What's in Your Range Bag?

For women, Range Bags are a little like purses.  We throw all of our essentials in there!  Oddly, men and women define “essentials” differently.  Like many people who have been shooting a while, or who have multiple guns, I have two range bags.  One is med sized and one is quite large.  The medium is my first bag, my go-to when I’m only shooting my primary or maybe taking one more with me.  It has certification patches, Winchester program patches…Looks great on the outside, just don’t look inside where the stitches are!  LOL

It usually has my ears, my eyes in a hard case, extra pair of reading glasses in case I’m wearing contacts that day and can’t see anything less than 5 feet away.  It also holds a few boxes of ammo, in whatever caliber I plan to shoot that day, a sheepskin gun mat to lay on the table, a squib rod, lots of targets (cheap ones because I usually turn them blank side out), a roll of bright orange 3” dots, a pack of ¼” dots, stickers to go on the blank target.  My instructor always says “aim small, miss small”.  Easy for him, he is REALLY good.  The 3” dots are mostly for students, but sometimes I need an ego boost and something bigger to aim at so all of my shots are inside.  I found a plastic piece that is used to adjust the Velcro attachments on some holsters, even though I don’t carry those holsters anymore (catching on to the purse reference?).  A gun magazine, in case I have to wait for a lane.  Pens, business cards for the company I teach with and for my blog, a mini-leatherman tool, a knife, a flashlight (ok the knife and flashlight are often in my pocket when I’m dressed as an instructor, but in my jeans just me…they are in my bag).  Maybe one gun case, if I’m taking something else to play with. 

When I switch up to the big bag, most of that is already in the bag, a few things get moved over, and then there is room for the extra semi-autos, the revolver, the brick of .22 if I’m taking the rifle…of course, then I have to get the little wheeled cart because by then the bag weighs about 60 pounds, or feels like it!  LOL 

So, what do you carry with you when you go to shoot?  And, how long has it been since you’ve really dumped out your range bag?  I was surprised by what I found in mine.  Anyone need a Velcro tool?  Maybe I’ll keep it, you never know when it will come in handy, fishing something out of a small space!

Safe Shooting!