Portable shooting bench design

[powderbrake]

I believe that a change of plywood would make the benches lighter. I do not believe that you need 1 1/2 inches thick, and that is heavy.
I have designed/built several rotary tables which were sold by my son's company, and ended up specifying Baltic Birch, for its added stiffness. Plywood typically has 7 layers of wood, Baltic Birch plywood has 13 layers of wood, and is much stiffer.
Baltic birch typically comes in either 5 foot square sheets or 4 x 8 sheets, and is a bit more expensive than typical plywood. It is typically used in cabinet work, for casings and drawers, but for the discussions here where the shooter is building for their own use, it is not a deal breaker.

I suggest using one layer of 3/4 Baltic birch. Another layer could always be added, or simply add some stiffeners in a longitudinal direction on the bottom.

 

[Tesoro]

True. But all I can get where I live is 7 layer 3/4 birch. Could have probably used 1 layer with stiffener strips underneath, but many like me are in mindset that a portable bench needs to be thick, heavy and a strain to load! . If some extra heft was needed could fill and plug the legs with some lead shot. My setup with 1 leg up front and 2 in the back seemed to work well on uneven ground and lets you tuck stool up close where it needs to be. I made the table larger than needed to make a more stable stance for the legs. I see in your avatar pic that the bench looks similar to the one I just made. I will never shoot off L's again, unless I get into BR!

 

[powderbrake]

You need to go to a woodworkers supply house to get the Baltic Birch. Most hardwood suppliers have it, or you can get it online. Woodcraft or Rockler may have it.

 

[Tomiboy]

Portable Shooting Bench/Varmint Bench Bracket (1) NOT WELDED FREE SHIP

Use these simple brackets to make your own portable shooting bench

theurbanriflemanstore.com

I just got a new welder, so I will be able to weld the brackets again after the shop is done.

Let me know when you start selling the welded flanges again!

 

[Tesoro]

Let me know when you start selling the welded flanges again!

He would sell more if they were welded. This way the angles would be correct for plug and play.

 

[urbanrifleman]

He would sell more if they were welded. This way the angles would be correct for plug and play.

Well... I lost my welder. I have one now but all I have been doing is making barrels.

 

[1lessdog]

The 1st few I made didn't have wheels and movable seat and table top.

 

[1lessdog]

The one's I make now I can attach to my receiver and table top moved as the seat goes up and down and back and forth.

And a bracket to hold a big umbrella.

 

[RCE1]

Yeah. If I could have found one of Rick in Oregon's original stable table's for sale (and that I could have afforded at the time) I would have been all over it. This one was a floor demo model from local Fleet Farm I got for cheap. Also was wanting to upgrade the seat to a nice cushy drummer's seat but city garbage cleanup rolled around this spring and ended up finding an older folding boat seat. Little bit of cracked vinyl but otherwise in great shape. Welded on a mount and it's way better than the original seat.

View attachment 1492750

A friend who once worked there gave me one. It's really nice.

 

[Tesoro]

View attachment 1532070
View attachment 1532071

View attachment 1532072


The one's I make now I can attach to my receiver and table top moved as the seat goes up and down and back and forth.

And a bracket to hold a big umbrella.

I dont know if just me but when shooting precision off a truck the breeze messes up my hold due to truck movement. i just done it on 1/2 tons. I prefer to be on the ground.

 

[1lessdog]

I dont know if just me but when shooting precision off a truck the breeze messes up my hold due to truck movement. i just done it on 1/2 tons. I prefer to be on the ground.

I transport them on my receiver hitch. I don't shoot off them. There to heavy to lift into the box of my pickup.

 

[rayporter]

once i tried to shoot from the top of a trailer. once.

 

[jdh47]

I've built several using two designs. Rick Jameson's which is widely copied is ok. The top is thick.
The Stukey's design is very good and can be reverse engineered. The top isn't as thick but you can do what you want. The Stukey's design is best in my view. On both designs the legs should be pretty big, 1 1/4' at lesast. Any way you go it's going to be heavy. The Stukey's has a handle which helps toting it but at my age that's not far these days.

 

[J.D.Erwin]

Built the shooting bench using a portable miter saw stand top is 3/4” cdx plywood doubled. Applied four coats of truck bed-liner spray and capped the shooting side with I” aluminum angle trim mounted the lad radar too the stand extension arm used a piece of angle trim to mount the spotting scope. the right side is setup for reloading, the stand is very sturdy and stable put it all together for under $175 very pleased with the results.

 

[Tesoro]

I transport them on my receiver hitch. I don't shoot off them. There to heavy to lift into the box of my pickup.

I like your half moon cutout. This is similar to the last design I made and find it very comfortable and am able to get much more square behind the rifle, like prone. And esp if using a bipod. I am glad I made mine extra wide because the rifle still gets nudged over to the right side. I would have to make a much larger seat than yours to fit my arse!

 

[james]

Menards Masterforce miter saw stand with plywood top, 50 pounds.

 

[pintopete]

Not breaking any records, but works pretty well. Probably better on soil/grass than blacktop. Bench surface is 3/4” plywood double thick. Not light…

 

[Scalloper]

Portable Shooting Bench/Varmint Bench Bracket (1) NOT WELDED FREE SHIP

Use these simple brackets to make your own portable shooting bench

theurbanriflemanstore.com

I just got a new welder, so I will be able to weld the brackets again after the shop is done.

I bought a kit from you and I could not be happier. It works perfectly

 

[dusterdave173]

My version of J.D.Erwins design
1 layer 3/4 in we slayed a pile of PD's from a pair of them--best part was fold it up bungee the stool on it and was like a hand truck --easy to move to next spot or to the truck etc we found them plenty steady enough--I came home from first trip and added about 6 in to the left so I could lay my binos there--big improvement--these are cheap and easy to build. My local Pawn sells the saws off the stands and had stands galore in storage--stool was $15 from Walmart--cut legs off to get correct height on the cheapo stools--
Far from perfect but did the trick

 

[Coton]

New guy to the forum. I am thinking of the Caldwell Stable Table shooting bench. I can safely shoot from my house but been making the local town FB page because of it. I don't do Mag dumps or AR type shooting. I was working on accuracy load for my 260 last week. I would load 3 rounds go to the back porch shoot. Then make some changes and try 3 more. I shot less then 40 times over 4 hours. Still made the town FB webpage. On a weekday!. Any input on the Caldwell table? I could bring this to some family land where it's more private and at are camp I have access to abandoned gravel pits that are remote. The reviews look great!