PHOTO BY HAROLD HARTON A rifle and a handgun rest on a pair of X-7 Bulls Bags. The bags work like a vise, holding firearms steady for improved accuracy. If you want to know about the potential accuracy of your rifle, it is a must to eliminate as much of the human element as possible. To do so, we usually use a solid bench rest with some sort of bags to rest the rifle on, or maybe one of the custom adjustable rests that are available

For some reason, I almost always return to a good set of sand bags. They just seem to work best.

Recently, I have been testing a new concept of shooting bags that consist of a total of seven bags that can be used in several combinations from one or more bags. They are constructed of durable 900 polyester, but the area where the rifle rests is a rubberized material that grips the rifle. The saddle bags are covered with a soft suede leather material.

The bags are shipped empty to save postage. I filled mine with kitty litter and found this works very well.

These bags should last for years if proper care is taken.

Price for the entire set is $124.95, and they come from X Seven Inc., P.O. Box 4809, Hagerstown, MD 21742, phone (301) 714-0008. The company Web site is www.x7bullsbag.com.

Harold Harton is a veteran outdoorsman and photographer, and a longtime contributor to the Lampasas Dispatch Record.