If you already had your BOB, but wanted to supplement it with a separate bag just with stuff for your precision rifle, what would you put in it???

There's already a  thread for a Recon Pack, and it contains lots of great info, but I want to narrow it down a bit to just stuff specific to your precision rifle.

It would need to be fairly small in size, but with the "extra" kit you'd need for your precision rifle.

Things like Ammo, bino's, rangefinder, Wind meter, rest bags, camo netting, tool kit for your rifle, some sort of cleaning/maintenance kit, all would be things I would need for my SPR. What else?


Thanks in advance.

Tag for info

Tripod system maybe?

Go camping with your rifle for a weekend...shoot 200 rounds

go home and add to the kits



go camping and hiking for a week....plan on shooting a thousand rounds....


go home and add to your kit



repeat until you have your go bags all figured out.


(you will soon have several things figured out if you actually start using it.)

Good advice Navajo, and advice I plan to follow.

However, I was hoping for some more specific input on things you have in your bag specific to your precision rifle.

What do you carry??

I guess that would depend on what's in your BOB or normal go bag already.  My take...

- No Spotting scope.  Who is going to spot for me anyway?  Plus weight and bulkiness is a factor
- I already have binos in my BOB
- 2 or 3 loaded mags.  It's a precision gun not my main rifle, no need for more
- Laser range finder
- Rear bag
- weather station


EDIT: I guess this also depends on if you're talking an SPR/MK12 situation or going with say a bolt gun

If I was to pack a bag like that I'd pack everything I used to shoot the rifle in the field (tripod, wind guage etc.) A cleaning kit and then some extra boxes of ammo to top off the mags/pouches/loops on my person. But mind the weight if you plan to put the gun in it or carry your recon pack also.

I'd pack some realism. If you have to use your BOB, the LAST thing you're going to want to do is hump 2 rifles and precision rifles are thought of mostly as bolt guns. In a bug out though you're going to need firepower. Introducing the SPR. An accurized semi-auto with a scope of some sort. What you do is set up your semi-auto SPR kit with a proper long range scope that also has a properly low mag setting. Like the US Optics MR-10 1.8-10x, something you can use with both eyes open while moving. That's a dandy of a scope for the purpose. The sighting system and printed ballistics dope (printed on Revlar not paper, check http://ballisticxlr.com for specifics), bipod w/ attachment system, 2x empty leather sock (don't carry sand, pick it up at your firing position), 3x6ft burlap strip + small pack of jute strips (ready to make your ghillie), bore-snake & CLP, collapsible cleaning rod (steel, not aluminum), battle pack of ammo (100-200rds) tools for your rifle & scope (minimum) and the single most important thing to bring: an E-tool. Don't build your hide on top of the ground, build your hide inside it.



You don't need to bring binos. You've got a rifle scope. You don't need wind meter, you've got eyes and skin. You don't need rangefinder, your scope should have mil/moa reticle. Don't pack weight you don't need to. Make your ghillie from burlap and jute in the field. A piece of suitable burlap weighs less than a pound. You'll want the local veg for your ghillie anyway. Don't bring sand bags full of sand you can grab that off the ground at your forward firing position.



If your BOB has an AR or something similar in it already then you're good to go with the right sighting system. Anything that's going to cause you to need a bolt gun with high precision is going to have a bigger need for you to bring a semi-auto that's accurate with a bunch of ammo.



Next to an e-tool the most important thing to bring is training and experience in using your tools. You need to get out with them and see how much life sucks. Then make it suck less.



 

since i shoot PRS matches, i already have a backpack that's pretty well sorted for just precision rifle shooting, and i get a lot of practice knowing where stuff is and getting to it quickly.  mostly in the summer and winter, when there aren't matches every weekend, i pull all the gamer stuff out, and put some more practical stuff in.  


while slightly tangent to the topic, i'd encourage you guys who are considering a rifle go bag to sign up for the Practical PRS match at Rock Castle KY in October.  Long stage times.  several blind stages.  several stages where you have to lase your own targets, etc.    Even if you're not "competitive" you'd get a lot of practice and know by the end of the day for sure whether your gear works for you or not.   Also, there's a lodge on site and your room is included in the entry fee, so it's one of the more social matches since everyone is hanging out together in the evenings.  it's a great time to pick people's brains and look at lots of diverse gear.    get some tips, make some changes and then try it out again on day 2.

USO's have been failing left and right.

I agree with something more compact though, semi-auto.

In SHTF, you are going to want compact magnification that is not attached to a rifle.

Think about it.  Every time you go to glass something, do you want to raise the red flag and make yourself a suspicious person or target?

"Officer, I saw a guy with a combat sniper rifle o'death pointing it at the crowd!  He's right there!"

Ghillie suits for bug-out bags?  What for?  Stalk lanes in Sniper School on the way to FEMA camp inprocessing?  If we didn't pack Ghillies on 90% of mission while deployed, why would a civilian need to?

I think most people's idea of a SHTF scenario is nowhere near mine.

Look at what's happening in places around the world where there is societal collapse, then adapt that to the framework of the US, which is quite different in many ways.

I agree about a bolt gun though.  They are boat anchors with no ability to fight with, and very limited use in a SHTF scenario, especially for the majority of us that live in urbanized areas.  It's not like you are being dropped off in a stay-behind operation after a cordon-and-search by the line dogs, along with the rest of your Sniper Section to provide security and overwatch with SAWs and SR25s, while you set up on an high-probability IED emplacement location with your M24, M40, or Mk.13.

Not gonna happen.

People are going to spaz over food shortages in most cases.  Take all your high speed dreams about being the lone sniper in a SHTF scenario, and invest that money in some food storage and personal home storage, get to know your neighbors, be good to them, don't tell them what you have, and start incorporating family camping trips into your SHTF contingency planning.

Your real trouble is going to be convincing your spouse or family to play along, then muster even basic shelter, water, and food procurement skills necessary to make it for 1 week without modern luxuries like electricity, running water, and grocery stores, let alone A/C.

This stuff about sniper bug out bags makes zero sense to me in a SHTF contingency planning decision-making chain.

"I think most people's idea of a SHTF scenario is nowhere near mine."

no doubt.   big difference in escaping katrina v2, defense in societal collapse, and 2A resisting a tyrannical gov

precision rifles have been part of insurgencies around the globe for a couple centuries.  they haven't played a super huge part in heading to granny's house until the urban rioting subsides

Not necessarily ghillie suits (that was almost a joke, almost) but I bring that stuff with me hunting and it's always useful. A plain slab of burlap makes a quick hide in between a couple bushes or in a ditch easy and fast if you're looking to simply go unnoticed (or hunting) and it makes for quick ad-hoc shade by tying some veg to it and getting that between you and the sun. Shade in my area is very difficult to find and fleeting when you do, making your own is not just handy, it's necessary. Secondary ability to use the burlap and jute with local veg as as actual ghillie if needed is a bonus. I put in my BOB's the things I find useful when hiking to hunt or hitchhiking since that's more or less what bugging out will be like; though without all the free rides. I'm one of the few people I know that's ever bugged out and the thing I wanted then was another pair of shoes and a hat. Weaponry was the last thing on my mind. Leaving was the first and everyone else had the same priority.



Bugging out doesn't just mean leaving. It means having things you need when you arrive at where ever it is you bugged out to (an option I think of as the exact last one... why leave all my carefully laid up supplies and shelter?). In a bug out there's not likely to be a lot of law enforcement that's hell bent on enforcing law. They're going to be otherwise concerned with just preventing complete chaos. When I bugged out in a real disaster about 30 years ago there were hundreds of people in front and behind us walking to the same place we were (There were no cops patrolling, they were all directing the masses and doing S&R work). The masses were all heading to the closest hope of not dying, the Natl. Guard armory. The Natl. Guard had set up a very well organized and super well protected place for the thousands of us that were suddenly homeess to go. I got there minus one shoe and soaked to the bone and my hair matted and tangled. So you see why about the shoes and hat.



So yeah we agree but I think you went a little pedantic on me for the sake of OP's understanding and ignored some of the subtext. No worries, it's not like you're wrong. You're just ignoring a few things that aren't germaine to your exact point.



As for USO's failing left and right. Statements of the kind without supporting info are suspect. I know of a fair number coming out of the factory needing to go right back (I have one that was such a unit) but none that have failed from normal use. If you have links, post up.



 

I remember the first time we had to bug out.

It was ~0400 in our apartment complex in military housing in the Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany).

A guy in full MOPP suit with mask and M16A1 rang our door and told us to assemble at the nearby prescribed points for families, and if a critical member of the family had a duty place to be at, they had to go there (my dad).

Another realistic contingency to think about is if you live anywhere near railroad tracks and the possibility of a chlorine or other hazardous materials spills.

Do you have protective masks with hoods for the family?

Another one is earthquake that causes significant damage to break down society, i.e. The Big One.

Another is a Hurricane Katrina-type event for those that live in coastal areas.  I have a lot of lessons-learned from family that lived in Beloxi, Mississippi who actually did use their AR15s after they were able to return home and begin enforcement of their neighborhood watch plans, which were made in advance.  When 2-legged hyenas approached their neighborhood to begin looting, imaging their surprise when they saw armed men with AR15s.

With all this BLM agitation and potential rioting, there's another contingency to plan for.

One of the best things people can do while they come up with solutions for these things is to get in shape.

No amount of tools and gear are going to save you if you can't move yourself quickly when the time calls for it.

Appreciate all the responses, it appears that we've gotten a bit off-track here. I'm not really interested in what one may consider to be SHTF situation, or not. I only wanted suggestions on what one might add to his BOB that was precision rifle specific.

well that's really the root of your problem.   if you defined what your SHTF was, then it might be obvious what to put in your bag.    

it's like if i asked what clothes i should wear, and everyone started speculating about whether i was going to work, or church, or to a tough mudder, then i get snarky and say it doesn't matter where i'm going, i just want suggestions on what clothes i might wear.

think.

I would wear minimum kit on the body in something low profile.

Precision rifle would be semi-auto with as short of a barrel as possible, with the highest BC practical for the cartridge and receiver set/magazine COL limitations.

6.5 Grendel AR15 with telescoping or PDW stock, 12.5" to 14.5" barrel, QD suppressor, compact optic that is useful for target and hunting.

Your multitool should cover any fasterners or grip screw interface on the gun.

Mini binos or monocular.

15rd mags with maybe 1 or 25rd mags.

Quick adjust sling that can be configured for more discreet carry.

I would look at covert go belts and pocket cards instead of a bag.

You have to look at urban fieldcraft vs. rural for starters.

That has always been a game-changer for me.

Start looking at things that are common to both and build from there.

My multitools are one of them.

Covert belt is another.

 
When did this start?  They used to have a stellar reputation...

One of my closest friends is a huge USO guy, put them on all his rifles.

Cost him several places in a match where it went TU.

Several others in PRS have had it happen, including other friends of mine.

I had an SN-3 that I waited 1.5 years for.  As soon as I unboxed it, I saw a floater in the reticle.  I was pretty livid, to say the least.

I love their glass, but reliability has been an issue.

Well, they don't make the SN's anymore, haven't for some years, so I can't see how that's relevant to the currently offered and radically different TPAL line... In any event, it is true that SR-8's have been going back in higher numbers than one would expect but that's (which near as I can tell is due to optical effects that users weren't ready for and which weren't advertised (which admittedly should have been designed out in the first place because seriously...). The other models, RMA's are pretty rare according to folks at USO last time we spoke (I know some.). I own a few USO's, they're perfect even if one did go back out of the box, it came right back perfect. I compete against people that bring them too. Nobody ever complains. Sometimes I start to think the USO complaints are just intarwebzor crap being repeated. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt despite my dismissal above of your specific complaint. That said, they note that if you get a floater to shake the optic a bit and the floater will usually fall off the lens and get trapped in the lube that's inside.



In any event, OP: You're not listening and LRRP-dude and I have better things to do than teach someone that's never going to give due consideration to their circumstances. Folks that won't pay attention only need this advice: When it happens... Pray.

I'm always willing to learn from other people's successes and failures.

I guess I go light with a long rang weapon because you aren't going to be shooting a bunch, and if I'm shooting long, I'm shooting LONG or avoiding.  Bipod/tripod, Range finder, Bag/sling to haul it long range. Being a hunter, I need something steady to shoot off of. Something to know how/what I'm shooting at exactly, and the stuff to live out in the wilderness.

I'll take a crack at this. I have at my disposal a precision AR configured as a sort of DMR. 20" barrel Leupold 3x9 PR Mark 4 scope with mil dot reticle.The scope is in a Larue QD mount and I have a flip rear and standard front sight.
If I were to grab this rifle in a SHTF scenario. The only changes I would make to my BOB. Is make room for my scope..It is QD for a reason after all. I would bring my dope for that rifle a bipod my light rear bag and any small tools specific to that rifle.
And my mags ammo would be switched out to the ammo that suits the rifle. Nothing more...

Decided to do a dedicated SPR bag using a First Tactical Specialist Sling Pack.

What did you decide on your contents?

Typical Go-Bag stuff but added a small pair of binos, a rangefinder, a wind meter, ammo for the SPR and a couple small camo nets.

Got one laying next the rifle. I need to snag some pics. It's very very similar to yours.

I also have things like cleaning kit, binos, LRF, dope cards for the various loads I might have, etc. There's a rear bag in there, a shade for my head (because I'm allergic to the evil sun), etc, etc.

Cool, I'd like to see your pics.

I think it's a TT bag.

Shooting mat strapped on the outside.


Outside pocket is LRF, gloves, blank cards, sharpie


Inside:
rear bag - custom made by a buddy's wife
suspension straps for improvised shooting positions
boonie
paint
pruning shears
range cards
TT wrist office
range object size references binder

Just realized I took my cleaning kit out and need to put it back in.  

EDIT: Son stole my binos too.

get a drag bag.

Probably the first thing you figure out is that you aren't ever gonna haul 1000 rnds of ammo

Looking back through this thread, quite prescient even four years later.

Yep I came back to this thread too

Came to make a similar thread.  

One thing I used to have in my bag when I was a sniper was an old “bike hook” that I sharpened the tip.  You know the ones to hang a bike on the garage ceiling?  Well, I bent it a bit and sharpened the tip.  Used it to screw into trees and made a steady expedient rifle rest.  Bungie cords do well but not as good.  


The mini shooting mat that Ryan Cleckner touts is good but hard to come by (think the compAny went out of business)


A polarized scope cap,is also good for seeing through windows/windshields.

Could probably use those screw in tree climbing steps.

Bumping an old thread here, but I enjoyed this thread and found the concept pretty practical. I was on the list for a sniper school and decided to set something up, just something for a quick LE deployment. I'll eventually need to move to a bigger bag, but all of this came in pretty handy during the class and the other times I went out with my rifle to the range.

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Looks pretty solid to me.
Not sure how much more you would need. Only thing I would add is maybe some snacks for longer deployments.

Other than it looks like you have the basics you'd been with the exception of mission essential gear like camo,

I would recommend some sort of shooting mat, ai know they're expensive to but something as simple as a camping foam pad will make a world of a difference if your set up on asphalt or something. I know you can get cheap surplus ones .

ETA, not sure if it work or not, but maybe a write in the rain pad and pen. Seems police snipers do alot more observing so might not be bad to have somewhere to jot down info.

Thanks, I forgot to add that there's a small zippered pouch in the main compartment and I've put some Cliff bars and fruit leathers in there. Eventually I'd like to get a bit bigger pack to get a bit more hydration. My Christmas gift is a rifle case slash shooting mat, so I'm looking forward to that. My rifle is in it now, but I haven't wanted to use it as a mat until it's officially mine.

I like the sling pack style though. It's managable, quick to grab and it can't carry so much stuff that I'll forget what all I put in it. I just wanted to keep my gear as simple as possible.

I basically built off of your core idea of something I could grab in addition to larger, more wider-ranging pack that would just be for a precision rifle. So it basically is just for a precision rifle. I have a larger pack that is more along the lines of something in the linked thread, and I have it set up so that whatever I picked up whether it was a bolt gun, recce rifle, carbine, DMR, or even PCC I can just stuff a few specialty items in it if needed and otherwise it will work with LCE/chest rigs for whatever I chose.
I started with an Eberlestock GP Pouch. I had an HPG kit bag, but I didn't really like how that worked. For now, I'm happier with this.
There are two inner pockets on the back of the main compartment that fit a 10 rd mag each.



There are a few other smaller pockets also in the main compartment on the front panel. I have an LRF in one with extra batteries, and a Kestrel in the other. There is a smaller pocket between them that I have lens cleaning fluid and a brush in. A ziplock with a lens cloth and some of the Otis cleaning swabs are in there, and GI sectional rod take-down rod is in the zippered mesh pocket. There is room for two more mags in the main compartment and probably a little more for additional items that might be needed. I have been putting a few chemlights in there and a headlamp along with note materials.



The front and back are both MOLLE, so you can mount two or three single mag carriers on the front if you want to put extra mags up there. There is a zippered slip pouch on the front that you could fit flat or small items in if you wanted. This works well for a spare 2032, some cards, and other small, flat items.





The sides each have a small pocket with an SRB flap. I have a cleaning kit with an Otis bore snake, bore brush, T handle, bottle of CLP, tube of grease, small Otis GP brush with handle section, and some patches. In the other pocket I have a TAB tool roll with a Borka kit, bits, bolt disassembly tool, small ratchet driver, broken case extractor, and I think a leveling wedge.



This is with two mag pouches and a small admin pouch for data cards attached to the front.



View from the top, front of the pouch is towards the bottom of the pic.



Rear of the TT MiniMav. I can detach the straps and use the small straps on the Eberlestock pouch with SRBs to pass through the MOLLE webbing on the top rear of my pack and attach it there if I want, or keep the TT harness on.

You lost me at the $2k 10X-topend scope that weighs nearly 2 pounds alone...

There’s a bunch of lighter but still quality 10x options.  Put one in a QD mount along with some folding buis and an offset RMR.  Instant 1X with the rds, magnified scope for longer range, backup irons. Something like a 2-10x Razor HD or Credo FFP ... maybe pack some nods and a IR light and IR LAM or thermal optic.

Just ordered an Eberlestock Gunrunner with the intent of making a bag like this.

Low end USO’s are junk. Their older and high end stuff is great. Floaters are an easy fix. Take a phone book or thick soft cover book and smack the optic against it a few times.


My extras…2500m capable rangefinder, Kestrel weather station, small dope book, 10x binos, 2 mags, bipod, Otis cleaning kit, Dewey rod, and the Sako Allen wrench tool. The cleaning kit and Dewey cleaning rod stay in the truck.

If I’m doing the gas gun thing (LMT MWS) it’s 5 mags (one for hunting) and the same kit otherwise. Haven’t found much of a need for anything else.

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Mines over kill, but it works for me when we go shooting LR stuff or hunting... I run a Dragbag, it carries the rifle, targets, cleaning kit, a HD tripod and gen 2 razor(27-60x85) spotting scope if I take it, along with a gunshot/blood kit...The backpack has a Labradar, tool kit, battery packs, ammo, LRF, plugs/muffs/glasses, rear bags, phone scope adapters, and a small tripod for the Labradar and  a shooting mat lashed on the outside ....They work, but it all goes in a buggy so weight/size isn't a concern for me...
 If I needed to go as light as possible, I would just take the dragbag(it has full backpack strap setup on it) and throw in the ammo/toolkit/LRF and a rear bag....Or sling the rifle and take the backpack with just the essentials....either will work just fine...

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May be of interest to some.

Bugging Out means a LOT of different things to different people. I can easily shoot 5" groups at 1000 with my AI in 6CM. Is it going with me when I leave? Nope. In my AO it's heavily forested with MAYBE a 2-300 yd shot available or needed. Any of my iron sight ARs will do that easily. IF IF IF we were to bug out it would be because of radiation and in that event I still wouldn't take the bolt gun. I have a private lake and plenty of stores for almost any issue that may come up. That being said leaving for ANY reason other than a forest fire or radioactive fallout seems unlikely to us. Even in a forest fire event I have a 95% chance of surviving it by sitting tight. It may seem obvious BUT planning your BO relative to WHERE you'll end up seems prudent to me.