Bag rider forend: how long?

[Dud]

I am building a budget ELR target rifle. I don't have a strict set of rules to follow. I will be shooting mostly prone from sand bags and maybe a real bench rest type bag but probably mostly improvised rests.

My chassis has a short forend and I'm going to be using a 31" barrel so I need to extend the forend and take the opportunity to make the forend a 3" flat bottom bag rider.

I will probably add a spigot with a picatinny rail for bipod mounting but I'm not sure how long to make the bag rider to get the balance right and make it ride bags well.

The barrel is a Light Varmint contour and the rifle has a fairly traditional layout, not a bullpup or anything unusual. I'm aiming for 16-17 lb weight and it's a straight 284, hopefully that's enough weight to keep recoil mild without a brake.

So what works for a rifle like that?

If you have something similar, please tell me barrel length, how far the muzzle extends past the forend and if you think longer or shorter would work better.

As of now I'm planning to leave the entire forend 3" wide. Please let me know if there is any reason to narrow the rear of the forend and if so, how much of the front should remain 3" wide?

I may decide to narrow the rear if weight becomes an issue but I don't think that will be very much weight to remove...

 

[Dud]

I still need some advice.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

It doesnt need to slide but a few inches.

 

[Dud]

Thanks. I'm still concerned about the length since I've never had a rifle so long...

 

[PatMiles]

Thanks. I'm still concerned about the length since I've never had a rifle so long...

How long have you had it?
Sorry, just had to be a smart a$$.

 

[Dud]

The barrel is scheduled to arrive Saturday so I don't have it yet and I still need to face the receiver which I will try to do next week.

I'm trying to get it together, broken in and a load developed in time for an ELR event in November so I'm hoping to get the forend right on the first shot. I don't want to be fighting with an unstable rifle when I'm trying to get a hit at 2,000+ yards.

It's bad enough that I'll just be learning the gun at that point, I don't want to be learning a wonky gun and have to make another forend later.

 

[Dud]

I got my barrel, here it is mocked up:

I'm thinking about an 18" forend that will leave the muzzle extending about 12" beyond it.

I was shopping for a bag to use with it and wound up on the Grizzly website. Now I'm thinking about getting a Bald Eagle Big 50 windage rest.

The price seems pretty good, about $220 with bag, soft ground feet and extended screws. It's not a joystick rest but it seems like a big step up from a Caldwell or other China rest. Is it worth getting?

A friend of mine has a .50 and my next project is probably going to be a .338 RUM so going big seems to make sense and it's only a few bucks more than the smaller size Bald Eagle rests.

I may compete in the occasional URSA (Unlimited Range Shooting Association) event but it will probably be prone with a rest rather than on a bench which is why I would get the extended screws and soft ground feet...

Let me know, I need to place an order with Grizzly and need to know if I should add on.

 

[MislMan]

You might want to also post this question on the ‘practical precision’ section. You may get more ELR shooters viewing over there.

 

[Rat Rifle]

I have heard 60% 1” in front of the action, 40% from there back. Seems to work.

 

[rardoin]

Too long, depending on the material the stock is fabricated with, it may get ‘springy’. That property won’t necessarily mean precision will suffer but it may require a different style of shooting.

 

[NZ_Fclass]

Look - just my opinion - I would never get comfortable prone with that stock. I would want the rear bag rider lower - maybe about the level of the bottom of the hand grip ( I like the vertical grip BTW) and the forend MUCH longer some time a bipod is a good option and the further out the better. You could replace the rear end with, say a Luth AR rear, and the front could get a tube bolted on. If you go that route, consider milling the front to tube diameter and use a urethane bonding adhesive as well as bolts. But you may be better off to sell it and buy something closer to what you need. All chassis are not created equal.

 

[NZ_Fclass]

Rear bag rider experiment! On an Oryx chassis with a 5 degree slope. Just a bit of aluminium attached via the existing bolts. Tube is tapped M12 and cap screwed to vertical, which has 5 deg flats milled in.