Crosstac Saddle Bag Review
When I received the Original gen1 Crosstac Saddle Bag, I was very impressed with the quality and workmanship in this shooting bag. I was looking for a bag that can be used on pretty much any barricade that PRS match directors can throw at you. I have always been a comfortable shooter that carried different bags around with me in a match to suit different barricades (rear bag, strap on bag etc.) until the Crosstac saddle bag showed up on my doorstep. The first thing I did with this bag was set it on a railing to see how it would support my gun by itself. To give you an idea, I shoot a 6.5 Creedmoor on an MDT TAC21 chassis with a 24 in barrel (12.4 lbs) and I can lay this weapon system on the bag and simply let go of it. With that being said, long range precision shooters dream about having a bag that will steady a gun like this. The first time I used it, I shot out to 1020 yards 5x with no misses.
Lisa called me and asked if I would try out the new Crosstac Gen2 Ultralight Saddle Bag. The item showed up and I could not believe how lightweight this thing was. The bag itself is the exact same as the gen1 saddle bag except for the fill. The gen1 uses a coarse ground walnut fill weighing in at about 7lbs versus the gen2 bag being filled with a ball bearing size Styrofoam weighing in at a little under a pound. Back to the range with the gen2 bag and my fears were confirmed. With rifle stability being one of the main components of long range shooting, the gen2 bag did not hold the gun near as well because the Styrofoam does not mold in place like the crushed walnut media of the gen1.
I had a few of my PRS team buddies up to see what they thought about it.
Will, “It would be nice to run around with a lightweight bag but I definitely like the way the gen1 bag cradles my gun.”
Dennis, “For an older shooter, I like the gen2 saddle bag because of the weight. I would not sacrifice weight for accuracy in a match though.”
Hunter, “For the saddle bag concept as a whole, you can do a lot of different things with it. It’s nice to have lightweight gear for matches or for hunting but in a match where points are on the line, I want something that is going to be very stable. The gen1 bag is definitely the one for me.”
With that being said, everyone has their own opinions. I do like that Crosstac gives you the option to unzip the bag and put whatever fill you would like in there (including my son who likes to hide his little army men in mine). Maybe they could give you the option to order both types of fill so you could switch them out for different applications or even mix them for a happy medium of lightweight bag and great weapon stability. For me, I’m going with the gen1 Crosstac Saddle Bag. Until next time!