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Rods new rest top review

Half and half? My current Open gun just happens to be, as a result of an experiment gone horribly wrong, an obnoxious pink!!!

Robin I've told you I think the Pink Panther looks OK but it's gonna bring the suck if color coordinate!
Need to send that stock to @Bc'z
If it still bothers you let Brett cover it up! I'd go matte black with pinstripes :D
 
I just received my Rodzilla and I was able to use it at a match today for the first time. Wow! what a difference this thing makes on my tracking. Much smoother breakaway and noticed no torque on my rifle when I used it. Set up was faster and much easier. Money well spent on a great quality product. You will not regret picking one of theses up.
 
My top arrived in Australia today, first one although I know of one other on the way also. I'll get this beauty installed later this week and will give it a crack at 600 metres this weekend. Provided the weather holds I'll look to film my F-Open stages and get it up on the Tube all being well. Impressed by the workmanship on this so far.
 
How thick are the sand bags? Also wondering how this would work for benchrest for score shooting?

I doubt if they are legal for bench rest, due to the rule for sand bag and how far the gun has to be from the retainer. But the way it's is going it maybe legal next week... lol... jim
 
Guys, I have been working on a new top plate to comply with IBS rules. The rules state the gun must rest on a bottom sand bag 1-1/2” front to back and a minimum of 4 wide left to right. Also the bottom sand Bag must stand a minimum of 1/2” above the support which the bag sets on.
For side bags the IBS rules limit contact to 1/2” up from the bottom of the forearm and a minimum of 1/2” thick.
I am building a drop on top plate for my 5-axis top that complies with These rules. It will take moments to switch from my standard F-class top to my Benchrest configuration. The conversion consists of a thin plate with the bottom sand bag installed and a new pair Of adjustable ears with the side bags installed. The rotation of the rest is still fully functional. I will finalize the desighn with my CNC shop manager on Friday and put it into production.
I have had quite a few folks ask for an IBS legal top and I wanted to develop a BOTH solution and not an either, or so my customers can shoot both bench and prone with one top. I will add this conversion kit on my site www.therodzilla.com when they are ready to ship.
 
Took the Rodzilla out for it's first run today, and only about my 5th go with a SEB Mini. I still need to fine tune my setup a little bit as I found the front 'ears' of the top wanted to separate and widen slightly when being tightened down. This gave me a slight gap with the front of the rifle, probably about 0.5mm. I think it affected my tracking slightly so it's something I'll need to pay attention to. The other thing going against me today was the ground, as it was quite heavy and spongy after rain last night and this caused a little bit of movement to my rear bag throughout the shoot.

Having said that, I shot clean at 600 metres despite the little hiccups and the top itself feels really good, super smooth and returning the rifle to battery was a sinch. Looking forward to using it again next weekend and tightening down my setup further. Here's a link to the video showing the rifle under recoil:

 
Willow, It is a bit tricky to adjust the ears with the weight of the rifle setting on the sand rails. This pulls the ears in at the top when the lock screws are loosened. I made a little block of wood that I use to place between the adjustable ears which the rifle rests on so there is no weight on the sand rails. Now just slide the sides in till the rollers are in full contact with the forearm and tighten everything down, remove your block and your done. I actually leave a bit of a gap by using a folded piece of paper between the rollers and the forearm on one side. My guns seem to like this method. I would try the rollers a bit loose and with all four rollers in contact and see what works best for you. I can see from your video the ground was soft enough for your MINI to bounce a bit.
 
Willow, It is a bit tricky to adjust the ears with the weight of the rifle setting on the sand rails. This pulls the ears in at the top when the lock screws are loosened. I made a little block of wood that I use to place between the adjustable ears which the rifle rests on so there is no weight on the sand rails. Now just slide the sides in till the rollers are in full contact with the forearm and tighten everything down, remove your block and your done. I actually leave a bit of a gap by using a folded piece of paper between the rollers and the forearm on one side. My guns seem to like this method. I would try the rollers a bit loose and with all four rollers in contact and see what works best for you. I can see from your video the ground was soft enough for your MINI to bounce a bit.

Thanks for the tips, I'll tinker with it some more and try and get it out in the backyard to practice setup. Glad I took the video as I couldn't tell at the time that the rest was bouncing a little due to the ground being so soft. Whilst I am running the BB ankles, they are standard SEB spikes which are longish, but narrow. Might order the BB feet which offer a wider footprint and see if they help to prevent bouncing on soft ground.
 
guys, there has been a lot of debate lately on the F-Class Facebook pages and a few other locations probably, regarding the legality of my side rollers. I am not sure where the ICFRA will land on the issue of rollers yet but Mid Tompkins and I had a good long conversation today. Mid looked one over last night with a friend of his that has been using it from almost the beginning. Here is what Mid gave me permission to say regarding the side roller issue as it relates to the NRA High power rules.

"I see nothing in the high power rules saying side rollers are illegal"

here is what I personally believe:
We call our sport F-OPEN and that should allow for new and innovative technology and methods as they come along. I realized going in that my rest would not qualify as legal at an IBS match so i worked that out after introducing my 5 Axis top for F-Open. I have now developed a drop on adapter plate and two new ears to meet the regulations for that sanctioning body of rules. It will be on my web site when they are out of machining and anodizing and ready to ship.

NBRSA has another set of rules which I read as a bit less restrictive than IBS so my IBS adapter should work for both.

I also recognize my setup is very non-conventional but i also believe the Spirit of the rules should make allowance for non conventional designs if it helps us shoot smaller at long ranges which is everyone's goal. If there was no incentives for innovation we might still be shooting flint locks at really big targets.

Rod Brakhage

www.therodzilla.com
 
I agree completely in letting innovation with guns and equipment be allowed in an unlimited or "open" format. I would bet a HG gasser in LR BR or a 22lb one in F-Open would be a game-changer as will the next-gen equipment designs.....:cool:

Regards
Rick
 
guys, there has been a lot of debate lately on the F-Class Facebook pages and a few other locations probably, regarding the legality of my side rollers. I am not sure where the ICFRA will land on the issue of rollers yet but Mid Tompkins and I had a good long conversation today. Mid looked one over last night with a friend of his that has been using it from almost the beginning. Here is what Mid gave me permission to say regarding the side roller issue as it relates to the NRA High power rules.

"I see nothing in the high power rules saying side rollers are illegal"

here is what I personally believe:
We call our sport F-OPEN and that should allow for new and innovative technology and methods as they come along. I realized going in that my rest would not qualify as legal at an IBS match so i worked that out after introducing my 5 Axis top for F-Open. I have now developed a drop on adapter plate and two new ears to meet the regulations for that sanctioning body of rules. It will be on my web site when they are out of machining and anodizing and ready to ship.

NBRSA has another set of rules which I read as a bit less restrictive than IBS so my IBS adapter should work for both.

I also recognize my setup is very non-conventional but i also believe the Spirit of the rules should make allowance for non conventional designs if it helps us shoot smaller at long ranges which is everyone's goal. If there was no incentives for innovation we might still be shooting flint locks at really big targets.

Rod Brakhage

www.therodzilla.com

Based on my limited experience with your 5-Axis top so far, I would suggest it's not going to improve outright accuracy. Either your gun has it, and the shooter can capitalise on it (i.e. read the wind) or they can't. What it does do is give the shooter more flexibility in setting up and save them some set up time, particularly if they run a Neo or Max which would otherwise necessitate the entire rest to be moved to line up on target properly if you stuff it up the first time.

I think there are some improvements to tracking which results in a more pleasant shooting experience, and that always helps with someone's mindset, knowing their setup is spot on and the gun is doing what it is supposed to do under recoil. I'll run it again this weekend and try and capture some video as I get used to the new top and rest, I don't think I've gotten the best out of it yet but I think a stock with a lower centre of gravity than mine would see some additional benefit. I would like to say it's a well designed product which deserves it's place in today's precision shooting world and I'm glad people like Rod take the time to develop products such as this.
 
Just thought I'd chime in here, Rod's top has been deemed legal by ICFRA, so this is great news for F-class shooters, particularly anyone wanting to travel internationally and use the top.
 
Kris, that is GREAT news!
Although my 5-Axis top is different than what we have had in the past it still uses sand to set the rifle on. I just make the contact patch on my two sand bags very small and they run the same direction as the rifle and not in the conventional fashion. The ICFRA rule F 2.8 and the NRA rule 3.4.1 (8) use exactly the same wording for the front rest. The rifle must set on sand and uses the singular definition of BAG and not BAGS when referring to the front rest and that the bag must be compressed or deformed by finger pressure and again my bags are filled with sand so you can push on the front, sides, and top of my little sand bags and they will compress. I don’t see any thing in the rules spelling out what must be in contact on the sides. The rules do say the rifle must be able to be lifted straight out of the front rest without restrictions and returned. I would argue that my top is more legal than some I have looked at on the line. For example, I see the CONVENTIONAL side bags flipped over and clamped in such a way that a stock (like the McMillan edge for an example) would lift a NEO or possibly a MAX off the ground. But because these setups are conventional they are not challenged. Another thing I see is straps cinched down over the Centers of the front bags that tighten the sand. I’ve seen this and other methods in use making that front bag as hard as concrete. In practice I don’t adjust my rollers in to make hard contact with either my 2 McMillan ZR stocks or my Cerus stock as they all shoot as good or better running a small gap between the forearm sides and my rollers with less break away force. I have had several customers that have come up with this same finding independently. So yes, my top is different but I believe the “SPIRIT OF THE RULES” as spelled out in rule F1.11 (ICFRA) allow for innovation that moves us forward and not restrict anything new that comes along. Designing this has been from a clean sheet with the rules in mind and my feeling is that if is NOT expressly forbidden it is therefore a legal piece of equipment. I just wanted to express my opinions here guys. Thanks again Kris for your post.
 
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Kris, that is GREAT news!
Although my 5-Axis top is different than what we have had in the past it still uses sand to set the rifle on. I just make the contact patch on my two sand bags very small and they run the same direction as the rifle and not in the conventional fashion. The ICFRA rule F 2.8 and the NRA rule 3.4.1 (8) use exactly the same wording for the front rest. The rifle must set on sand and uses the singular definition of BAG and not BAGS when referring to the front rest and that the bag must be compressed or deformed by finger pressure and again my bags are filled with sand so you can push on the front, sides, and top of my little sand bags and they will compress. I don’t see any thing in the rules spelling out what must be in contact on the sides. The rules do say the rifle must be able to be lifted straight out of the front rest without restrictions and returned. I would argue that my top is more legal than some I have looked at on the line. For example, I see the CONVENTIONAL side bags flipped over and clamped in such a way that a stock (like the McMillan edge for an example) would lift a NEO or possibly a MAX off the ground. But because these setups are conventional they are not challenged. Another thing I see is straps cinched down over the Centers of the front bags that tighten the sand. I’ve seen this and other methods in use making that front bag as hard as concrete. In practice I don’t adjust my rollers in to make hard contact with either my 2 McMillan ZR stocks or my Cerus stock as they all shoot as good or better running a small gap between the forearm sides and my rollers with less break away force. I have had several customers that have come up with this same finding independently. So yes, my top is different but I believe the “SPIRIT OF THE RULES” as spelled out in rule F1.11 (ICFRA) allow for innovation that moves us forward and not restrict anything new that comes along. Designing this has been from a clean sheet with the rules in mind and my feeling is that if is NOT expressly forbidden it is therefore a legal piece of equipment. I just wanted to express my opinions here guys. Thanks again Kris for your post.

Not a problem at all Rod, very pleased to throw it out there and let everyone know your product is good to go and complies with ICFRA rules. This will please many an F-Open shooter!
 

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