Is slicker always better?

B

Boyd Allen

Active member
Speaking of the stock (or stock tape) bag interface, do you want as little friction as you can get, or is there some possible advantage to a moderate and consistent amount of friction. Obviously (I think) this discussion is mostly about shootings styles that allow a fair amount (note precision terminology) of rifle movement....free recoil, or slightly less than.

I have a cordura front bag, and a rear bag with ears of the same material. The sliding surfaces of both have been sprayed with a Teflon spray called Sailkote (sp?), and my stock has its bag contact areas covered with clear stock tape (HDPE?) Recently, I have considered applying a domestic formulation of silicone (Old English aerosol furniture polish) to the tape, because I am pretty sure that it would make it slicker, hence the question in the title.
 
Gee boyd if someone ask me that question, I guess it really depends on the rifle stock,how well it tracks,how well balanced the rifle is and also how well it shoots and absorbs the recoil. if it is well ballanced and tracks good i like it to be slick. if it does not track good and is barrel heavy.i like the front bag to be a little sticky or alot of resistance for it to break free as i have a rifle that perfers that. and it shoot well with a sticky front bag, its a fine line between in a hole to vertical.i really think you need to experiment with different bags and stock placement in the bags. I am not able to shoot free recoil consistantly, i always hold the rifle to some extent. so i am allways experimenting try to shoot free recoil consistantly. as i have fired some real small groups shooting free recoil. I just cant do it consistantly. but i'm allways working on it. but i have also shot some low .100's holding the rifle.

so slicker is not allways better
I use neutral shoe pollish on the stock where it rides in the bags, wipe it on,buff it off..it seems if im shooting poorly.then right after i shoe pollish up the stock the next group is allways good..but that rifle does track good and is very well ballanced and like to move consistantly smooth in the bags.
 
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Gee Mark,
Getting such a well thought out answer, that is directly on point has only one drawback, it lacks the aggregation factor that would have kept the responses coming, the that fellow is full of beans, I straighten them out reflex ;-) Could you do me a favor and go back and reedit to be less well written, and more aggravating? Seriously, I agree with your post, particularly on trying different bags to see what a particular rifle likes. Thanks
Boyd
For the rest of you that might have some experiences in this area to share, keep 'em coming.
 
To know if your set up is good for free recoil. after setting up your rifle on target, stand up and pull the trigger if the rifle comes off the back of the bench you know it's slick enough and your set up good.use your spare rifle for this test.
How about a Hijack....I'm going crazy sitting here. wondering if i will be able to get primer's,bullet's so i can shoot my 6ppc this spring. i have alot of powder. and a order in for LT32/ but no bullet's or primer's..I'm also working on a 6 Dasher. I was able to pick up a used,new leonard stock for a good price but it was the wrong action inlet,not a problem, glued in some wood and fitted the action and beded(ready for glue in) so i block sanded it down and going to re-epoxy finish it. building a but plate weight system(going to be awesome). so it will be able to go from LV of your choice of caliber to HV or LG 600/1000 in 6 Dasher. but mostly will be a 6 Dasher. but its nice with a barrel and scope change to be able to have a spare LV if needed. so working on this project and just going crazy waiting......

And then wondering how well it will track in the bags i have or will i need new bags. oh man its a 1/2 flat on the but stock my new leonard is a 3/8 so another rear bag how well will it shoot, will i shoot any 600 or 1k matches this year.

oh sorry for getting off track boyd.
 
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well, i have had rain get in on my fromt bag and it got real sticky. happened more than once. others on the line were able to shoot very well at the time. my aggs went to the bottom of the page when this happened. soooooooooo sticky dont work for me. i wax the stock often when this happens.
 
When I started shooting everyone used leather bags. We put a little powder on so it was smooth but not sticky. Cordura came out and I tried it but just could not make it work for me. It was too slick. So I still shoot leather and like it. You just have to test and let the targets tell you what is best.
 
My benchrest and F-class bags have cordura contacts at both ends. I don't treat these. I also use Sinclair stock tape. If things aren't sliding right, I put used drier sheets between the contacts. These are quite slick. I sometimes use leather bags for my hunting rifles, and I always use the drier sheets with those.
 
yes. cordura, i have stopped using slickums on the bag. wax on the stock seems to help me the most under wet conditions. is there any addative out there that dont gum up in the rain for the bags?

dryer sheets seem to help sometimes. however they are a pain to install.
 
Spray silicone lube on the Codure, then let it dry before using.

Jim
 
Well, to keep a firm grasp of the obvious...consistent is always better. It may seem that slicker is always more consistent, but that's an assumption. The target will tell you.

Actually, I like a finish Jim Borden offers. sort of pebbly. Once it breaks loose, it's got less resistance than a smooth finish. IIRC, there's a reason they put "slicks" on drag cars.
 
some years ago i used the silicone spray lube. once at a fairly large [ maybe 70 competitors ] match it began to rain and it rained all day saturday. i dropped to the bottom of the page cause my rifle was sticky in the bags. now to add insult to injury i had to sign Charles Huckabas targets for a potential record. i finally wiped things down with alcohol and waxed the stock again. the next day i was able to win a yardage. moral? the silicone sits in my box now.

consistent is a big deal, yes sir.
 
this might deserve another thread, but how much pressure you put on the stock is important too.

so how tight do you crank the screws that clamp the bag to the stock?

do you put less pressure on the stock sides under different conditions or always use the same pressure?
 
What sort of wax? I was thinking of using Pledge, but after looking up the ingredients of the aerosol Old English Polish, and finding out that it was largely silicone, I looked up Pledge, and found out the same thing. My bags are treated with a teflon spray that dries completely, and I have not seen any indication that humidity has an effect on how it slides. Del Bishop gave me the tip about using it, and given how much rain the state of Washington gets, I hardly think that he would have used something that caused problems when it rained.
 
Taken from: SAND BAGS and HOW TO FILL THEM .... By Speedy Gonzalez

If you use Cordura bags, spray with pure silicon or Rain-Ex.

OR

As Tony Boyer suggests, don't put anything on Cordura. Just clean it with a brush once in awhile.
 
I've had good luck using nothing here in WA, I steal used dryer sheets from my wife for use if things get sticky.......I keep a ziplok of them in several shooting bags.
 
Use to use dyer sheets. Can't stand the smell, though. Dave Tooley turned me on to using long-napped felt; orient it so the natural "easy slide" faces the rear.

You can usually get a small piece of really ugly stuff from a fabric shop for nothing to real cheap. Pretty costs more, maybe even a dollar.
 
The female side of Velcro works well and is not effected by the elements. Doesn't need any treatment other than an occasional light wiping. Get the sew-on Velcro not the kind with the sticky back. Fabric stores and Wally World even have it in black. Wally World even has some made in the USA!!

It will, however, slightly mar some stock finishes so protect the stock with stock tape.
 
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