Shooters Fill Guide

Shooting Bag Fill Guide

Your bag ships empty on purpose
If you want one answer
Dry Beans

Cheap, dense, and they lock into a shape and stay there. A $3 bag from any grocery store fills most rear bags. Start here — adjust later.

Fill is personal. The media you choose changes how your bag weighs, packs, and molds to your rifle — and no two shooters want the same thing. A PRS shooter chasing a rock-solid rear rest and a backcountry hunter counting ounces need two different bags out of the same shell.

Shipping empty also keeps freight cost off your invoice and lets you top the bag off, swap media, or re-tune it years from now.

1

Approved Fill Media

Dry BeansBest Overall

Pinto, navy, or black beans. Irregular shape means they interlock instead of rolling — the bag holds the shape you squeeze into it and doesn't creep under recoil. Heavy enough to plant the bag without hauling a brick.

Weight ≈1.7 lb/qt · Firmness Firm · Cost Low
RiceExcellent

Long grain, uncooked. The finer grain packs tighter than beans and molds to small contours — great for tight rear bags and squeeze applications. Packs near-rigid if you overfill it, so leave void space.

Weight ≈1.8 lb/qt · Firmness Firm+ · Cost Low
Plastic PelletsBest Wet Weather

Poly pellets or HDPE beads. Completely waterproof — won't mold, rot, swell, or feed a single bug. Flows fast and re-forms instantly. Also the lightest media here, which makes them the pick when you're counting ounces. Costs more per pound and stays slightly livelier under the rifle than beans.

Weight ≈1.2 lb/qt · Firmness Medium · Cost Med
Airsoft BBsGood — Fast Conform

6mm 0.20–0.25g biodegradable or plastic BBs. Perfect spheres self-level the instant you set weight on them, so the bag conforms faster than anything else on this page — and they're waterproof. The trade is that spheres keep rolling, so the bag stays a little more fluid under recoil than beans or rice, and it runs heavy for its bulk.

Weight ≈2.2 lb/qt · Firmness Soft–Medium · Cost Med · Waterproof
2

Dial It In

Fill It, Then Dial Back
Fill to 95–100%. There's almost always more room in the bag than you'd guess, and media settles on the first outing. Start full — taking media out is easier than hunting for more.
Tune the Firmness
This part is pure feel — there's no correct answer, only what you like under your rifle. Take media out for a softer, more formable bag that molds fast around the stock. Add media for a firmer, more solid rest. Work it until it feels right in your hand.
3

Side by Side

→ Swipe to compare

Fill Media Weight
per Qt		 Stability Conforms Water &
Pest Proof		 Best For
Dry Beans ≈1.7 lb ●●●●● ●●●●● No The default. Set and forget.
Rice ≈1.8 lb ●●●●● ●●●●● No Tight or squeeze-style bags.
Plastic Pellets ≈1.2 lb ●●●●● ●●●●● Yes Wet climates and blinds.
Airsoft BBs ≈2.2 lb ●●●●● ●●●●● Yes Front bags, fast position changes.
Sand ≈3.3 lb — — — Not recommended — see below.
4

How to Fill It

01
Use a Funnel
A kitchen funnel or the top half of a cut 2-liter bottle. Work over a bin — you will spill some.
02
Fill in Stages
Add about a third, then stand the bag up and tap it on the bench to settle. Repeat. Don't dump it all at once.
03
Fill to 95–100%
There's almost always extra room left over. Fill it up, then take media back out until it feels right to you.
04
Settle & Top Off
Close it, shoot it a session, then re-open and add a little. Media compacts on the first outing.
If You Fill With Beans or Rice
Those are organic media — keep them dry. Store the bag somewhere dry, and if it ever gets soaked, empty it out and refill with fresh media. Sealed up wet, it will mold.
5

Do Not Use Sand

Sand Is Not a
Recommended Fill

It's the one thing we ask you to keep out of your bag. Sand is roughly twice the weight of beans and it does not stay where you put it.

  • It's abrasive from the inside. Every squeeze grinds grit against the fabric and stitching, sanding the bag apart from within.
  • It escapes. Fine grains work through the weave, seams, and any pinhole — then into your action, chamber, and optic.
  • It holds water. Wet sand clumps into a brick, invites rust on anything it touches, and never fully dries.
  • It doesn't conform. It packs to near-concrete at the base and gives you nothing to mold around the stock.
  • It's dead weight. Two to three times the carry weight for worse performance.
  • It isn't covered. Abrasion and seam failure caused by sand fill is not a craftsmanship defect — keep sand out and your guarantee stays intact.
Built to Outlast the Rifle

Every Buffalo Creek Supplies bag is backed by our Lifetime Craftsmanship Guarantee. If a seam, zipper, or panel ever fails on a bag filled per this guide, we'll take care of it.

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