Protektor Model Rabbit Ear Rear Bag with Hard Bottom

This is a nice, high quality rear bag, filled with good sand, for a great price. I’d bet that the most commonly used shooting bags are those made by Caldwell, simply due to price. So this review will contain comparisons to a Caldwell bag. Since I mentioned price, I’ll also mention that I purchased the pictured Caldwell bag through Amazon for $30. And I purchased this Protektor Model bag through Amazon for $34. So, there was only a $4 difference in price between the two. That extra $4 will get you nice, thick leather with quality stitching. It will get you a thick, firm base. The ears are filled independently of the base. And it will get you a quality sand fill. In comparison, the Caldwell bag uses a combination of soft suede, canvas fabric, and thin vinyl. The base is soft. The ears and base are not separated. And Caldwell fills their bags with regular play sand.Both bags arrived a little over-filled. This is not a fault of the product, it’s intentionally done by the maker. It’s better to have sand and not need it, than to need sand and not have it. The base section of the Protektor Model bag came filled just how I like it, but the ears contained too much sand. Upon removing some fill from the ears, I was surprised to see that it contained black chromite sand. Now, if you’re unfamiliar with different types of sand, as most people are, chromite sand is a heavier, higher quality fill for a shooting bag. Most often, bags that come pre-filled will contain play sand (the same stuff your kids play in at the park). Chromite sand is much more dense than play sand, and is used by serious benchrest shooters. Pretty cool that this bag already contains it, especially at this price. The Caldwell bag contained play sand, and was so over-filled that the seams were stretching apart. About a tablespoon of sand had leaked out in to the bag it was wrapped in. Since the Caldwell bag does not fill the ears and base separately, I drained some sand to my liking, and mashed the bag around until the ears had enough fill in them. When the ears don’t have enough fill, simply turn the Caldwell bag over and let some fill back in them. It’s a constant issue.The base of this Protektor Model bag has a thick plastic layer to ensure it sits flush on a shooting bench. Without this type of base, shooting bags tend to become more of a round shape, making them less stable on flat surfaces. My Caldwell bag is a good example of what I’m talking about. It’s more round and I’m constantly having to mash it in to the desired shape.Finally, the Protektor Model bag uses high quality REAL leather. It’s stitched using strong nylon threads. When used properly, you should never have a problem with the quality of the materials used in this bag. Years down the road when the leather has stretched a little, simply add back some of the sand you drained from it when it was new. For this reason, I always save the sand I relieve from shooting bags. In comparison, the Caldwell bag uses a combination of what appears to be suede leather for the bottom of the base, a canvas material for the sides of the base, and a very thin vinyl-ish material for the top and ears. I suspect it’s an attempt keep the bottom from wearing, the sides from stretching, while making the top surface slick. It’s very unlikely this bag will last as long as the Protektor Model bags, as the seams were already stretched to the point of leaking sand when I received it.Included are some pictures comparing the two bags described. I shake white powder on them to make them slicker, so that’s not anything to worry about. I hope these better demonstrate how the quality of materials used directly affects the shape and functionality of the bags.