Seamstress free sandbags

Usually don't offer information, just take it, but i may have a worthy offering. To those of us with no seamsters in the friends and family circle, or to those with my means, or to those who would spend more on guns and ammo.... I cut jean legs in thirds, hot melt one end, pressing it down and together while still hot (cant hurt to use a lot), then trim "seam" with heavy duty scissors. Fill bag with whatever media, I like pea gravel or sand, as full as you can while still leaving enough room to cleanly seam the other end. Trim and your done. Or don't trim, its all good. Did six in 45 min. Hope you find this useful

Good tip! All of my sandbags are made from either old blue jean leg material or bank bags. My x was an incredible seamstress and made them for me well over 30 years ago and they're still going strong. I'll need to try the hot glue treatment as my former source has dried up. I still don't know where the bank bags came from. I didn't rob that many banks...:wink:

Hi,

Good idea! I've made my own using jeans legs, but sewed them on the machine (I can make it go forward and backward in a straight line--but that's all!) and never figured a way to get a good tight seam once they're filled (I use sand) w/o a little leakage into the machine. Not good...

Rick C

I still make my sand bags from lead shot canvas bags. I will try the hot glue as the bags leak a bit no matter how I sow them. Thanks Geno.

I make them with old shot bags but I use saw dust to fill em up. Not as heavy and work quite well.

I use cheap polished rice as a filler for bag rests.
It doesn't leak out like sand & hasn't gone mouldy(yet...) despite the damp Brit weather.

Am I the only one that uses wire ties to close the ends of shot bags?

Dan in MI said:

Am I the only one that uses wire ties to close the ends of shot bags?

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Hi,

When we reclaimed shot at our trap & skeet range, the guys would close the bags w/ hog rings. Never tried that for "home" use...

Rick C

Zipties work well enough and take about 10 seconds per bag.

I use more sandbags with revolvers than anything. It is cheap and easy to procure some suede sheets from the local craft store. Coupled with an awl, some artificial sinew, thread and needles, it's easy to make your own leather bags. I've been using the same bags with my sixguns for 12yrs with nary a tear. Cloth bags just don't stand up to the cylinder gap blast.

Old jeans work great for sandbagging rifles though.

I made mine with old canvas shot bags also but before I added the sand I put in in heavy ziploc bags doubled up. I've used them for years with no leaks. It helps if you fold over the seams a couple of times before you stitch them.

Dan in MI said:

Am I the only one that uses wire ties to close the ends of shot bags?

Click to expand...

Nope, well I use wire to close the end of my sandbags. Some heavier gauge house electrical wire--don't know the size as I am not really familiar with this electrical stuff...

But, I use inner tubes from passenger vehicle sized tires. Sometimes difficult to get...

I put the sand in an old oven I have and heat it up to a couple hundred degrees and let it "cook" for a bit. That removes all of the water/moisture from the sand. I then place it in the piece of tube that I have cut from the full inner tube. You can decide how big you want the sandbag to be...

Tie the ends shut by twisting the wire in place...

Advantage of the dry sand inside a water proof bag--The sand stays loose and flexible in our PA winters. I can shoot anytime in the winter without the sand being frozen solid...

That I like. I just let the bags on my shooting bench (under a small roofed area) and shoot when the days get to 30 or so degrees...

Good-luck...BCB

Consider using kitty litter. Using food stuffs like beans or rice is not good if the bag gets wet. The filler can swell and rot.

Kitty litter is not that heavy and it does not swell or rot if it gets wet. Don't sew the bag closed on the day you fill it. Jiggle it around so it settles and then let it sit overnight. The litter will settle more. Then you can decide how much more to put in for a soft or hard bag.

hiram said:

Consider using kitty litter. Using food stuffs like beans or rice is not good if the bag gets wet. The filler can swell and rot.

Kitty litter is not that heavy and it does not swell or rot if it gets wet. Don't sew the bag closed on the day you fill it. Jiggle it around so it settles and then let it sit overnight. The litter will settle more. Then you can decide how much more to put in for a soft or hard bag.

Click to expand...

+1

hiram said:

Consider using kitty litter. Using food stuffs like beans or rice is not good if the bag gets wet. The filler can swell and rot.

Kitty litter is not that heavy and it does not swell or rot if it gets wet. Don't sew the bag closed on the day you fill it. Jiggle it around so it settles and then let it sit overnight. The litter will settle more. Then you can decide how much more to put in for a soft or hard bag.

Click to expand...

I'd still put it in an empty bread loaf bag first and then the jeans leg. Your soft bag filled with hard-clumping litter won't be so soft if it gets wet and isn't sealed.

...so could you turn the jeans legs inside-out and then glue one end closed, then turn them right-side-out and insert a bag of kitty litter, corn cob media, etc. tuck in the other end and glue it shut?

Plastic zip ties to close up the ends. Pull 'em tight with a pair of pliers, then snip off the excess. Easy, and reversible.

I've used heavy denim jeans and they stand up to all of my revolvers, except my black powder cap and ball. It apparently set a small patch on fire, and then the sand dumped out....