Lead Sleds

[gilcarleton]

Has anyone ever used a lead sled? I am considering purchasing one to test bullet drops and patterns at long range that does not involve the human factor. My concern is, will my rifle shoot the same in a lead sled as it does when I am holding it? The rifle will absorb recoil differently and may move differently when a round is fired. Anyway, I would appreciate any input before I purchase one. Thanks

 

[bsumoba]

do load development the way it will be shot regularly. that means, if you will predominantly be shooting prone, try to shoot prone. if from a bench, then shoot from a bench.

I am not a fan of sleds. I think they change the harmonics too much and the gun recoils differently.

if you think human factor is going to be an issue, then you simply need to tune up your marksmanship skills.

 

[LHSmith]

The fact is that the bullet is still in the barrel as the rifle begins recoil ~ 1/8" -1/4 " rearward travel. Ask someone who shoots a bench gun free-recoil what happens when they don't allow a consistent space between their shoulder and the buttplate ( dropped point or flyer). Now consider how vastly different the Ledd Sled holds the rifle vs. how one would normally hold given the intended use of the rifle.
It is also, a well known fact, that these contraptions tend to break things on the rifle- expensive things like scopes and stocks.
IMHO, it's one of the dumber ideas to come out of Caldwell (and there are many). Even machine rests that the ammo companies test with have a means to control recoil without breaking parts. Likewise on Railguns used in competition.

 

[hogpatrol]

Has anyone ever used a lead sled? I am considering purchasing one to test bullet drops and patterns at long range that does not involve the human factor. My concern is, will my rifle shoot the same in a lead sled as it does when I am holding it? The rifle will absorb recoil differently and may move differently when a round is fired. Anyway, I would appreciate any input before I purchase one. Thanks

I use one with my smokeless muzzleloader because the recoil is severe and only out to 400 yds. Other than that agree with the other posters. I saw a bushnell on a muzzleloader destroyed on a lead sled.

 

[gilcarleton]

Thanks for the info. Looks like my concerns are valid although I have never considered that they could do damage to my rifle or optics.

 

[mattri]

Most of the damage is done by people loading them up with so much weight that the rifle can't move at all. The sleds are designed to mitigate recoil, not eliminate it. By using some weight in the sled it lessens the amount of recoil perceived by the shooter. I don't own one myself but when used properly I think they can have a place.

 

[gilcarleton]

Thanks for the info. I am just getting into long range shooting and it seemed like a good idea to hit exactly where the rifle is aimed in order to put together a cheat sheet for drops. If it worked I figured I could get by with maybe one round at various yardages but I think I will just do it the old fashion way.

 

[jlow]

I use one for load development and never have any problem with them. I don't load them up with any weights, just use them to take the human factor out of the aiming. My loads developed this way shoots well when I go prone with them. The only drawback I have found with them is some of the screws used to adjust elevation are a bit loose and you can overcome this problem with some Teflon tape. They are certainly no where as nice as the rest the benchrest shooters use but I am not a BR shooter and only need them for load development and they work.

 

[sbhooper]

I have used one for years for all of my guns up to and including 7 mags. The rest is not completely solid. It has to be reset after every shot. I have shot hundreds of rounds through mine with no firearm problems. They take the bite out of magnums, so that you can shoot as many rounds as needed to get them sighted in, test loads etc. If they were vise solid, then, yes, there could be mechanical breakdowns, but they are not.

I will never be without one again. I got tired of blue shoulders on the range.

 

[vtmarmot]

I used mine once and now it sits on the shelf. I found that I had to stick something under my butt so I could see through the sights. The thing puts the rifle way higher than any of my conventional rests. If I ever do use it again, I will bring a very thick seat cushion.

I am not particularly recoil sensitive and I don't have any really hard kickers. .300 WSM is the most potent thing I own. I really don't have an excuse to use the sled given it is so different than any of my several rest/bag combinations.

I did tape a foam sanding pad in front of where the butt plate rests so it has a bit of cushion. The block is of fairly stiff foam so I reason it should help keep stocks from splitting etc. without affecting impact.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Lead sleds are good for boat anchors, but thats about it ;D

 

[LHSmith]

I use one for load development and never have any problem with them. I don't load them up with any weights, just use them to take the human factor out of the aiming. My loads developed this way shoots well when I go prone with them. The only drawback I have found with them is some of the screws used to adjust elevation are a bit loose and you can overcome this problem with some Teflon tape. They are certainly no where as nice as the rest the benchrest shooters use but I am not a BR shooter and only need them for load development and they work.

FWIW - Competitors (those that shoot a lot) can tell by the way a rifle recoils if the gun is in tune. IMHO the only way a Lead Sled would give usable results/feedback is if the device was actually used in competition...of which I know of none where they are permitted.
For use with hunting rifles, once one is afraid of the recoil from a particular hard kicker----very few people can successfully overcome that fear without flinching......so you have accomplished nothing.

 

[hogpatrol]

When I have the crosshairs on an animal, recoil isn't Even thought about,
Regardless of the amount. Pretty sur no one else dies either.

 

[dkhunt14]

I have watched guys on a bench even close eyes because they are afraid of the recoil. Want to have some fun and fiqure out if a guy is flinching on a bad kicking rifle. Load the gun for him and not let him know if there is a shell in the chamber. As soon as he hits one without a shell he will even know he is flinching. Matt

 

[LHSmith]

I have watched guys on a bench even close eyes because they are afraid of the recoil. Want to have some fun and fiqure out if a guy is flinching on a bad kicking rifle. Load the gun for him and not let him know if there is a shell in the chamber. As soon as he hits one without a shell he will even know he is flinching. Matt

Hence the reason I have not shown up at Williamsport to shoot those field cannons......someone's sure to notice the "flaw" in my shooting style. :-[

 

[dkhunt14]

The Dashers that Roger and Chuck have aren't that way. Not much recoil at all on a 17 pound gun. I believe you are more afraid you might like it and get hooked. It is a lot of fun busting clay pigeons on the bank at 1050 yards. That is usually all it takes to get somebody hooked. Matt

 

[AckleymanII]

Remington 700 BDL bedded and freefloated