Front bag rider

[Rocketvapor]

OR, if you can stand the weight you could go for a steel channel.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

@Ledd Slinger you ever try using aluminum C channel to make one? You can get 3" x 1.5" x 0.250" for about $50 for 4 feet. Could be a great option for round tube gun or AR platform forearms. Cut it at 5.875" long on a chop saw and you could get 8 of them out of a 4' stick, and $7/ea for base material cost is pretty dang cheap.

I prefer to have a flat plate so the front bag side walls can grip and guide the plate on the edges. With C channel, I would think you could get some muzzle rise under recoil because theres no way for the front bag to grip the sides of the sled plate. And the 6061 AL plate I use comes out to around $4 each when the cost is broken down into 6" long pieces.

The 1/2" sled in my photos is 5" long, but I plan on making them 6" long in the future. Also looking at different arca clamps.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

The biggest issue between Al and Delrin is the significantly higher cte of Delrin. Plastic moves a lot more than metal. Fortunately for me I only have to worry about 40° at the coldest for winter shooting occasionally, so it doesn't move too much. I built this one to fit into an anschutz rail so it can be allowed to move with the seasons and not warp around fixed attachment points.

Yeah I've used Delrin to make a couple things before. It can be useful in areas, but I prefer the strength and rigidity of aluminum for this sort of application. Plastic sleds warping in the heat scares me more than the cold. HDPE can start melting at only 248 degrees which isn't a whole lot higher than boiling water. So it's probably starting to move and flex pretty good at half that temp. A black colored sled sitting in the sun on a hot summer day is going to be a lot hotter than the ambient air temp. An 80 degree sunny day might have a black plastic sled cooking at 110-120 degrees.

Of course aluminum can flex and move as well with extreme heat and cold, but its more of an expansion and contraction rather than becoming flexible, and the operating temperature range is going to be hundreds of degrees wider than any plastic.

The only advantage I see with Delrin/HDPE over aluminum is ease of machining.

 

[Rocketvapor]

Gripping the sides of a front bag can add fake weight in some disciplines.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Gripping the sides of a front bag can add fake weight in some disciplines.

Good quality front rests have tension adjustment on the side walls for the front bag. Don't have to grip if you don't want to. Nice to have the option of testing with sidewall grip tensions to see differences in how the rifle shoots and tracks. Can't really think of a way you can do that with C channel unless you machined grooves into the sides of the channel.

C channel is a good idea if you have some lying around to use yourself, but it's more material so it costs more and doesn't offer any advantages I can see for that added cost.

C channel also limits you to use on a tube gun or skinny sporter stock rifles. A flat plate will go on anything

 

[Fuj]

C channel is a good idea if you have some lying around to use yourself, but it's more material so it costs more and doesn't offer any advantages I can see for that added cost.

C channel also limits you to use on a tube gun or skinny sporter stock rifles. A flat plate will go on anything

All above is'nt true, but you have'nt seen my designs yet !! Yinz have
to stop thinking about mounting arca or pic rails. As for gripping the
sides ?? I like a tall side maintaining 1/2" of flat then tapering away
to let the bag make contact, but still let the rifle release on recoil with-
out interference......I need to find some free time to play on the mill.
I have channel in stock.

 

[dusterdave173]

EGW delrin off ebay $42 shown on my CZ with At One--works like a dream ! Showed up at factory class match and was told not legal--had to remove it--a shame rifle shot best ever with it--I am up against $3K rest even in factory class so I could not understand what the fuss was but will come up with a Plan B Nice piece cheap--works!

 

[Ledd Slinger]

All above is'nt true, but you have'nt seen my designs yet !! Yinz have
to stop thinking about mounting arca or pic rails. As for gripping the
sides ?? I like a tall side maintaining 1/2" of flat then tapering away
to let the bag make contact, but still let the rifle release on recoil with-
out interference......I need to find some free time to play on the mill.
I have channel in stock.

It is all true, but if C channel works for you, great!
You'd think if C channel worked better, then every benchrest, f-class, and other long range shooting disciplines would have a big tall C channel design in their stock fore ends for riding the bag, but they dont...

Show us your design and maybe you'll change my mind. Always open to new ideas if they work well

 

[Fuj]

Show us your design and maybe you'll change my mind. Always open to new ideas if they work well

You have to dare to be different and not follow the pack......
Give me a minute. I'll do a quick proto. In the mean time.
i modded a a piece of heavy channel to bolt to my personal
3" design to go 4" or as wide as I want then back to 3" if
rules tell me I have to. I'm not constrained by a box......

This is done on a chassis rifle. I'll whip something up for an
AR shortly.....

 

[Rocketvapor]

I needed weight with a F-Open AR, somewhere, and over the rest seemed OK.
I guess you could weigh in with the sides of the bag loose, then tighten when no one is looking
When some are oz away from the limit, a few ounces of 'grip' could be bad.

 

[Fuj]

Well it took longer then a minute......Quick and dirty.....Formed a
channel out of cardboard and put a plan on paper so to speak.
I used my RRA EOP upper as a model. Very simple......Slot bottom
of channel to lower stock, with main plan to bolt from sides. Note
that the barrel is now slammed real low as is always my goal. Not
pretty, but a concept. Also note. I trimmed the front portion for
those not liking height.

 

[Rocketvapor]

Bag and rest is probably different for PRS shooters.
From the OP
"front bag rider using a Bald Eagle Shooting rest. My chassis is both Arca and Mlok compatible so either is an option"

 

[Fast14riot]

Yeah I've used Delrin to make a couple things before. It can be useful in areas, but I prefer the strength and rigidity of aluminum for this sort of application. Plastic sleds warping in the heat scares me more than the cold. HDPE can start melting at only 248 degrees which isn't a whole lot higher than boiling water. So it's probably starting to move and flex pretty good at half that temp. A black colored sled sitting in the sun on a hot summer day is going to be a lot hotter than the ambient air temp. An 80 degree sunny day might have a black plastic sled cooking at 110-120 degrees.

Of course aluminum can flex and move as well with extreme heat and cold, but its more of an expansion and contraction rather than becoming flexible, and the operating temperature range is going to be hundreds of degrees wider than any plastic.

The only advantage I see with Delrin/HDPE over aluminum is ease of machining.

The issue isn't necessarily getting soft, but a higher degree of expansion/contraction. I've found that ambient air temps don't cause warping but rather uneven heating, like sitting in an air conditioned vehicle and bringing it out to sit in the sun, the sun exposed side will expand much faster than the other making it cup. But, if let to come up to temp slowly and evenly, dimensional change is linear and warping is minimal. Basically, in the truck or bed of pick up and put in shade, even if 115° out, it'll still be flat and true.

 

[The boogalorian]

Don’t forget about 3D printing. Just made this yesterday.

 

[Len Woods]

I would look at the LJW Precission bag rider, they are very nice. You can mount a picattiny clamp or ARCA clamp on them and he is making one that mounts to M-LOCs that should be out anytime if it's not already. It's one of the best I have seen. They come anodized black or silver.

Rifle bag rider — LJW Precision

Made from aircraft grade aluminum. 3 inches wide. Will fit in all standard front rifle rests. Smooth finish provides a consistent and repeatable movement. Compatible with Atlas and American Defense clamps. Not included . Standard 1.100” screw spacing. Please email if you are not sure about your c

www.ljwprecision.com

The M-Lok is now available.

 

[Fuj]

The M-Lok is now available.

Checking it's price point, I get this......

 

[Rocketvapor]

I went with the Steel channel just for the weight. We shoot F-open. Weights in the stock behind the receiver extension and the bag rider ended up at about 20 pounds, 13 over the front bag, 7 over the rear bag. It's 1/2" elevation, 1/4" steel with 1/4" glued on aluminum sliders.
Used some more of the 1/4" x 1" aluminum on her wood stock.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Material is on order so looking like I should have some bag riders ready by the end of this month. I have some ideas where I think it would be easy to produce a dual purpose mount for Arca rail and M-Lok all in one. Bag Rider can have an Arca clamp, but that could be removed to allow for lower profile M-Lok mounting. Sleds will be 1/2” thick x 3” wide x 6” long.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Aluminum is flying off the mill! Have enough material to make 12 Arca bag riders so going to start there and can make more if needed

 

[Rank Amateur]

Can you make a bag rider for a anshutz rail? MPR 64

SINCLAIR INTERNATIONAL Benchrest Shooting Rest Forend Rail Adapter SKU: 749011468

Check out SINCLAIR INTERNATIONAL Benchrest Shooting Rest Forend Rail Adapter SKU: 749011468 available Online at Brownells Today and many more Shooting Rests products are available in our Gear Department.

www.brownells.com

$45 from Brownells standard for anschutz rail mounting. Used this on a couple of F-Class rifles, worked flawlessly. Brownells also offers a picatinny rail adapter for this sled, but nothing for Arca