Suggestions for a bench rest?

[glassman98]

Eric, I made mine out of a old scissor jack I had. Works great. That is the shooting bench I also made with spotting scope. Easy to make. Hope this helped.  Craig

That is a great idea! The gun would have to be pretty heavy (tons) to make that wobble. I'm constantly amazed at the ingenuity of folks here.

How far are you shooting?

Show us some pics when you get everything set up

Bet on it. Thanks for checking my homework.

 

Eric, I shoot out 100yds at home with this set up.  Craig

[cactusrat]

I built mine for well under $100.

It serves as a shooting bench and work table.

Plenty of room off to the side for air tank or a chronograph.

[Gertrude]

Hey guys, I realized this may be a really dumb question on my part, with a forehead slapping "Duh" answer,...

...but can someone explain to me why a fancy table top type of rest , works any better than a good forearm mounted bipod and rear sandbags ?

I suppose I can understand it if we are talking about a rifle that does not, (or can not) be fitted with a forward sling stud or weaver base plate, but other than that, I'm drawing a blank as to what any real advantage might be.

School me please, ... and don't be afraid to send me that forehead slapper, hahaha ! 

[cactusrat]

Hey guys, I realized this may be a really dumb question on my part, with a forehead slapping "Duh" answer,...

...but can someone explain to me why a fancy table top type of rest , works any better than a good forearm mounted bipod and rear sandbags ?

I suppose I can understand it if we are talking about a rifle that does not, (or can not) be fitted with a forward sling stud or weaver base plate, but other than that, I'm drawing a blank as to what any real advantage might be.

School me please, ... and don't be afraid to send me that forehead slapper, hahaha ! 

Well for me, I use a rest that completely supports the gun (one reason my bench is so big).

By doing this, the only human part that touch’s the gun is my trigger finger and cheek weld. Both are very light.

This keeps almost all body movement from the gun.

Shooting with a bipod and/or a bag (or two bags) will still have a good chance to have body movement (heart beat, breathing) on the gun.

Yes, when hunting or walking about this method doesn’t work so well. But still I use whatever is handy (tree, fence, car, hay bale…..) for support.

[stalwart]

"Eric, I shoot out 100yds at home with this set up.  Craig"

Yeah, when I saw that spotter, I figured either your eyes are as old as mine... or, I should get jealous... quick. I am, now. 

I'll be running a lot of tests. My springers won't be needing this, but I bought a AR 2078 (project... nearly running) and a QB79 from Mike that I'm using to play with Marlin Micro Groove barrels. I need the cleanest data I can get, especially as I get into choking, and watching my heartbeat in the scope (and ruining nice groups with bad timing) not worthy.

I have to eliminate myself, as much as possible, as a factor in all this. I like building as much as shooting, and figure a tethered gun, on a solid platform, will give me some isolation from my (predictable) Operator Error, pressure variables, etc.

There are so many facets to this hobby... and good people here to enjoy them with... boredom is my last worry here.

  Thanks, guys.

[phantomshtter]

The best rest $10 can buy you HANDS DOWN.  I use it for my P rod carbine and it's as good as it gets.  You can mold your self and the gun into it!

[stalwart]

That is an innocuous little sniper's nest you have there. I'll bet it works well... comfy, too.

The Primos rest I ordered will take an extra week to get. I paid full pop ($90), as the $55 deals were sold out everywhere. Then I ran across the Winchester at Walmart ( http://www.walmart.com/ip/Winchester-Gun-Rest-and-Vise/16662951 ). I figured I'd try it, and cancel the Primos. If it isn't enough, I'll have something to at least use while I wait for the restocked Primos at decent prices. For a few bucks more, I'd have both.... and the Winchester could be modded into a sleek workbench gun vise by stripping out all the adjusters, and welding it in a couple places.

This one will also be fun to mod, and at $30 I couldn't even begin to cover my shop time to dupe it. I especially like that it can be used, intact, as a vise. I have a couple minor mods in mind, I'll pop some pics up when it's done.

[Tater]

I bought this one a few months ago and love it. It folds up pretty much flat and comes with a decent carrying bag. The foam rollers that the front of the gun rests on even works well with my springer. Nothing else has ever worked but an artillery hold, but the rollers let it move quite easily.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shooting/Shooting-Accessories/Benches-Rests|/pc/104792580/c/104769180/sc/104212080/Timber-Ridge-Shooting-Bench/1134794.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fshooting-shooting-accessories-benches-rests%2F_%2FN-1100226&WTz_l=Unknown%3Bcat104212080

[Privateer]

I'm almost embarrassed to tell you all what I've been using.

I have my motorcycle lift with a wooden box full of cast iron pots and pans on ratchet straps on top of that.
I made a frame with 2X4's to hold a paint roller for the front rest on top of the box.
Near the back a chopped up dual plunger thing like you use for caulking is attached for my rear rest.

I call it FrankenStand.
 

I have it tore down right now but I'll put it all back together and get a few pictures.
(Have to wait till the Wife leaves on the Make a Wish trip)

[sperho]

I'm almost embarrassed to tell you all what I've been using.

I have my motorcycle lift with a wooden box full of cast iron pots and pans on ratchet straps on top of that.
I made a frame with 2X4's to hold a paint roller for the front rest on top of the box.
Near the back a chopped up dual plunger thing like you use for caulking is attached for my rear rest.

I call it FrankenStand.
 

I have it tore down right now but I'll put it all back together and get a few pictures.
(Have to wait till the Wife leaves on the Make a Wish trip)

What works, works!

I use a set of Caldwell bags (the cheap ones) filled with plastic pellets for springers or my PCPs.  Or sometimes I use a bipod on a PCP.

[sperho]

The best rest $10 can buy you HANDS DOWN.  I use it for my P rod carbine and it's as good as it gets.  You can mold your self and the gun into it!

A Shoot-N-Nap(TM)!

[stalwart]

The Winchester rest came. It is a great deal for the $, but will need some mods to make it fit my needs.

The vise is surprisingly effective, the F bean bag is actually quite decent, and it is solidly constructed (given that it can be broken down). It can be adjusted to almost mortar angles, though, and that capability makes the design a bit flexible. It will work fine as is, for what it is meant to do... but, I want something I can run rounds through quickly, with as little need for settling in between shots as possible. Eliminating the gross adjustment (ratcheting rack?) will allow me to mate the 2 sections (cradle/base) with far more rigidity. The fine adjustment's ranges are more than enough for my needs.

I'm quite happy with the value. I couldn't collect the parts to dupe it for less, and just the vise would take more shop time to fab than the whole rig cost me.

I'll stare it it for a bit (there's a few ways to do this)... then begin the butchery. I'll post what I come up with... at least for the laughs.