Ime the small plate bags are not great at using as a singular rest option. They are a compromise. They are great if you have some rear support, like another tripod or a pack.
I’m not a great nrl shooter. I’m just another mid pack shooter, so keep that in mind…
I use a mod dos plate with some grip tape on it and a schmedium or pint sized game changer. I’ll use sand for matches but have lighter options for hunting. Iv used most of the light weight plates and any flex translates wobble.
Glassing and ranging off the bag to me is easier and faster than locked in. Plus I’m set to shoot then as well.
Here’s an example of my rifle on it. A large contact area of the schmedium, plus the bag can fully support the rifle, This allows me to put minimal muscle into the system to hold it steady, instead I just have to interface with the rifle in a torque free manner to control recoil.
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I’ll use the same setup hunting. If going on a stalk or if a shot may be imminent that tripod with a bag smashed in between the legs is in my hands. Gives me a reliable platform to range off, a great shooting platform that I can follow up with quickly and without torquing the tripod. Exactly how I shot an antelope this last year.
The bigger bag is also more versatile when shooting off stumps, rocks, logs ect. A tripod is my last ditch effort at building a position mainly due to time needed to deploy. Give me a nice solid down tree or a rock and I’m happy, given the time in that situation I can use my tripod as a rear support and essentially have prone level stability and ability to control recoil.
I don’t get to shoot many matches, so it’s important to me to have something versatile, that I can use for match use, and hunting. That’s what my setup is tailored to. I also will carry the weight to have a platform that allows me to not worry about wobble so I can focus on a good trigger press.