I really need a new front rest!

[deadlyswift]

Great Info guy's!!!! The SEB Neo looks really great. I found a few links and videos on it. Does anyone have a link to the New SEB Neo? (their website) I goggled it and all I see is the old one on their site? What is the price for the new SEB? The Daily Bulletin article I found on the new SEB predicted $675 to $750. To be honest I expected it to be more and closer to the price of a JJ.

There are a few F/open guys where I shoot that use joysticks. Think I will try one of the joysticks first before making a purchase.

Again Great info! with all the info! Front rest has just got my wheels spending as if I was doing a new rifle build!! ;D ;D Got to love toys
Thanks!!

 

[artbosco]

Looks like the JJ has been discontinued?? any thoughts on where to get one? I do really like the looks of it. Wayne.

Wayne, I just spoke to John Loh on the phone. He told me he's up and running hard and has rests on the self ... for immediate delivery. Call him at 562-602-5553 or 562-756-4601

 

[bozo699]

Thank you Outdoorsman for the ground work, I will call him, I really like the looks of it for sure.
Wayne.

 

[queen_stick]

Wayne,

I'm also heading into my 3rd year of 1K BR, but that doesn't mean I actually know what I'm doin'!

At Williamsport, a 'plated' Hart rest is very popular, and for good reason. Not many (and I mean very few) 1K BR shooters like joystick style rests. Here's what I'm talking about when I say 'plated Hart rest' - http://www.rwhart.com/store/proddetail.asp?prod=RWH-N-H132A (they offer that with a 3" top/bag, of course)

the price isn't something that gets me excited, but in my opinion they're worth it.

Call, and talk to Bobby Hart if you're interested. If I were you, I would seriously consider this option for what you're doing (1K BR).

 

[bozo699]

Thank you Walt I will check it out, I had a gunsmith that used one of the older harts and just loved it.
Wayne

 

[Cigarcop]

Wayne,
I shoot F-Class and the JJ in my opinion was designed for Benchrest because it needs a somewhat flat surface that a bench provides. I made a base for mine from 1/2 Corian and had a friend make the feet which allow me to keep away from the uneven ground and make my adjustments topside from the flat surface. It has a fine speed dial on the rear which is extremely nice but has short front leg bolts so a top is needed if more height is required...you can just see the SEB in the rear which has long leg bolts to achieve the same thing.

 

[bozo699]

Well fellas I have been on the phone or internet all day looking and talking rests, I don't think I have had anyone suggest anything but top of the line equipment to me, I need two but will only be able to get one right now, so later for my heavy gun I think the Viper is the way to go, I talked a little on another thread and was on his sight and he can build just about anything you might want (Beautiful Work) I may start short range bench rest this year and if I do I think it will be the SEB NEO, there are many other satisfactory rests out there to choose from, the Hart, the Toggle rest by Magnum Metals, and the D. R. GREENLAW MACHINING's Model "B" rest looked nice and there are countless others but for my project now I think I have narrowed it to three rests,.
The Sinclair competition BR rest there on sale for $600 regularly $650 I really like that there windage nob is right by the elevation fine adjust nob,..but there are 25 back orders right now and they won't have them in until mid to later February. JJ enterprises Looks awesome but I was unable to get a hold of them today, I think there about $900 I have seen both of these rests on the 1K line in my club but wasn't at that point yet so I didn't spend much time playing with either one of them but they both look top shelf.
Last but not least is the Fulghum Rest- by Randolf Machine,..$900 and it looks and sounds to be very precise, has anyone used one of these Fulghum rests? I would like to thank each and every one of you for jumping in and helping me, I think every suggestion I have received has been excellent advice and if I would have gone with any of the suggestions I would have been happier then I am with the Caldwell,...don't get me wrong the Caldwell isn't Junk it's just not the precision I am now looking for but I am not unhappy with it as if I hadn't continued in bench rest it would have been plenty good enough for my little local shoots I put on here at mt place, prior to owning it we used Ballistic bull bags (Long heavy Leather sand bags) and they were okay for the type of shooting we were doing, still use them if I am shooting a heavy recoiling hunting rifle. With all that being said I would like to focus on the three I have pretty much locked in on,.. the Sinclair, JJ,and the Fulghum, can any of you give me any comparisons or personal use in the discipline I will be using them for 1K Bench rest, there all three quite a bit of coin so I am not going to quibble over a few dollars one way or the other, just want what will work the best for me, like I said I like the idea of having the windage nob so handy on the Sinclair but if there a lot of back lash issues or other problems with that rest I would like to know, PLEASE continue with your excellent input.
Wayne.

 

[in2deep]

Cogs in the wheel:

Most of the high end rests we are talking about were designed for micro-precision rimfire shooting but are being crossed over into centerfire now for their inherent accuracy potential...... so to throw another cog in your wheel they were not made for slamming a big heavy CF gun into the front stop due to being lighter weight and were "made for rimfire" and the size and weight of the big guns is why some of those 1000 yard unlimited guys are using heavy plates and rests with a wide stance to handle the force of a big gun recoiling and slamming into the front stop so I think your rifle and discipline will dictate alot about your rest choice.

The Sinclair and the Loh in particular are rather petite (and smaller footprint) and not very heavy and you have to learn to be fast but gentle with a 20+ pound rifle lest you pop a reverse wheelie with the rest and I mention this in case you are going to be shooting a big unlimited gun since I don't know what class of 1000 yd. you will be shooting.
They of course work great for centerfire once you get used to them and are very precise mechanically and more CF folks are using them now but you also see people using weighted sandbags on the rear end to help control them if your heavy-handed or have a heavy gun. I watched a guy shoot a 6 inch forearm unlimited 6BR gun off a Randolph rest and he won the big match and shot great with it but he was a rimfire guy crossing over to cf and was familiar with it.
If you want to see and maybe get to play with all these rests before blowing a ton of cash go to a local rimfire match (RBA or IR 50/50) and most everybody will be shooting one of the Big 3 and you can eyeball them in person. If you get to play with a Randolph there is nothing like it and I have tried all the ones you mentioned and most of the top shooters I know are on the same page except where the one-piece rests are allowed.

Cog in wheel #13: If you want to economize without loss of accuracy a Sinclair or Hart base with a windage top and a speed screw will be hard to beat and lotsa records were shot with that set-up in all disciplines over the years so don't feel you "NEED" a fancy rest to win. A micro-top is precise and pretty fast once you learn the motion and they have a very positive feel and are reasonably priced. You won't be leaving much if anything on the table and for under $350.

I really love the Fulghum especially since the top swivels which for score shooting I feel helps immensely in that the front bags can't bind when moving horizontally accross the target like on a fixed top. If your using a mechanical rear rest even more advantageous. If you ever were in a quiet environment and changing the elevation with your front rest you can often hear the stock moving/binding in the bag (squeeking/slipping noise) but using a swiveling top and especially a rear rest this is minimized substantially due to the physics. When your front rest rises the buttstock has to move forward as opposed to when the butt moves first the motion is minimized up front in the bags. Took me a while to wrap my mind around that one but it's true and obvious once you try different rests.

 

[johara1]

Wayne, I had a SEB.NEO ordered but i let a friend take it but no big deal, i use the new Sinclair that i worked over and now for 1K it flat works. That being said my idea of the best rest would be a JJ with a shade tree top but just to use the top for windage. I used this idea on a old Hart bottom but the shade tree has very limited windage.With the JJ. bottom the windage is built in and the elevation is second to none and add the shade tree top for the joystick on the windage you have it all. The only mod. is too shorten the joystick to end up shorter than the elevation screw. Now you never move your hand and the best with your hand on or off the knob it shoots the same place,that can't be said of joystick rests that support the weight of the gun.......jim

 

[cdngary]

What would a Shadetree Co-Axial front rest on a Caldwell base work like, with a 22 lb F class open rifle?
Gary

 

[bozo699]

Gary,
I think the Caldwell base is as good as some of the more popular, it's there top that sucks, if one of the better windage tops would fit I think it would be okay, I thought about doing just that and decided to just bite the bullet, I may buy a better top for the Caldwell and let my son use it.
Wayne.

 

[bozo699]

in2deep,
Thanks for the reply, I talked to John at JJ and Kind of said I would order it Monday morning but I will call Randolfs before I do and see what he has to say, I was impressed with it's looks, it was one of the three on my list, I talked to John and Sinclair but was unable to get a hold of Randolf's.

Outdoorsman,
Thank you for the ground work you did for me with John, he was excellent to talk with and a wealth of info, he called me back from a parking lot on his cell or I would have ordered it right then, A friend of mine in Montana offered to sell me a home made rest he built, he loaned it to my shooting partners son, I helped set him up on it, it has a good windage top and weighs about 30 lbs so I think I will buy it for a spare or another rifle setup, thanks again for you participation and help in my search for a rest.
Wayne.

 

[DBailey]

What would a Shadetree Co-Axial front rest on a Caldwell base work like, with a 22 lb F class open rifle?
Gary

It works very well. The only thing you have to watch out for is on some ranges it's difficult to get the elevation low enough, but that is easily overcome with rear bag spacers. Many of us just use a 1x6 cut to the length of the rear bag with sandpaper glued to one side in order to stop slippage when stacked.

 

[johara1]

Watch what material you use for spacers for the rear bag it may not be legal, i found that out last year........jim

 

[golfer2b2000]

Wayne, I dont shoot 1000 yards but I also put an add on here for a new front rest. I have been using a caldwell firecontrol. For the most part this rest served the purpose. I didnt want to spend a huge amount of money but I decided to go ahead and purchase the sinclair competition rest. It runs around 600 dollars and for my shooting is overkill, but I love this rest. It is rock solid, and the adjustments are so fine. I will have it forever. I even bought a pelican case to keep it in. The only drawback is it weighs around 30 pounds, and with the case probably closer to 40 or so...There are a lot of good rest, and everyone has an opinion on which is the best. My advise I guess is try to just buy once...

 

[bozo699]

Wayne, I dont shoot 1000 yards but I also put an add on here for a new front rest. I have been using a caldwell firecontrol. For the most part this rest served the purpose. I didnt want to spend a huge amount of money but I decided to go ahead and purchase the sinclair competition rest. It runs around 600 dollars and for my shooting is overkill, but I love this rest. It is rock solid, and the adjustments are so fine. I will have it forever. I even bought a pelican case to keep it in. The only drawback is it weighs around 30 pounds, and with the case probably closer to 40 or so...There are a lot of good rest, and everyone has an opinion on which is the best. My advise I guess is try to just buy once...

golfer2b2000,
Thanks for the info, where did you get the pelican, what model# I would like to purchase one for my new rest to keep it protected.
Wayne.

 

[golfer2b2000]

I will check and see what model it is. They sure are nice cases also. I will get back to you...

 

[butchlambert]

The Shadetree is shipped able to handle a 25lbs. rifle. Post are installed to fit your base be it 3/4X10-7/8X6 acme, or 1X12. I have adapted a few to JJs bases and others. Out of the over 600 that we have sold approx 125 have been shipped to FClass shooters and about the same to LR shooters. We should have our bagtop available later this spring for the 5" bagtops.
Butch
www.shadetreeea.com

 

[golfer2b2000]

well I got to looking and I didnt get a Pelican afterall. I setteled on a Boyt. It is just as good if not better, and quite a bit cheaper also. It is the model H-20 I got. It weighs 11 pounds and the interior dimensions are 20x14x9.25. It comes with the padding and all. I forgot just where I bought it but it was somewhere on the internet. I think I got it shipped and all for $114 dollars. Just search and see the best deal you can find. I do know that where I bought it they deal with all kinds of cases. IIf I find just where I bought it from i will let you know...

 

[bozo699]

The Shadetree is shipped able to handle a 25lbs. rifle. Post are installed to fit your base be it 3/4X10-7/8X6 acme, or 1X12. I have adapted a few to JJs bases and others. Out of the over 600 that we have sold approx 125 have been shipped to FClass shooters and about the same to LR shooters. We should have our bagtop available later this spring for the 5" bagtops.
Butch
www.shadetreeea.com

Butch,
I am about as dumb as a cedar fence post, your on my buddy list and I just realized last night that you were the owner of Shade tree, I just happened to see it as a advertizement here on the site, I thought you were just gun smithing , I could probably install one of your tops on my caldwell base, I have to go to work but I will p.m you about it later tonight with some questions. I wonder why no one mentioned your tops to me? I will go back through the thread maybe they did and I over looked it, thanks for the reply Butch.
Wayne.