Using sandbags to brace?

[Birdman]

Because my shoot site is rather difficult to get too I would like to limit the number of racks I need to lug around. There is plenty of sand at my site and sandbags are inexpensive. I was wondering if anyone used sandbags to brace single shot AOP before or have any thoughts on this idea? I'm thinking I could basically build "racks" with the sandbags which could be filled at the site and would not need to be hauled out and could be emptied after the show. The only concern I can think of is moisture should the sand or bags be wet, which I could mitigate by either ensuring the bags are dry or by lining with plastic or foil. I'm even thinking, assuming everything gets braced well, that this would be even safer than wood racks.

[Engineer Cat]

Because my shoot site is rather difficult to get too I would like to limit the number of racks I need to lug around. There is plenty of sand at my site and sandbags are inexpensive. I was wondering if anyone used sandbags to brace single shot AOP before or have any thoughts on this idea? I'm thinking I could basically build "racks" with the sandbags which could be filled at the site and would not need to be hauled out and could be emptied after the show. The only concern I can think of is moisture should the sand or bags be wet, which I could mitigate by either ensuring the bags are dry or by lining with plastic or foil. I'm even thinking, assuming everything gets braced well, that this would be even safer than wood racks.

What about just digging them into the sand on the lakes shore line? I think (don't know for sure) that it would be safer to burry them leaving an inch mortar above the sand than if you filled sandbags and laid them against tubes to try and keep them secure. Just bring a post hole digger and have at it.

[Birdman]

What about just digging them into the sand on the lakes shore line? I think (don't know for sure) that it would be safer to burry them leaving an inch mortar above the sand than if you filled sandbags and laid them against tubes to try and keep them secure. Just bring a post hole digger and have at it.

Not really an option to bury them in the sandy areas for several reasons. One major concern would be the two sandy areas are where the docks are that everyone (who has mostly been drinking all day) loads into the boats to go out on the lake to watch the show. I would be afraid they would trip over wires or the tubes. The shoreline is not sandy where I shoot until you get into the water. I have racks for my mortars. I'm only talking about single shot tubes, mainly 62mm shell, comets and mines. I may just use threaded rods bolted to plywood to brace them and use sandbags to hold the plywood down. That would be less bulky then actual racks. That would mean more prep work for me though and more crap to haul in/out and store.

It's hard to imagine how difficult it is to get supplies in/out of the site. It would be similar to shooting on the rooftop of a 6 story building with no elevator that's about 7 hours from home and having nothing but a couple of volunteers that your asking to work harder on their vacation then they do at work. And the most motivated one is pushing 80!

[Arles]

Im sure you could make it work, but making sand bags and then setting them up seems like more work than transporting a few racks. There are some very nice and lite aluminum racks available that are reasonably easy to transport and will make set up much easier than trying to brace with sand bags.

[ssmith512]

5 gallon buckets. Place single single shot tubes in bucket, fill bucket with sand. It will work just fine. Bucket could probably hold 6 or more 62mm tubes easy. No reason it wont work for comets and mines as well.

[PyroJoeNEPA]

The only down side to this that I see is that the one shots create a lot of downward pressure and should be braced with something solid underneath to keep the bottom plugs from blowing out. I saw someone that shot a bunch of SO76 comets zip tied to a 1x3---half of them blew the plugs out and didn't get the height they were supposed to. I would suggest trying a couple to see what happens if you have the opportunity to do that.

[ssmith512]

The only down side to this that I see is that the one shots create a lot of downward pressure and should be braced with something solid underneath to keep the bottom plugs from blowing out.

Indeed.

3"-4" or so of sand in the bottom of the bucket would be more than enough support.

[RalphieJ]

5-gallon buckets do need reinforcement on the bottom, inside. Wood discs work fine (I had obtained a bunch from wood wire spools). A 5-gl bucket with sand will support up to a single shot of 1.3 3" and 4" mortars. I do know from experience that without the wood disks the mortar will punch out the bottom of the bucket with ease.

[Birdman]

Thanks for the feedback. I was hoping someone would have tried using sandbags but I guess I'll just have to do some testing. Buckets seem like a good idea but they are bulky. I may have to break down and get some real holders but I was hoping to keep the budget dollars spent on hardware this year to a minimum with the price increases on product. I'm also trying to keep my hardware to a minimum because right now I'm getting more pushback about the sheer amount of stuff that needs to be stored and lugged back and forth and less about the budget. I'll figure something out.