Shooting Range Bag Essentials

I spend a lot of time at the shooting range, so I usually bring a lot of stuff. Many items are essential to having a good day there.

The best place to start is with the range bag itself. I'm using MidwayUSA's Range Backpack. I like that I don't have to have it slung over one shoulder, which might impede carrying a slung rifle, and I don't have to use my hands, which I might need for other things. MidwayUSA range bags are very high quality, and I recommend checking them out.

Your bag needs to contain some basic and obvious items, such as additional magazines and ammo. Of course, you also need eye and ear protection. I recommend some Walker’s products for both. Walker’s products are great when looking for reliable but less expensive options. The Walker Fire Max Rechargeable Electronic Earmuffs are great for the ears, and the Walker’s Tanker Open Frame Shooting Glasses are great for the eyes. I also have in-ear options for when the muffs aren’t working well with the rifle I’m using. I use the Axil GS Extreme 2.0 Electronic Ear Plugs and the Surefire EP3 Sonic Defender Ear Plugs (non-electronic). I think it’s good to have multiple options.

The next item I like to have handy is additional targets. I highly recommend reactive targets, like the Birchwood Casey Shoot-N-C Target for zeroing a gun or checking accuracy. They’re made to leave a bright spot where the bullet hits, so you can see them much more easily without the aid of spotting scopes or binoculars. I find this to make life a lot easier, so I always carry another pack of these with me.

Then, I also like to have additional drills or other items that give me something to work on at the range. For example, I bring the instructions for a concealed carry drill I like to do. I always have some other drills printed out, too, in case I want to challenge myself and do a little extra.

Gloves are another important item I like to have at the range. The ones I have in my bag are the Mechanix Wear Men's FastFit Tactical Gloves. I use them for a lot of things. I use them to deal with hot suppressors, for moving things like target stands or anything else that might have splinters or burs, but I also use them for shooting. People criticize me for that for some reason, as if it's a bad idea, but if you don't practice shooting with gloves, you could have a problem if you ever need to fire with them during an emergency.

I keep a staple gun and extra staples in my range bag, as well as electrical tape. These are obviously for setting up targets on range stands in the event the range does not provide a way to do so. I like electrical tape because it can do a few things. It's not just for taping up targets in case you need to, but it can also be for quick repair of something, such as trying to get a pressure switch back on a rifle. It can also come in handy for marking previous shots on a target, so you know you’re looking at the new hits instead of the old hits. Electrical tape's just good to have around.

I also like to bring a rangefinder. That way, if I'm doing a zero, I can verify that the zero is in the exact range that I'm looking for. It's also useful if I just need to see how far away a target is when I'm trying to push the limits and see how good my accuracy can be at range.

I always bring target pasters in my bag. Pasters cover holes in targets so you can keep using the same target without getting confused about where your newest hits are. This helps extend the life of the target. I generally use IPSC-sized or USPSA-sized cardboard targets.

One thing I like to bring is a notebook, and the reason is just because I might want to write down something in the sense of working on a D.O.P.E. chart or catalog a failure of some kind that one of my firearms had. I like the Rite in the Rain notepads for this. I use their Top Spiral All-Weather Notebook, but they also have one specifically for D.O.P.E. that includes wind calculations and MOA-MRAD conversions.

A big one that I think is important is a shot timer. I’m using the PACT Club Shot Timer 3. It's just a good thing to have if you want to measure improvement in your shooting ability. If you're trying to do concealed carry drills and you want to know how fast your draw speed is, you need a shot timer. If you want to know how quickly you can do follow-up shots and see what your split times are, you need a shot timer. So, I always carry a shot timer with me at the range. I don't always use it, but I do always have it with me, and I think it's a very important piece of equipment to have.

I have a range bag pocket dedicated to various tools and wrenches, such as Torx wrenches, Allen keys, spare batteries, and sight adjustment tools. There’s also threadlocker, lube, and a bubble level for when I’m trying to zero something. I think it’s important to keep all the tools that come with optics in there, so if you ever need to remove an optic or zero an optic, you have what you need handy. I even carry things like additional buffers of different weights just to have options in case things aren't running the way they're supposed to or I want to diagnose a problem. I don't want to have to go back home or go back to my vehicle to fix a very simple issue.

One thing you won't see in my range bag is a cleaning kit. I don't generally clean guns out on the range. I make sure my guns are cleaned and well-maintained before going to the range. In general, that's what I would suggest because if you're having a catastrophic failure at the range, it shouldn't be due to poor maintenance. Cleaning firearms on the range can also be problematic when it comes to safety issues and whatever rules your range might have. I think it’s better to make sure that I can replace something or fix a broken item very quickly and easily if need be.

This range backpack has a pocket for pistol cases, and it actually comes with three cases in it. Currently, I have no pistols in there, though. Instead, I have marked one of the cases with a Red Cross Velcro patch and am using it to store a first aid kit. These pistol cases double as first-aid kit containers really well. A shooting range is a place where accidents can happen, and because of the likely nature of a firing range accident, it’s a good idea to have a first aid kit handy. I piecemealed this one together with first aid supplies I already had, so it would fit nicely in this pistol case. It includes a tourniquet, chest seals, lots of gauze, pressure bandages, shears, a nasopharyngeal airway, a decompression needle, band-aids, and more. Sometimes, it’s not even about making a mistake. Sometimes, things just blow up. Where there are explosives and projectiles, first aid should be top of mind.

So that's what's in my shooting range kit. Hopefully, this gives you some ideas about shooting range essentials to bring on your next trip. As I said earlier, these MidwayUSA range bags are really high quality. I like them quite a bit, and they're relatively affordable. Be sure to check those out if you're trying to set up your new shooting range bag.

--Magic Prepper