I recently purchased a new Edgewood rear bag but of course did not want to incur the shipping cost of including heavy sand ... and think I have come up with the next best local (Edmonton) alternative. Important criteria for me::::needs to be...
*”heavy” by volume when compared with playground sand
*kernels large enough to resist seepage through stitching
*packs hard enough to resist shifting (shot-to-shot)
Made a trip to Manus (sandblasting supplier) and picked up a 55 lb bag of Garnet which cost $22.00 all in. (They also stock smaller grit if desired). NOTE: Garnet is a crushed substance which leaves “angular” sides which is important for the bag to resist changing shape between shots. By comparison, playground/beach sand has smooth rounded sides which allow shape change (think of trying to control the shape of a bag of ball bearings).
Kernels on the left are Zircon (heavy sand) and on the right the Garnet described on the invoice.
NOTE: I did a weight comparison of the Garnet with playground sand and the Garnet is 70% heavier by volume.
If there any SPFGA characters (that know me)...I will keep the balance of the bag on-site and for $5.00...they can fill their rear bags until it’s gone