AusVarmint

Hi all

I have been using powder on my front and rear bags which are leather and this has been fine in the dry weather however with all the rain at the moment the amount of moisture / humidity in the air is pretty high.

I was just wondering what others may use especially for these moist conditions when powder can become tacky or sticky. Is there anything else I can try?

I filled my first front bag with sand-blaster's sand and it worked quite well, untill the stitching rotted and it fell apart, I just bought a caldwell rock front rest and filled the front bag with plastic beads that my missus gets from a craft shop to make bracelets and crap. They are about 2.5mm in diametre and work really well.
Ive heard a few blokes using their old tumbler media, reckon it goes well but have to store their bags in a cupboard or their safe with a closet camel to keep moisture out.
Hope this helps!

Thanks Mod70 however I was looking for info on what people use other than powder for a lubricant for the rifle to slide on...... not to fill the bags with

wrap the bags in glad wrap and use something on your stock to protect it
and use powdered graphite- if it doesn't work just take the platic off and you have no graphite contamination to your bags etc

later
p

Albow,

I use a silicone spray on my cordura bags and it makes them very slippery...so slippery if your bench has a lean on it your gun will slip off on its own ! Especially if Teflon stock tape is used.
It ..may ...work on leather....I am not certain. Most hardware shops sell differing brands of it. I use Tetra 19
It is used dry, not wet so spray today use tomorrow

The only real soluton is change to Cordura bags

Maybe the leather is absorbing the moisture so perhaps.... spray to seal it and when dry... powder it over the top using a fresh dose of powder when needed.

I have just siliconed an old leather bag to see if this works....now just gotta make it about 99% humid will tell ya tomorrow how it goes.

Some dry types of deodorant (anti-perspirant) may work...though I guess they are used to absorb moisture ...cheap to try though.....don't be putting me in 'the horrors' by using a pink one but OK

KY

Leather will always absorb moisture.

Cordura is the way to go if moisture and humidity are a problem. Baby powder (J&J seems best) is very good, Kenny is right about the Silicone spray.

Just a warning though.....if you use silicon spray it is best to use "food grade" rather than automotive. One chap I know used the latter and it made a sticky mess when it got wet - I don't know why.

If you use the spray, do it the night before so that it is completely dry before you rest your rifle on it.

Have you polished the bottom of your rifle? Any goos silicone car polish will do, and there is always teflon stock tape if you are really keen.

Have fun
Brendan Atkinson

albow

just to be different, i have used selleys dry lube spray for years on both dry leather and cordura bags, with both 50lb plus guns and light guns/br classes ( under 17 lbs).

no mess, no fuss, dries quickly, contents of a can lasts for quite a while and is readily available.

cheers

dg

Kenny - I wasn't sure about the silicone on leather which is why I asked the question to see if others were using it before possibly breaking something that is working so let me know how the one you coated goes....... and as for the antiperspirant I will keep it as manly as possible otherwise I may be harassed at the firing line


Jimbo - It is not the leather that is moist but when the powder seems to attract the moisture with the rainy weather and goes a little tacky.


dg - I will have a look at the Selley's dry lube spray. Is it like the silicone where you apply the day before or as you get ready to go to the bench??

Hey Al, what makes you think we would give you a hard time for having a lovely, pretty, sweet, girly smelling bag.

Pete.

Pete, you're just upset that he's got the 30x62 shooting so well.. and so am I!

albow wrote:Thanks Mod70 however I was looking for info on what people use other than powder for a lubricant for the rifle to slide on...... not to fill the bags with

oops

Woob

The harassment that I am scared of is Pete wanting to give me a big old kiss for smelling pretty

Ummmm...look at that...a bloke goes away for a night and you all 'come out'

OK I came up with the following that really proves...nothing much

Bare leather siliconed - slippery but not as good as dry powder.

Siliconed leather with powder - slippery the same as just powder.

Silicone and Powder with a mist of water applied in an effort to make it humid - a gluggy mess but still slippery, not as nice as when dry but.

I did this with a laminated stock similar to Alan's.
I then tried a painted stock with Teflon tape applied to it. And it was very similar at each step....very slippery,so I reckon for a consistant slide, Teflon tape is the go

Jimbo..yep the stuff I have is 'food grade' it can be used for anything....according to the label it's a wonder product, sounds a bit like WD40

KY

someone post a piccy of the can they use.
Regards

Hi Kenny

Thanks for the info on your testing

Overall I am very happy with the plain powder from a resistance / slippery enough perspective with my current set up however was looking for another more universal product to suit all weather conditions

See when you applied the silicone did it soak into the leather or just stay as a coating and did it repel / prevent water from soaking into the leather?

Oh and as you can see from the previous posts the pink tin of antiperspirant is a last resort