Eberlestock Gunslinger II Pack

[silent_varmintor]

Hello,

 

 

I'm considering replacing my drag bag with one of these packs and i was just curious as to see if anybody on here uses the Eberlestock packs and if they could give their opinion on how they get on with it.

 

I'd also be interested as to how your normal shooting outings are carried out, like do you carry your pack all day with rifle in the back, if it is a comfy carry, what is in your pack, that sort of thing.

 

Also if you carry this pack when you are out deer stalking / hunting ? If so how do you transport the deer ?

 

My normal shooting day will consist of carrying the drag with me into the field, if i am going out for a fox i normally find a good place to set up and stay put and scan for any foxes as that is the way my shooting ground works best. Sometimes i find the shape of the drag bag and with how low it sits it can hit off the back of my legs which is pretty annoying. The Eberlestock looks as if i wouldn't have this problem as it sits higher on the waist and looks like the bottom of the scabbard wouldn't come down past the bottom of my arse.

 

I have no doubt in my mind at all if going out foxing this pack would be great as i can take everything i need with me while being able to carry the rifle in the scabbard. My main concern is if i went out for a Roe if it would work or not.

 

 

Thanks

 

Craig

 

[MJR]

Craig,

I use a Gunslinger II. If Deer stalking out on the open hill and have to take everything with you I find it very good but only if you have other means of extracting a carcass - if you have to drag out then forget it, its just too much to carry and drag at the same time. If i'm walking in to a location and then sitting and waiting for a fox or high seat then its excellent. One gripe is that with a rifle with a 24" or longer barrel and a moderator fitted then quite a lot of the gun stock will be above the top of your head, not a problem on open ground but a pita if in woodland.

The Eberlestock gear seems to be reasonably well made and I like the different compartments to store different items in. Mine is not water proof in an absolute downpour so if you are intending to carry dry gear you'll need a waterproof bag inside.

[bradders]

Erblestocks are great, however the base pack weight isn't light and it's easy to load up with too much crap, thi!us increasing the weight

That's ok for us cool cats who only venture as far as the firing point from the car park at Bisley, but worth considering

That said, the load bearing harness does a sterling job, but if you have a rifle with a painted finish....don't expect the muzzle brake or whatever to retain its cool paint job on the muzzle with constant drawing and replacing of rifle

They are very well made though and will give you years of service

[silent_varmintor]

2 very good points lads,

 

 

1 - Getting the carcass out of the ground as i would have to carry.

2 - One that i did think of previously but Bradders has reminded of this, packing too much equip or crap in the pack just because i have the space for it. I must admit i do already carry some things that I've not had to use as of yet but my thinking is if i need them then they are there.

 

I have just measured the rifle and with the mod on as its muzzle mounted it measures 50.5". It is a 24" barrel with McMillan A5 stock, so I'm guessing i am going to have a good portion of the stock protruding from the top of the bag which may be top heavy.

 

I think if i can justify paying double that i paid for the drag bag, the eberlestock would be a perfect bag for me for doing the type of shooting i like to do most which is, get to the farm, get the rifle set up, it then goes back in the bag, i walk about half a mile to my fav firing position as it gives me the best view of my ground. From there i can scan the whole ground from that one spot. If something presents itself i can either shoot from there or stalk in closer. This is what i done about 3 weeks ago, spotted a fox, ranged her at 355 yards, dialed in sent a 120gn Nosler BT into her neck. The 1st victim of the custom 6.5x47 Predator built by Dave @ Valkyrie.

I do exactly the same when I'm stalking deer, go to that firing point and in this case i would have the rifle on a sling and carrying the Roe Sack.

 

Craig

[MJR]

For that type of outing you might be better with a rifle cover. I use a Tab one and its easy to use and gives you the opportunity to use the rifle if you spot your quarry and you can still carry the rifle on shoulder straps - I use a double niggeloh sling which works really well for long distances. Whilst stalking this year one of the Stalkers had the waist belt made by swede team. It fits everything in that you'd need really for a outing, fits a small flash and food, knife, small 1st aid kit etc and is very easy to unbuckle if you want to crawl. Santa bough one for xmas but I haven't used it yet.

[gunner]

Lovley shot with the new predator

[ds1]

I had a Gunslinger and still have a Phantom. A good range bag but heavy and the rifle in the scabbard is awkward and heavy. The pack sits like shite on your back without anything in the scabbard as it "rolls".

 

My use is 1 to 4 day comps, all kit carried for that time. As per MJR, fully agree the Tab rifle cover is the best thing for carting / carrying the rifle either hand strap or with a biathlon sling and I can use a 30L rucksack for a 1 or 2 day comp or a larger bergen for 3 or 4 day over night comps.

[terryh]

I have a X1 which has been used for range work and is very well made and can carry all you need, but as pointed out you could load it with all sorts of gear and end up with a big load.

 

Following on from MJR's post, I was looking at making a 'light weight' set up and came to the conclusion that I'd ask TAB to add some pouches or molle to one one side of their rifle covers and use one of their biathlon slings to carry just enough kit. This with small items in your pockets and you'd have quite enough to run for most days out?

 

T

[MJR]

Terry, sounds like a good idea adding a few pouches to a Tab cover but surely that's just completing the circle back to a drag bag type setup? The Tab covers are excellent though, clean dry optics and no water/dirt in the action.

[terryh]

Mike

 

That is the design balance, preventing it becoming a drag bag as opposed to a rifle cover on steroids

 

Just adding a bullet binder plus some essentials should not bulk it up too much.

 

Think laying out what you actually need would determine the design. When I did partake in comps that required carry the advice I received was find the smallest pack that would do, this prevented crap from filling up any spare space.

 

Terry

[silent_varmintor]

Thanks for the replies lads.

 

Not so sure I'm keen on the tab rifle cover though tbh, but i suppose each to their own.

 

I have spoken with a guy on Instagram, my account is craigross6547 if anybody has instagram and wants to follow feel free. Anyway he has said that the has the X3 LoDrag which to me looks quite similar to the Gunslinger. His rifle is 50" and he carries this muzzle up and it protrudes by 17". I had a quick go at holding the rifle on my back and protruding both muzzle end up and butt end up at 17" from the base of my neck to see what it is like. With the butt end up and a slight movement left or right it seemed very top heavy. I know that this quick test would not be like having it in the actual pack but i can't help but feel that it would make the carrying of the pack rather uncomfortable and would seem that i would always be fighting to keep it balanced. I also know that there are clips that will hold of rifle in place but i also know that it will still have some form of movement. I then tried it with the muzzle end up which obviously did not make it top heavy but i am unsure how far down the scabbard i would get the butt of the rifle as apposed to the muzzle end. If it would not go down as far the muzzle then it will be more than 17".

 

The contents that i carry in the drag bag on each outing are

 

Rifle ( obviously )

5 shot Mag

cheap little wind meter

Knife

THLR small rear bag

small note pad with mechanical pencil

small packet of self adhesive targets

TAB gear sling

Bino's

rangefinder

GoPro

flask of coffee when out in cold weather otherwise its a camelback bottle of water.

lightweight petzel head lamp

maxpedition pouch - stalking pouch - wet wipes, 2 x black bin liners, latex gloves, hand sanitiser, small knife sharpener, couple of nappy sacks for putting used wipes etc, small bag of plasters and couple of small bandages incase i nearly cut my finger off again.

maxpedition pouch - foxing pouch - U caller with remote, external antenna thats about 3" ( long to go on the BNC connector mod i done to increase range to max i have tested so far to 575 yards), spare batteries for the caller and remote, spare batteries for the trail camera, spare memory cards for the trail camera.

 

Although it seems like a huge list it takes up hardly any room at all. I would however probably put all this in the Eberlestock apart from the maxpedition pouches as i have connectors for the molle straps and they would have either been mounted on the sides or front of the pack, leaving me with loads of room in the inside which i would feel i would have to put something in otherwise its just wasted space not being used. At that point it would then be over packed and then carrying stuff for the sake of it.

 

I think for now i will be sticking with the drag bag as the only gripe i have with it is the position it sits in when carried like a rucksack, its just a bit low.

 

Do i think its worth spending over double the price of the drag bag, no probably not as its not going to give me more benefit to justify the cost. It does look like it would be a very comfy pack to carry going by the looks of the padding on the back area and shoulder straps but that is not worth the cost of the pack to me. Its a pity as it looks good and the overall design looks really good.

 

Craig

[Tikka4Sika]

Erblestocks are great, however the base pack weight isn't light and it's easy to load up with too much crap, thi!us increasing the weight

That's ok for us cool cats who only venture as far as the firing point from the car park at Bisley, but worth considering

That said, the load bearing harness does a sterling job, but if you have a rifle with a painted finish....don't expect the muzzle brake or whatever to retain its cool paint job on the muzzle with constant drawing and replacing of rifle

They are very well made though and will give you years of service

You are right about the weight , according to their website the Gunslinger II weighs in at a hefty 8lbs , add a load of junk , range finder , binos , wet weather gear , shooting stick and you`ll be getting close to 40lbs with your rifle , not good for fat boys trying to walk the moors and glens.