It’s great to find a product that you can use across all your guns and during most range visits. I happened to find something that I’m very satisfied with that I’d like to share with Bearing Arms readers.
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Before I get into that, I’d like to first draw your attention to the massive fundraising gap between gun rights groups and gun control groups. Tom Knighton has sounded the alarm twice in the past few months about the massive gap, his most recent article published just last week:
The Political Action Committees (PACs) for Everytown, Giffords, and Brady collectively brought in just under $1.7 million in September, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings posted this week. Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association’s Political Victory Fund raised just under $700,000 for the month. In total, all of the gun-rights PACs that publish monthly FEC updates took in a little under $1.26 million.
Though closer to parity than in August, September’s fundraising totals mark yet another month that the major national gun-control groups have outraised the NRA and its allies heading into November’s high-stakes election, something they have done in all but one month this year. Barring a momentous swing in fortunes in October, that suggests that the gun-control groups will, for the first time, eclipse the NRA in fundraising and spending in a presidential election cycle.
That fundraising disparity has been reflected in the two sides’ major election spending announcements in the home stretch of the election cycle. The gun-control groups, spearheaded by Everytown and Giffords, have announced a spree of new election spending in recent weeks in races up and down the ballot and across the country. The NRA, meanwhile, has reserved its high-dollar ad buys to just a small handful of key races in states like Montana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Cumulatively, the NRA has raised $4,883,131.42 through its PAC and super PAC over the first three quarters of 2024, according to the FEC data. By comparison, Everytown for Gun Safety’s super PAC alone has raised $7,015,346.82 year-to-date. Collectively, the gun-control groups have raised $12,568,583.64 over the first nine months of 2024.
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I appeal to you, Dear Reader, to set up a recurring contribution to at least one national gun rights group – Second Amendment Foundation, Gun Owners of America, Firearms Policy Coalition, National Association for Gun Rights, or the NRA – AND your state’s gun rights group.
During my range visits, I’m almost certainly spending the first 10 minutes or so double-checking my zero from a benchrest before I do anything else. One item on my range checklist’s essentials is a shooting bag. For several years, I’ve used a Caldwell Tack Driver X Bag and a Caldwell X Mini Bag. These bags serve their purpose, but I’ve had issues with them:
They’re heavy. The combined weight of my guns, ammo, spotting scope, and other gear is on the higher side. The Caldwell shooting bags add another 8.5 lbs to the weight. That’s not fun.
Over the years, I’ve had the seams of the shooting bags start to come apart, leaking its contents. Each range trip results in a mess that needs to be cleaned up.
The price of these bags is almost $90 combined. That’s money you can put to other uses.
I stumbled upon a great alternative to the above “traditional” shooting bags. After a few months of use, I am very happy with it and think that it’s the best $15 I’ve spent on anything gun-related. It’s the Highwild Shooting Foam Rest X-Block Bench Rest with Base. (Full Disclosure: I’m not paid by Highwild, don’t own shares in Amazon, and am simply a satisfied customer.) So what’s so good about this product?
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It’s inexpensive! As compared to the almost $50 price for the Tack Driver X-bag, this one is a steal.
It’s super light at 0.63 Ounces. That makes a difference when you’re lugging a lot of stuff around.
It fits inside a 1-gallon freezer ziploc bag. The rest and the 2 pieces that make its base all neatly fit inside a ziploc bag and barely take up space in your backpack or rifle bag.
The rest can be rotated to horizontal or vertical configuration to suit your needs. I’ve used both for different rifles and it works great.
The base is sturdy. Despite looking small and being light, the base is sturdy enough for use.
The only possible downside to this product that I can think of is it could get blown around on a very windy day. But I’m usually not going to my outdoor range when the weather isn’t good, so I haven’t had this happen to me.
If you already own this rest, please share your comments below or shoot me a note on X (formerly Twitter)! If you don’t and choose to buy this product, I hope you find my review helpful and find the product useful.
