suffered cause he knows he can shoot better but his back says otherwise. Now that he’s kind of swallowed the fact his back can’t handle the sport to be competitive his scores actually went up a bit just living with the fact it’s for fun now. He enjoys it, and he tries damn hard but two day matchs and long walking matchs kill him. Now on the bench is another story! I can’t go running my mouth there cause he will wipe the floor with me lol.
I have a pump pillow and bring it to every match. I used it at San Luis Obispo on the roof but probably didn't need it. I would have been fine just one-bagging it. I find I use it less and less as time goes by, FWIW.
For the most part they are a waste of money and space. None of the top shooters use them. It's usually crappy shooters who can't get stable with a bag using them as a crutch that hinders their development and only delays improvement of their positional shooting skills.
IF you have to have one, get the AG big ass bag. You may only use it once every 5 matches but being able to use it as a rear support on very high prone is a godsend. That and shooting off rooftops using it as a rear bag are the only places it makes sense I can think of.
Like Sheldon said he hasn't used onen in 2 years and he just won a 2 day PRS. These are the guys you want to listen and learn from.
IF you have to have one, get the AG big ass bag. You may only use it once every 5 matches but being able to use it as a rear support on very high prone is a godsend. That and shooting off rooftops using it as a rear bag are the only places it makes sense I can think of.
Like Sheldon said he hasn't used onen in 2 years and he just won a 2 day PRS. These are the guys you want to listen and learn from.
While I agree with most of this statement I feel like the top part of this is incorrect. Just because a few of the top shooters don’t use it doesn’t mean it isn’t a useful tool. While a tool that isn’t used often, someone with a back issue can lean on it more often and I know this due to my shooting partner.
I bought a BAB and experimenting with it. I have borrowed another shooter's BAB and used it on rooftop with success. We have some stages where we have vertical tires (5) where the bottom of tire is either buried or 5 tires held so they are vertical - I used a flatbag on a plate on the midpoint of my rifle and trapped the BAB between my chest and the tire and it worked great to support rifle rea. I also tried using the BAB on a low tank trap position for rear support.
I ended up buying the AG big ass fat bag. Got to shoot with it my first time today and done alot of dry fire practice. It's helped alot to make me more stable. Thanks to the guys that suggested I give it a try. I had consider the Cole tac mega bag because the fill is adjustable. But it seemed just a little to big, I even asked if they would make a slightly smaller size, but they said they couldn't at this time.
I’ve only ever used a pump pillow on a roof. I sometimes clip a my light fill bag to mh buttstock to try to get the same stability.
Don’t shoot roof stages very much. Seems like most people just end up carrying them
Don’t shoot roof stages very much. Seems like most people just end up carrying them
I bought one of these the night before a match a while back. For $5, it does most of what a Pump Pillow does as far as filling in one's torso void when shooting off a roof or something like that. I've actually never taken it out of its draw-string bag, as when I've used it, its packed size was enough. It weighs nothing, clip one on your pack, and then forget about it until the day comes when you need it.
Shit, maybe it'll come in handy one day when you need a pillow for a nap in the truck or something lol.
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Shit, maybe it'll come in handy one day when you need a pillow for a nap in the truck or something lol.
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Sleep comfortably using the Magellan Outdoors Large Plush Camp Pillow. It packs easily with your gear thanks to the included drawstring carry bag, and when it's tim...
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