Range bag vs backpack: can a backpack be your range bag?

Can you use a backpack as a range bag?

Yes. A range backpack is a range bag you wear, and Savior, for one, builds its backpack around the same padded pistol sleeves as its bag. The question isn't whether a backpack works. It's whether the one you pick keeps the pistol, the ammo and the dirty stuff apart the way a range bag does, and whether it meets your range's rules for bringing the pistol in.

That second part matters more than the shape. Shoot Indoors in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, says "It is required that you bring any outside firearms into the range cased and unloaded" (Shoot Indoors). A range backpack with padded pistol sleeves or a pistol compartment is built for that. An ordinary school or hiking backpack isn't, so if you use one, put the pistol in its own case first, and ask your range whether that meets its rules. Our lockable pistol case picks cover the case half.

What an ordinary backpack gives up is the organization: no padded pistol spots, no magazine pockets and no separate compartment to keep a pistol away from everything else. For a single first trip that can be fine. For a kit you pack every week, a purpose-built bag or backpack earns its place.

Range bag or backpack: which fits your trips

Side by side

Every value links to the maker's page it came from. "Not published" means the maker's page doesn't state it.

None of the three publishes an empty weight. If weight on your shoulders is the deciding factor, Vertx is the one maker among our range bag picks that does (6.25 lb for the COF Heavy, 4 lb for the COF Light); see our best range bags.

Organization: how you find things at the bench

Organization is where a purpose-built bag or backpack beats a plain one, and it's where these three differ most.

• Savior Specialist Range Bag: three cushioned pistol sleeves and an adjustable center divider in one main compartment. Simple: everything goes in one place, and the divider keeps it from sliding around.
• Savior Compact S.E.M.A: the same three sleeves live in a separate, lockable pistol compartment (13 x 9.5 x 5.75 in). Above it is a lockable top compartment, and three removable CORE lite 9x5 pouches sort small gear. The pistols and the rest of the kit are physically apart.
• G.P.S. Handgunner: a removable foam cradle for four handguns, plus twin side pockets that G.P.S. says "store 6 extra magazines each". It's the only one of the three that publishes a magazine count.

For a beginner, the S.E.M.A's split layout is the tidiest way to keep the pistol away from ammo, snacks and used targets. The bag's single compartment is quicker to pack. Neither is wrong. How to lay out either one is in how to organize a range bag.

What fits: pistols, magazines and the rest of the kit

Pistols. The two Savior options hold three pistols each, in identical sleeves. Savior publishes the sleeve interior on the backpack's page as 11.5 x 7.5 in, and since it says the sleeves are the same, that's the number to check your pistol against for either one. The Handgunner holds four in its cradle; G.P.S. doesn't give the cradle's dimensions.

Overall size. Savior's bag is 18.5 x 9 x 12 in outside. The backpack is 18 x 14 x 10 in (length, height, depth). By our arithmetic that makes the backpack's outside box roughly a quarter bigger (about 2,520 cubic inches against about 2,000), which buys the separate pistol compartment and top compartment. G.P.S. doesn't publish the Handgunner's size, so check it against your locker, trunk or range cubby another way before you rely on it.

Targets. A common handgun target such as Birchwood Casey's Shoot-N-C trainer is 12 x 18 in (Birchwood Casey). Neither Savior publishes an inside dimension that would let that lie flat, so roll targets or carry them in a folder.

The rest of the kit. Muffs, glasses, a stapler, magazines and ammo all have to fit too. Lay your own gear out and check it against the published dimensions before you buy either one. Our checklist of what to put in a range bag works the same for a backpack.

Carrying it: targets, stands and the walk from the car

This is the factor that usually decides it. At an indoor range, you typically walk from the car to the lobby and then to a lane, and a bag in one hand is easy. If your range expects you to bring your own targets and a stand, or you walk a long way from the parking area, a backpack leaves both hands free for a folding stand and a box of targets. The S.E.M.A adds a sternum strap. The differences between range types are in indoor vs outdoor shooting ranges.

Weather is the other outdoor factor. G.P.S. includes a pull-out rain cover with the Handgunner. Savior doesn't list a rain cover for the S.E.M.A or the Specialist bag. Among our other backpack picks, the TIDEWE Range Backpack and the G.P.S. Tactical Range Backpack both come with waterproof rain covers, per their makers. If you shoot outdoors in all seasons, that detail is worth having in writing.

None of the three makers says its bag or backpack carries a target stand, so plan to carry the stand by hand or in its own bag. If you still need one, our best target stands page compares the options.

Locking: same idea, same limit

All three lock with zippers. Savior lists "Lockable zippers: Yes" on the bag and "Savior KAM Lockable Zippers", a lockable pistol compartment and a lockable top compartment on the backpack. G.P.S. lists "Lockable heavy-duty zippers". Savior also calls each sleeve individually lockable.

The limit is the same for every one of them: lockable zippers on a soft bag or backpack aren't a locked hard case. TSA, for example, says "Firearms must be unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container and transported as checked baggage only" (TSA). For the drive to the range, the rules depend on your state. Our guide on how to transport a gun to the range explains where to check.

Or consider

If neither shape here fits, the two roundups cover more options. Our best range bags include the Vertx COF Heavy, which adds a lock-down cable, and the Allen Eliminator Rangemaster, which comes with a pistol rug. Our best range backpacks add the TIDEWE Range Backpack, with a hard molded glasses case on top, and the G.P.S. Tactical Range Backpack, whose three removable pistol cases each hold a pistol and four magazines. Still building the whole kit? Start with our first range kit.