Setting up a front rest for Fclass

[savageshooter86]

Can anyone give some tips on how to set up the front rest for Fclass shooting and what feet/screws you use on the rest? A friend of mine is getting into Fclass and we shot off his rest on the ground and it was not stable and the gun seemed to wobble. Off the bench the rest is rock solid and gun tracks very well

Set up is a Hart base with Sinclair windage top. Sinclair Fclass feet and Fclass screws. Quick adjustment elevation knob as well. Was shooting off grass

Do most "drive" feet into the ground to be rock solid?(I know it can't be done more than 2" into the ground)

Any tips would be great

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

I've never shot F-Open but I've seen plenty of them set up their firing point.

Many of them pack a scope adjusting device called a mallet, which does double-duty driving the legs of the rest into the ground and creating a diversion being hurled at the guy next to you who just shot an X. I guess that makes it triple duty.

The other thing the F-Openers do is lay down their prayer mat and then get on their knees and bow forward to adjust the level of the front rest and the relationship to the rear rest. It's all very cute and sill-looking to us macho F-TR shooters who just throw their rifles on the ground and start shooting.

 

[Immike]

Can anyone give some tips on how to set up the front rest for Fclass shooting and what feet/screws you use on the rest? A friend of mine is getting into Fclass and we shot off his rest on the ground and it was not stable and the gun seemed to wobble. Off the bench the rest is rock solid and gun tracks very well

Set up is a Hart base with Sinclair windage top. Sinclair Fclass feet and Fclass screws. Quick adjustment elevation knob as well. Was shooting off grass

Do most "drive" feet into the ground to be rock solid?(I know it can't be done more than 2" into the ground)

Any tips would be great

A hour of practice setting up in the yard and you will make life easier on the line. The first thing is set the front rest where you want it and square with the target (this is the part that takes practice to do first try). Build everything around it and double check before you set the feet. I have a towel I use between the front rest and rear bag that serves as a spacer to speed up things. I want perfect alignment before I set the feet so the rifle tracks smoothly (big plus in string shooting) with my range of adjustment in the middle. I just lift and drop each corner and step on the base to set it in the ground. Use the long screws to adjust the front and back height so the rifle is flat and square on the front bag and not on the edge of it (very important) since the ground will tip it. Lock down at least two lock nuts on the 3 legs to stop the wobble in the threads. Get the front solid and the rest of it is gravy. Good luck!!

 

[Nodak7mm]

Great advice Mike. Set-up importance oft overlooked.

Anybody else tired of the -10* weather or is just me?

Rod

 

[savageshooter86]

Mike, so I level the front rest then sit the rifle in it and adjust it from there to get on target? Assuming this is where a block with level in on the front bag comes handy

 

[Immike]

Mike, so I level the front rest then sit the rifle in it and adjust it from there to get on target? Assuming this is where a block with level in on the front bag comes handy

I use a offset level on the scope and keep a eye on it while I shoot. Since there is quite a bit of elevation dialed in the scope I want to keep it plumb at all times.


Rod, you need to add a indoor range to your igloo !!

 

[Erik Cortina]

Put a level on your gun and get the rest close to level, then put gun on rest and level the gun, don't worry if rest is not level. Make sure gun is lined up with target and tighten side plates on front bag. Slide gun back and forth as you do this to make sure you don't over tighten the side plates. Get side plates as tight as possible but to where the gun can still slide freely.

 

[ShootDots]

+1 What Erik just iterated is exactly what I do...

 

[savageshooter86]

I have anti can't device mounted on scope. To make it level, the front rest looks really un even. Wasn't sure if that was going to hinder tracking of the rifle. But sounds like it doesn't from Erik's post

Anyone have picture of the initial set up of front rest with level on it?

 

[ShootDots]

I have the "original" SEB and it has a level on it just in front of the bag... I always level that up first>>>However, after I place my rifle in the rest, I end up adjusting it to square up the rifle and the SEB inevitably is adjusted out of whack.. Only once has it ever remained level when the rifle was level... The ground just rarely permits BOTH to be concurrently level!

 

[Immike]

I use a Farley and leave the left rear leg screw unlocked to make minor adjustments as I fire. I use very soft sand in my front bag (sugar sand) for good reason (absorb vibration)

 

[savageshooter86]

Much appreciated tips here

Thank you all

If anything else is thought of please share

 

[6BRinNZ]

I have anti can't device mounted on scope. To make it level, the front rest looks really un even. Wasn't sure if that was going to hinder tracking of the rifle. But sounds like it doesn't from Erik's post

Anyone have picture of the initial set up of front rest with level on it?

Sometimes this can mean that your front bag has packed down on one side.

I do the same as Erik - except our ranges are grass so I push on the front rest good and hard to make sure it doesn't just settle in the grass/dirt while I shoot.

 

[Medic505]

"I've never shot F-Open but I've seen plenty of them set up their firing point".

This is were you should have stopped typing.

 

[Erik Cortina]

"I've never shot F-Open but I've seen plenty of them set up their firing point".

This is were you should have stopped typing.

LOL. I agree, but he made me LOL with his post, so I'll give him that.

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

"I've never shot F-Open but I've seen plenty of them set up their firing point".

This is were you should have stopped typing.

First of all, let me apologize if my attempt at humor at the expense of my friends filled you with dread, shame or worse. After reading your thoughtful reply, I now realize how awful you must have felt perusing my downright snarky and insensitive post. I should never have equated the desultory preparations of the F-TR shooter with the methodical, meticulous and exacting preparations of the F-Open shooter.

My bad and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me; I was only trying to have a little fun and was not trying to bruise your ego.

 

[Keith Glasscock]

"I've never shot F-Open but I've seen plenty of them set up their firing point".

This is were you should have stopped typing.

First of all, let me apologize if my attempt at humor at the expense of my friends filled you with dread, shame or worse. After reading your thoughtful reply, I now realize how awful you must have felt perusing my downright snarky and insensitive post. I should never have equated the desultory preparations of the F-TR shooter with the methodical, meticulous and exacting preparations of the F-Open shooter.

My bad and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me; I was only trying to have a little fun and was not trying to bruise your ego.

Denys,

I found your post funny. It did not try to pass for advice, thus, I don't know why anyone would be concerned.

As a recently reformed F/TR shooter, I know of what you speak. I still set up my shooting the same as I did when shooting TR with a few exceptions. I lay my stuff down on the line (all 60 pounds of it!) and try to roughly line it up with my target. I then go back and get my obscenely heavy rifle and lay it in the bags. From there, setup is the same as F/TR except I have 3 legs on the front.

I have to say, Open is a lot of fun (and I haven't shot my "real" open rifle in competition yet). The rest does a lot of the work, and the recoil is so much reduced that it can get make you complacent (using a Dasher for mid). That said, running my TR rifle in the rest is a blast! The recoil from a 16 pound rifle running 155's at a mild 2995 exceeds that of a 22 pound 284 running wide-open with 180s. 200 hybrids are significantly more yet. Now, if I could just quit over-adjusting for the wind...

Back to the OP:
I have only shot with a front rest for a short time. What I have learned is to get the rest set so that your adjustments are near middle with the rifle pointed at the target. I do this by returning the front rest to its "0" position after each relay, and not adjusting it until I have the rifle set and on target. I haven't seen (yet) any losses in accuracy from not having the front rest exactly square with the rifle, but I always try to get the rear leg screw exactly under the middle of the stock, so I might just be getting that part close enough to avoid "penalties."