The Complete Range Bag Checklist: Essential Gear for New Gun Owners

A day on the range can be fulfilling and fun. But for new gun owners, it can also be intimidating. What do I need to take? What if something breaks? Taking a minute to inventory your range bag and plan for possible needs can help alleviate that anxiety and allow you to fully enjoy your time on the range. Here’s a list of the gear I find indispensable when I go to the range.

Choosing the Right Range Bag

First, let’s look at your range bag itself. As a new gun owner, you may not need that top of the line, carry everything bag. You should, however, invest in a bag that will hold your gear and be easy to carry.

There are many styles of bags to choose from so you need to think about your personal preferences. Do you want one that is more traditional or a backpack? Are you looking for something that will hold everything in one place or are you ok with having your ammunition and firearm in a separate bag?

Essential Range Bag Contents

Quick-Access Items (Outer Pocket)

Your bag should hold all the things you might need while you are on the range. I like to organize my bag by use and urgency of need. In the outer pocket of my backpack-styled range bag, I keep the things I’ll use more often, or that I need to access quickly. I don’t want to dig for items if there is a medical need on the range.

Target Setup:

• Staples and staple gun—these are essential for putting up targets

Weather Protection:

• Sunscreen and/or bug spray—if your range is outdoors

First Aid:

• Minor emergency pouch—this pouch should have a minimum of adhesive bandages, antiseptic ointment, hydrocortisone cream, acetaminophen or ibuprofen, and saline solution (for eyes or for washing out a small wound)

Training Tools:

Permanent markers for marking targets. It’s easy to become carried away and just shoot, but analyzing your shots will help you see what you are doing as you practice. Knowing what happened is the first step toward improving.

Comfort and Performance:

• Shooting gloves—Since I shoot outdoors, mostly, I always have two pair of gloves in my bag. I keep a pair for winter weather that are slightly thinner than I would wear outside the range and made with a thermal insulation for maximum warmth. In the summer, I keep a pair of lightweight gloves to help with grip when my hands might be sweaty.

Training Enhancement:

• Shot timer—this makes tracking improvement in your skill set much easier. It gives you cold data to analyze and improve upon.

Maintenance Tools:

• Small cleaning kit—We all know that things happen. Malfunctions and jams are typically easy to clear, but sometimes, having the right tools makes it even easier. Regular cleaning is a part of maintenance that cannot be overlooked if you want your firearm to function optimally. At a minimum, I want a cleaner and lubricant, a cleaning rod and patches, and a small brush. While it is unlikely that I’ll do a deep clean on the range, these items can get my gun running again, if I do have a small while while shooting.

Power Management:

• Extra batteries—Be sure to have extras for all your gear that needs them. My over-the-ear protection uses AAA batteries, my shot timer uses AA batteries, and my PMO (pistol mounted optic) uses yet a different battery. Being ready with spare batteries keeps me shooting, even when a dead battery happens. And we all know dead batteries happen.

Performance Tracking:

Notebook and pen—Becoming proficient is more than just putting rounds down range. It’s also analyzing what happens as you put rounds down range. I plan out what drills I’ll be shooting ahead of time and note them in my notebook. Then, as I work through them, I make notes on my performance. I note conditions and mindset, too. Planning ahead helps me ensure that I’ve packed enough ammunition and it allows me to shoot with a goal in mind. It also gives me data to analyze and improve on at my next range session.