Sinclair Comp Rest Windage Preloader

[X-Caveman]

After seeing what some really good shooters are doing to get better spring tension on the windage mechanisms of their Sinclair Comp rest bases, I decided to give it a go.

This is what I came up with. It uses the counterbored accessory holes to bolt on. It's ambidextrous & adds about 30# of preload in the middle of the windage travel. It's simple, but should be very effective. Three test samples will be in the hands of some accomplished long range shooters by this weekend. If they work like I think they will, we'll do a production run and put them in our store. if it looks like something that may interest you, post up. It will help me determine production QTY, & thus price.

This will complete our offerings to enhance the Sinclair Comp for long range BR. We now have aluminum base plates, knob wrenches, precision elevation screws, bag keepers/ level for 3" (flat and catamaran), bag keepers for the 4" LRB, and now these windage devices.

Next, we'll turn our attention to a Farley base plate made of aluminum with a larger footprint and some other features. Stay tuned & thanks for your support.

 

[Dos XX]

Yep

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Nice and simple.
We had a good shooter who used to shoot at deep creek record his rifle rest with his high speed camera which he used in the explosives field. The results were surprising. This is a good idea.

 

[Switchbarrel]

Did anything ever come of this?

 

[Mikemontminy]

I came up with a different solution by adding a second spring inside the factory spring. Now the rest doesn’t hesitate when changing the windage adjustment. The spring is wound in the opposite direction so the coils don’t bind. The spring I used was left over from some air rifle modification but for those interested I’m sure a spring could be found at McMaster Carr.

 

[JFrank]

Well Crap"
This is a bit of a good news bad
thread, I was just admiring the Sinclair comp rest only to find out it's has a flaw and needs a Fixie Fixie. You would think for $500 it would be ready to go.
Thank goodness for Alloy Targets

 

[Mikemontminy]

I think the rest only sticks a little on the windage adjustment using a heavy gun. Bearly noticeable and my rifle weighs about 21lbs. That’s why I added the second spring.

 

[HTSmith]

Well Crap"
This is a bit of a good news bad
thread, I was just admiring the Sinclair comp rest only to find out it's has a flaw and needs a Fixie Fixie. You would think for $500 it would be ready to go.
Thank goodness for Alloy Targets

Its in the same category as having to have a new $1400 rifle action reworked

 

[snakepit]

I have been using the Sinclair Competition Shooting Rest several times a week for years with success and no problems. I don't know, maybe it can be improved since just about everything we use in shooting can be improved overtime. Many of the people I shoot with who use a variety of different front rest have made small changes to them. Updating things will always be a ongoing process. One thing I like about this forum is all the little things I have learned about from others to increase the accuracy and efficiency of my equipment and shooting.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

99% of the people that buy a sinclair rest will never find the shortcomings. Thats the same with anything shooting related

 

[JFrank]

Maybe that's what they're thinking

 

[vargetman]

I would but one if you made and sold them. Great idea.

John

 

[X-Caveman]

I’m still waiting to hear back from my field testers on the upgraded units. Unfortunately, it’s too cold for some of them to shoot (or they’re chasing elk) or they’re getting themselves back to health.

Mine works great, but I worry that there may be some slight variation in the Sinclar bases that I need to design around.

 

[DHuffman]

Any updates on this?

 

[X-Caveman]

Any updates on this?

Yes! Material is here, work order is in the shop.

Based on field testing, I made the following tweaks to the production units vs. what is pictured:

• Switched to a nylon acorn nut to protect the aluminum Sinclair post carrier
• Changed the mounting to one tapped thru hole and one hole that's counterbored on both sides to accept a lock nut and washer. Of the 6-ish folks that have tried it, one had a hole pattern about .02" different in his Sinclair base. The new design is more forgiving on the hole locations.
• Changed a counterbore depth to give it a little more travel. It is now capable of +/- .33" from center (based on my rest)
• Pricing will be $75 for one delivered within the US or $130 for a pair delivered. At least one tester wants them on both sides.

It should be 2-3 weeks before the listing is live.

Thanks!

Travis

 

[DHuffman]

I'll take a pair when they're ready.

 

[bpmoss1]

Yes! Material is here, work order is in the shop.

Based on field testing, I made the following tweaks to the production units vs. what is pictured:

• Switched to a nylon acorn nut to protect the aluminum Sinclair post carrier
• Changed the mounting to one tapped thru hole and one hole that's counterbored on both sides to accept a lock nut and washer. Of the 6-ish folks that have tried it, one had a hole pattern about .02" different in his Sinclair base. The new design is more forgiving on the hole locations.
• Changed a counterbore depth to give it a little more travel. It is now capable of +/- .33" from center (based on my rest)
• Pricing will be $75 for one delivered within the US or $130 for a pair delivered. At least one tester wants them on both sides.

It should be 2-3 weeks before the listing is live.

Thanks!

Travis

Wouldn't having them on both sides apposing each other defeat the purpose?

 

[DHuffman]

I think the idea is to keep the original spring tensioned both directions.

 

[X-Caveman]

Wouldn't having them on both sides apposing each other defeat the purpose?

If I told you I understood the logic completely, I'd be lying. But, if folks want to buy twice as many, I'm totally on board with that

Seriously, though...

I developed these for the LR benchrest crowd. They were the guys that I witnessed "taking matters into their own hands" already. They want everything to stay put throughout a string unless they dial some adjustment, which is usually very small. But once dialed, the rest needs to respond without any backlash, then stay put again. Therefore, when testing, I installed it to work in conjunction with the factory spring - how I envisioned 99% of customers using them. It does a great job to this end, although it makes the knob a little stiffer to turn. If I remove the factory spring and plunger altogether, I still have a lot more spring pressure than factory and the rest seems to still perform very well. This lightens the input effort required on the knob somewhat. Since the majority of our hillbilly benchrest is discrete targets at 300-550yds with heavy rifles, I suspect this is how I'll use mine long term. If I'm running groups during load work or on a good condition Fly Shoot Day (ha, ha, ha), I'll probably go full monty on the spring tension.

I think the gentleman interested in running two opposing one another is a short range BR shooter. Something that I haven't done much of, and will likely use a joystick top when I do going forward. I think his concerns are more geared towards responsiveness and being able to traverse targets quickly with rifles 13.5# and under. Again, this is purely speculation on my part. I'm certainly not going to doubt him, as he seems very well versed in his game. I just hope he's still interested once he sees the production units are still "over built", which was his major recommendation.

 

[Jet]

Put me on the list