At SHOT Show this year I met the good folks at VooDoo Tactical. I had been introduced to them by the OTHER good folks at AmericanSnipers.org. The veteran snipers had a good opinion about the products from VooDoo Tactical and suggested that I might want to try them out. SO, there I was shaking hands and making arrangements. A couple weeks later I received two gunbags to try out and they've been holding rifles and other gear since then. The short report is - they work. The long report is below.
I received two bags, as I said. The first was VooDoo Tactical's Ultimate Drag Bag - a 51" long padded nylon case with features specifically designed for carrying a precision rifle.
The Ultimate Drag Bag has a number of outside pockets (which we will review) and multiple methods of carrying / dragging. Additionally, it has MOLLE attachment points on the outside surface of those pockets so that, should you have the need, you can conveniently add more pockets or pouches for whatever you might need.
Before we get into the pockets, let's take a general look at the bag itself. VooDoo Tactical's design consultant - former Army Ranger and current SWAT Sniper, Todd Swank - provided insight into the needs and niceties of such a bag. The bag uses thick, closed-cell foam to protect the scoped rifle from bumps and impacts. As it is specifically designed as a "drag bag" - which implies it will be dragged behind the rifle's owner, the front end of the bag is reinforced to break through brush, etc. If you're not literally dragging the bag, it offers three other methods for carrying:
- There are shoulder straps ("backpack" straps) in a hidden pocket that you can take out and use to carry the bag on yours shoulders, or
- There is the single shoulder strap common to most gun bags that allows you to hand the bag on one shoulder to move from vehicle to range, etc, or
- There are normal carry handles that wrap together to form a single handle
Inside the bag, to keep your rifle from moving around as your transport it, are two adjustable nylon straps anchored to one side of the interior, which wrap your rifle and secure it via two fastex buckles. Also inside the bag are more MOLLE attachment points as well as a special pocket that runs the length of the spine specifically placed to carry a cleaning rod. Ammo loops can also be found inside the bag.
Let's move on to the exterior pockets...
There are four of them. Two of them are long and run the front half of one side of the bag. They were designed for holding bipods, shooting sticks, a spotting scope, or other similarly shaped gear. They are also big enough to hold a couple of MREs, wet weather gear, etc. The smaller pockets are on the back half of the same side of the bag. The two smaller are actually one approximately square and one about half the size of the first. The larger utility pocket is ideal for holding a pistol, extra mags, a flashlight, etc. The smaller of the two is almost ideal for holding multiple 30-round magazines for an M4 style weapon, or several 20-rd mags for a .308 of the same style. I found that I could cram four boxes of .308 ammo into that smaller pocket as well. A cleaning kit has to go somewhere so the bag is set up for each shooter to be able to "customize" it as necessary for his particular mission. The published material says the bag will hold a shotgun or rifle up to 49" or 50" in length. Every rifle and shotgun I own fits in this bag with room to spare.
Retail price for this Ultimate Drag Bag is $89.95 on the VooDoo Tactical webpage. That's a hell of a good price for a bag this versatile.
The second bag I received is VooDoo Tactical's 36" padded gun case. This 36" bag is perfectly sized to hold an M4 (or imitation) weapon with a collapsible stock and a 16" barrel. No, you will not fit an M16A2 with fixed stock and full length barrel into it. No, this is not the right bag for a hunter to buy to hold his lever action .30-.30. This IS the perfect "operator's" bag for the average patrolman to put his (correctly sized) AR-15 in. Overall weapon length has to be under 35 inches. Unlike a lot of weapon bags, this one sports the closed-cell foam padding on SIX sides as compared to just two. This is a welcome design feature that allows better protection for your weapon as well as ease of packing / access.
The bag itself is a collection of sections, pouches and pockets. The main compartment is obviously meant to hold the rifle. On the outside of that is a second compartment with two padded pouches built it. This was put there to hold pistols, optics, or other equipment you don't want getting beaten up badly in transport. On the outside of that section are the three pockets you can clearly see in the picture. Each of these pockets is gusseted, allowing them to expand to hold more than you would think. Each of the end pockets can hold as many as six 30-rd mags for your M4/AR. The center pocket is certainly big enough to hold more ammo, a cleaning kit, emergency food bars, etc.
Like the drag bag discussed above, the 36" bag has the same three carry options to include regular hands, a shoulder strap and "backpack" straps. For soldiers and those police officers who work in rural areas, those backpack straps have to be a godsend.
For additional kit VooDoo supplied more MOLLE attachment points along the outside body of the case, and for all of this the retail price on the VooDoo Tactical webpage is only $52.95. Again, a darn good price for such a bag.
Now let me add a few words of pure sales hype - or is it patriotic support? I was introduced to the guys at VooDoo Tactical by the very good guys at AmericanSnipers.org. AmericanSnipers.org is a non-profit organization that supports the deployed snipers of our military anywhere overseas. Those who run AmericanSnipers.org are themselves active law enforcement snipers who, out of the kindness of their hearts, are doing what they can to help their brother precision shooters. The guys at AmericanSnipers.org took me and introduced me to the folks at VooDoo Tactical specifically because VooDoo Tactical has donated so much gear to AmericanSnipers.org and because the feedback received from those who are using the gear overseas has been 100% positive. So, as it was introduced to me, this is good gear from good guys helping more good guys - all doing it just because "it's the right thing to do."
Even with all that taken into consideration I wasn't going to just "sign off" on the quality of the gear without testing it myself. I'm quite happy to say that it lived up to the reputation originally presented. It IS good gear. I encourage you to support those who support our warriors overseas. Visit VooDoo Tactical and AmericanSnipers.org online and support those who help others today.
