See earlier photo of mine. I bought 3 pipe couplers, and three 1/4" pieces of 4x4 mild steel from an ironworks. Took them to an ornamental iron shop. He cut the couplers to my specified angle, using an ancient chop saw, then welded them to the plates and drilled the bolt holes. I recall the labor ran $40.
My Wife and I built one using a piece of 3/4 inch thick packing plywood and 3 pieces of 1 1/2 galvanized pipe for the legs. It turned out rock solid, the plywood was free and the pipe cut and threaded was 26 dollars and some odd cents. It works great for carrying in the field.
On this ranch there is no driving on the grass so the benches & gear are carried in by hand and set up on a high hill to shoot dogs on the next hill. Shooting starts at about 1100 out to 1 mile plus as we have to shoot over the power lines between the hills. Longest dog that I know of shot off the top of the home made bench is 1780.
My Wife and I built one using a piece of 3/4 inch thick packing plywood and 3 pieces of 1 1/2 galvanized pipe for the legs. It turned out rock solid, the plywood was free and the pipe cut and threaded was 26 dollars and some odd cents. It works great for carrying in the field.
On this ranch there is no driving on the grass so the benches & gear are carried in by hand and set up on a high hill to shoot dogs on the next hill. Shooting starts at about 1100 out to 1 mile plus as we have to shoot over the power lines between the hills. Longest dog that I know of shot off the top of the home made bench is 1780.
I bought a 4'x4' sheet of 3/4" plywood at H.D., split that into two halves, so 24"x48" blank after doubling. Wanted the table a lot shorter for stiffness, so I settled on 24"x36", but the next one will be a few inches longer, as I'm cramped with an R700.
For elevation, the rear leg on a typical 3-leg could be adjustable. But there are other ways to adapt to elevation. At our county range the benches are fixed steel and concrete, literally solid as a rock. The backstop is a mountain. Terrain is flat to 200 yards, then every 100 past that is higher up the mountain to 800 yards, at about 20 degrees elevation. Pity no one can hit the elevated targets, since the benches can't be tilted up!
If the three legs are all attached to the same small plate, at the back of the bench, I can well imagine that's not very stable. And I can see how adding a 4th leg anchored towards the other end improves it dramatically. I'd have to see a picture to really grasp the utility of that design over my three-legged fixed-leg bench with wide spread between the legs. I'll probably slap my forehead in sudden comprehension.
I was referring to back legs only. The front legs are mounted on separate plates at the front corners of the bench.
