RIA Range Bag

Reviewed by Steve Shields (wichaka, )

I can recall many times, years ago going out to shoot and running out the door with an arm load of gear, and of course trailing some of it behind as I made my way to the truck. Then driving a few miles to a rock pit only to discover that I’d left something behind.

Range bags to me were one of those things that made good sense to have, but it would cut into the ammo/new gun budget if I bought one.

Me being an LEO I have seen many types of gear bags, but none really fit the bill for the range. Being a firearms instructor as well, I had a ton of gear to haul and no real organized way to do it. And I consider myself one of those "A place for everything, and keep everything in it’s place when not in use" types.

After I got back into competition shooting, and being around numerous different bags on the range I finally obtained one. And boy does it make life easier.

A few months back I saw someone on our illustrious forum that had obtained a range bag from Armscor. I immediately thought it looked well laid out for good organization of gear, and appeared that it would hold as much as a dump truck. I contacted Ivan at Armscor about the bag, and he gladly sent us one to look over and get our thoughts.

The first thing one notices is the Team Armscor embroidered on the side, a very nice touch.

The bag itself is huge, made of tough nylon ballistic type cloth. Overall (including the outside pockets) it measures approx. 22 1/2" long, by 15" wide, and 9" high, has 5 outside zippered pockets, will hold up to 4 pistols, and it will swallow just about anything you can think of when going to the range.

The top has a single wide flap with zippers on both sides, that when opened up it gives you access to the entire inside of the bag.

Not only does it have grab style handles, it also has an adjustable shoulder strap complete with a comfort pad that adjusts to keep the nylon from digging into your shoulders.

The bottom has feet sewn into it, along with straps to help control those really heavy loads.

The bag is made to stand on it’s own, which means it’s easy to find things in the bag, as it won’t collapse on itself.

Here’s a photo with a case of 12 gauge shotgun shells on top of it. It held it without so much as a wrinkle in the nylon.

As for organization, this bag has it and has it well.

First, behind the Armscor logo is a long pocket that holds your magazines. It will hold 8 double stack or 16 single stack magazines.

You’ll notice a stiffener strap running lengthwise on the inside of the pocket. It keeps the flap from collapsing. Okay not a necessity, but a nicety that really helps when the bag is full and you’re trying to get the pocket zipped up.

The opposite side of the bag has 2 pockets, that when opened up you’ll notice an elastic band inside. Each pocket on this side of the bag has it, so you can securely store and hold oddball items inside the band and they’ll stay put. Plus you still have the rest of the pocket for other items

The end pockets are close to the same, but one being a bit smaller to allow the addition of a small pouch along side it to carry spent brass, a small beverage bottle, or whatever you may choose. The other occupies the full width of that side of the bag.

This bag has an inner pouch that comes out should you only need to take a few things to the range.

You’ll notice a few things right off. It has its own grab and shoulder straps, adjustable dividers, and is padded just like the main bag so it won’t collapse on itself.

After the inner pouch is taken out, you can really see how large this bag is. So if you don’t need the inner pouch, take it out as you can still tote 2 pistols and have tons of room for anything one can think of to take to the range.

I had the pleasure of taking the bag to the range, and found that it not only held all my usual gear, but 500 rounds of .45 ammo, a complete cleaning kit, some 'smith tools, a light jacket, snacks, 2 water bottles, and a partridge in a pear tree. Well ok, I was obviously kidding about the partridge in the pear tree thing, but you get the idea. This is one big bag, which is nice so you don't need a bunch of other bags to carry misc. items, it will all fit inside this one. With all that gear inside and the bag bulging, the zippers worked as they should, and it was very stable when put on uneven ground.

Well there you have it. For around 120.00 it’s one of the most organized and tough as nails range bags I’ve come across, with features you’ll find in bags costing over a hundred bucks more.

For the size, long lasting construction, choice of materials, many nice sized pockets for those who like organization, a bag that stands up on its own, and most important of all, protection for your firearms that you have spent your hard earned money on, you’d be hard pressed to find a better one for the money.

If you haven’t obtained a range bag, or are mulling over which one to buy, check this one out it’ll be worth your time to do so.

You may discuss about this product, ask questions or in general discuss about this review, in this thread in our Forums Site:

http://forum.m1911.org/showthread.php?t=22770

Sources:

Bag

Advanced Tactical Firearms
150 N. Smartway
Pahrump, Nevada 89060
USA

Phone: 775-537-1444
Fax: 775-537-1446
Web Site: http://www.advancedtactical.com