Does Freedom Benchrest allow 40 pound steel plate rear rests?

[Canuckienns]

i have been noticing the use of mechanically adjustable rear rests in Freedom Bench rest competitions. Not attached to the front rest. BUT some are using very heavy like 40 pound steel plates under an adjustable rest with hard sides only covered by a slick tape material. Rules talk about a rear sand bag, but where is this going to end.?? You are going to hear a lot more a bout this.
This will make the playing field not very equal for a lot of shooters.

 

[quest450]

Dave, good to see you posting again I hope you're doing better !

I don't think there's a rule prohibiting or defining the weight or size of rear bag/rest, Freedom Benchrest is supposed to eliminate rules not restrict shooters, look at @tom and the setup he used to break all the agg records
I think invention is a good thing and it makes shooters better and shooting smaller groups, I don't see anybody having issues with seb max and it's weight especially if you trying to support a HG 50lb+++

 

[Canuckienns]

The spirit of the rules, says a sand bag for the rear rest. You should have seen the set ups last weekend. You would agree with me. Just buy a Ransom rest and may the best reloader win. HMMMM

 

[Tom E]

Where at ?

 

[quest450]

The spirit of the rules, says a sand bag for the rear rest. You should have seen the set ups last weekend. You would agree with me. Just buy a Ransom rest and may the best reloader win. HMMMM

At Manatee ? I know LarryT and your pal Khalil was playing with them

 

[quest450]

Oh there's is a sandbag in the Ransom rest and I believe you can order the non mechanical version to comply

 

[quest450]

 

[Canuckienns]

Mark, you are one of the best shooters I know. You work so very hard at it. Wait till you get your butt kicked by one these set ups.

 

[Mulligan]

i have been noticing the use of mechanically adjustable rear rests in Freedom Bench rest competitions. Not attached to the front rest. BUT some are using very heavy like 40 pound steel plates under an adjustable rest with hard sides only covered by a slick tape material. Rules talk about a rear sand bag, but where is this going to end.?? You are going to hear a lot more a bout this.
This will make the playing field not very equal for a lot of shooters.

Do you have any pictures to share?
I think mechanical rear rests have been allowed in HG (long range benchrest) for some time.... maybe as long as the sport has bee around????

It is just starting to get some exploration in LG........ I believe the rules in all 3 of the long range sanctioning bodies state a sandbag is required both front and back of the rifle. I know some rules specify sand and some say granular material, but a bag is required.

CW

 

[quest450]

Mark, you are one of the best shooters I know. You work so very hard at it. Wait till you get your butt kicked by one these set ups.

Lol, you don't need that setup to kick my butt Dave, I have to tell you I've been thinking about that setup, a little spendy but if I can shrink my agg just a little bit and it's legal why not ?

 

[jackieschmidt]

I assume this was at a Long Range event.

I do not shoot Long Range, but I try to keep up with all Disciplines. So I am just asking.

Wasn’t the premise of Freedom Benchrest to relax many of the rules that were thought to hamper innovation and shooter participation?

 

[Canuckienns]

I was talking about a 600 yard event. If you allow semi machine rests, Where is it all going to go? Just set everything up. Get on the sigher plate, stand up on side, reach over and pull the trigger. Repeat another 4 times. Or better yet, get a monkey to pull the trigger.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

In the IBS you can use a mechanical rear rest like Tom did in heavy gun. In light gun it has to be a bunny ear style regular bag with sand. I asked the IBS long range committee at one time if I could glue my bag to a steel plate with non adjustable feet. The decision was no. So it has to be a regular bag set on the bench. The decision also came down that you could not set your front and rear rest on a rubber mat in the IBS even though they were not attached because you could move the mat which would move the front rest and rear bag. IBS and Freedom rules are not the same.

 

[JBauer]

Innovation, experimentation, progression and learning about shooting smaller groups is why Freedom Benchrest was started. Whether it’s because of better equipment fabrication, gunsmiths applying theory to real world applications, or shooters working harder to perfect their craft, or a combination of all, things are quickly changing within long range benchrest.

Freedom Benchrest, at present, encourages these advances. If and when the members want to change that, we have procedures to accommodate that as well.

But as of now, we’ve kept the rules simple and basic to let the innovators see what they can do.

As I am the one that tracks new records within Freedom Benchrest. I see many of the old records still around and many new records every year. Kind of like it’s always been!!!

 

[Canuckienns]

Ransom rests have been around for a while, and monkeys a lot longer.

 

[Evan]

Putting the monkey hyperbole aside (don’t worry, I’ll come back to it), I have only ever witnessed one rail gun and it’s accuracy was not all that impressive for the effort and money that went in to it. I don’t think tuning a machine like that to deal with the vibration is really all that simple and shooting it was not a blind load and pull the trigger affair. I am in the camp that says benchrest should be the pinnacle of accuracy, regardless of what form that takes. I pursue it in a form that I find enjoyable and don’t pay much attention to how others might be trying to achieve it.

As long as payouts for winning remain modest, I don’t care if some guy wants to drop 100k to try and build a machine to shoot in the 1s at 1000 and trains a monkey to load it and pull the trigger; I will shake his hand, congratulate him, and continue shooting my bag guns happily knowing that some guy just wasted a lot of money and had to train a monkey to get his name in the record book.

 

[Mulligan]

Putting the monkey hyperbole aside (don’t worry, I’ll come back to it), I have only ever witnessed one rail gun and it’s accuracy was not all that impressive for the effort and money that went in to it. I don’t think tuning a machine like that to deal with the vibration is really all that simple and shooting it was not a blind load and pull the trigger affair. I am in the camp that says benchrest should be the pinnacle of accuracy, regardless of what form that takes. I pursue it in a form that I find enjoyable and don’t pay much attention to how others might be trying to achieve it.

As long as payouts for winning remain modest, I don’t care if some guy wants to drop 100k to try and build a machine to shoot in the 1s at 1000 and trains a monkey to load it and pull the trigger; I will shake his hand, congratulate him, and continue shooting my bag guns happily knowing that some guy just wasted a lot of money and had to train a monkey to get his name in the record book.

Good stuff Evan!
CW

 

[JEFFPPC]

In the IBS you can use a mechanical rear rest like Tom did in heavy gun. In light gun it has to be a bunny ear style regular bag with sand. I asked the IBS long range committee at one time if I could glue my bag to a steel plate with non adjustable feet. The decision was no. So it has to be a regular bag set on the bench. The decision also came down that you could not set your front and rear rest on a rubber mat in the IBS even though they were not attached because you could move the mat which would move the front rest and rear bag. IBS and Freedom rules are not the same.

I was involved in the rubber mat debate several years ago at the World Open. Several prime members threw a fit about a piece of rubber stall mat I used to both protect the gun from cement benches and to allow me to save some seconds setting up. It was ruled ok to use because I showed them when you tried to slide the mat with the gun set up on it the front rest and rear bag it did not and could not move together in a precise manner. They ok'd it for the match but ruled it not eligible the next year. I felt it was a couple chicken shits jealous they did not think of it. Now a metal connected rest you set the gun up on then loose a couple nuts in the middle to slightly separate front and rear is ok. Of course we need 6 inch stocks since we have poor bench manners I suppose. That year I think there was about 120 shooters, this year I believe 65. Way to go guys, you have it all figured out. Soon only 100 plus pound rail guns will be allowed. No end to the crutches.Sport sure is growing.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I was involved in the rubber mat debate several years ago at the World Open. Several prime members threw a fit about a piece of rubber stall mat I used to both protect the gun from cement benches and to allow me to save some seconds setting up. It was ruled ok to use because I showed them when you tried to slide the mat with the gun set up on it the front rest and rear bag it did not and could not move together in a precise manner. They ok'd it for the match but ruled it not eligible the next year. I felt it was a couple chicken shits jealous they did not think of it. Now a metal connected rest you set the gun up on then loose a couple nuts in the middle to slightly separate front and rear is ok. Of course we need 6 inch stocks since we have poor bench manners I suppose. That year I think there was about 120 shooters, this year I believe 65. Way to go guys, you have it all figured out. Soon only 100 plus pound rail guns will be allowed. No end to the crutches.Sport sure is growing.

At the time I disagreed, and I still do. Nothing in the IBS rules prohibits a rubber mat, not sure about Williamsport.

 

[tom]

look at @tom and the setup he used to break all the agg records

Hi Mark,

Heavy class 1960s technology lol. No evil rubber mat involved though! To my knowledge, rest related rules haven't changed since they invented the 1,000 yard game at Williamsport. Light gun, we have the normal/original restrictions still. You'll have to read the freedom rules for yourself, as I have no interest in it.

Tom