Which is the most solid bench "rest"

[trophy8]

I'm new here and somewhat new to precision shooting, long range shooting, etc. So excuse me if this has been hashed out before on here.

I want to see exactly what my rifles will do with as little human error in the shot as possible. I want a rest that I can set my gun in and all I need to do is align it and pull the trigger and my contact with the rifle will not affect the shot much at all. There has to be something and I know you guys here will point me in the right direction. I realize everyones opinion will differ so just tell me what you think and please put a good description with it of why you think what you do and pros and cons.

 

[DCRYDER]

Theres tons of solid rests out there. IMO concentrate on the bags more than the rest itself. I would advise you to get a 3" stabilizer (sinclairintl.com) for your stock and a Edgewood or Protector (sp) 3" cordura front bag.

Also a trigger pull in the 2-8 oz range helps alot.

 

[BoydAllen]

This topic is more of a chapter or two in a book, rather than something that can be covered well in a post.

I don't have much faith in the large crop of one piece rests, nor do I think that most rifles do their best on one. If you buy a decent rear bag , and a solid front rest, you should be able to find out what your rifles will do, if you study a bit on how best to shoot them. Some of the most important things are to try different techniques for shooting a particular rifle, because what works the best for one, may not for another.

The basics are to let the rifle surprise you when it goes off, by slowly increasing pressure on the trigger, instead of pulsing the trigger as if to say I want it to go off now.

The next thing is to not react or move (not the same as the gun moving you) as, or after the rifle discharges, for at least a second. Follow through, none of this jerking your head up as soon as the rifle goes off.

Another thing that helps, with center fire rifles (You can do it with rimfire but more attention needs to be paid so that the firing pin does not deform the back of the chamber from firing without a cartridge or case in place.) is dry firing. This can help you refine your trigger pull quite a lot. Just aim and pull the trigger as if you were going to fire a loaded round.

While we are on the the subject of pulling the trigger, you should pull straight back, with the trigger in the middle of the first pad of your trigger finger, not on the joint. Some shooters get their hand comfortable on the stock, and then find that they cannot position their finger for a correct pull. The finger position is a lot more important than hand comfort.

Do you reload? What rifles do you want to test, and what kind of accuracy have you gotten?

One last thing, the wind deflects bullets, so you will have to pay attention to what it is doing, to get your best results.

That should keep you busy for a while. Do you have any specific questions? What sort of a budget do you have for a rest?

 

[trophy8]

budget, id say around 250 or less.... i cant spend whatever i want but dont find it necessary at this time....

i have several id like to improve on but i just purchased a sendero in 300 wm with a v brake and a jewell br trigger it will be topped with a vxiii 8.5-25x50lr
this is the gun i am going to learn and improve on, then upgrade if necessary, but this gun is supposedly a .5 moa shooter....
i do not reload but i am interested and studying on what to get.... a freind of mine does and he will do it for me for now..as i do have the load data

i have been shooting for quite some time, and im no begginer by any means....been hunting/shooting for 12-13 years but ive never been interested in precision and/or long range, but now i am.

my issue isnt that im not accurate, im not great, but im not bad.... i know i can do better, but practice makes perfect!! i can read, listen all day....but i learn by hands on practice thus the reason i want better equipment!! i have always had pretty nice rifles, nothing way high end, but far from cheap. but i have never had a rest i felt really comfortable with and that wasnt shaky....

 

[dansig]

I have the Sendero in .300 WM, if yours hasn't been bedded yet then I suggest that you start there, for a heavy recoil rifle that has a lot to say in accuracy, then lighten the trigger, the Sendero trigger is quite heavy and will affect accuracy when pulled.

my best 3 shot group with the Sendero is .117 at 200m.
average is about .4-.5" at 200m

 

[BoydAllen]

A lot of shooters have no idea how well they are capable of shooting because they have never shot a good rig, with top ammo, off of a high quality rest. With all of that, on a day when the wind is not too bad, I can pretty much sit anyone down, give a little instruction, and they will shoot under a half of an inch. Until you have shot a rig that is entirely correct, in all its details, you have no way of knowing how well you can shoot. The problem generally is that if someone does not have a friend to show him the ins and outs of precision shooting, it is hard for him to figure it out by himself. Finding the right fellow to coach you can be a really big deal.

 

[CoverDog]

Shoot off a very stable bench, a concrete top would be great.

 

[trophy8]

The rifle has been bedded.
Dansig, what loads are you shooting in your sendero?
I'll likely be starting with the 208 amax because that's what the previous owner shot and claimed it shot well.

I have a stable bench, concrete top. Our local range has them, but only to 500m. I can currently hit to 500 without much effort. But 1k is no joke.... At least at this point.

I really appreciate the help guys. I'll be doing some of what y'all recommended and see how it works for me.

One more question.

As far as bipods go, I have been looking at an atlas, but are they really as stable as one would need in the field? All the bipods I have used I did not like. But harris was the nicest one. Never had a need.... But now I do.

Again, thank y'all very much.

 

[dansig]

I am using the 185gn Lapua Scenar with 78.7gn N-165, Federal champion Large Magnum primers and Norma cases COL=3.54"
that gives me just over 3000fps and has given me 1.47" group at 500m

 

[Rick in Oregon]

One more question.

As far as bipods go, I have been looking at an atlas, but are they really as stable as one would need in the field? All the bipods I have used I did not like. But harris was the nicest one. Never had a need.... But now I do.

Consider Harris. I've been using them since 1969, running four of them now, still have the original. Also consider Harris is the standard issue to the USMC, USA, USN and USCG where bipods are required. Look at the 'S' Series that allows canting for uneven terrain. Good stuff indeed and seems to last almost forever.

 

[mdan7177]

I have found that using the gear I would most likely use in the field as well, gives me the best idea of how my gun shoots best.
I work with a Harris bipod and an MOA Systems shooting bag.

 

[VaRandy]

I'm new here and somewhat new to precision shooting, long range shooting, etc. So excuse me if this has been hashed out before on here.

I want to see exactly what my rifles will do with as little human error in the shot as possible. I want a rest that I can set my gun in and all I need to do is align it and pull the trigger and my contact with the rifle will not affect the shot much at all. There has to be something and I know you guys here will point me in the right direction. I realize everyones opinion will differ so just tell me what you think and please put a good description with it of why you think what you do and pros and cons.

You were. new to Precision shooting 10 years ago. If you kept at it and still want to talk the best rest, let me know. I shoot off a heavy bench which I set up in the field and remain all day for shooting groundhogs. I have the same capability in the field I found at the range bench for the same reason you noted. If I miss with one of my varmint rigs, I am responsible for it, not the rest, or load.

 

[searcher]

You can use a toggle rest, a front and rear bag setup, a "one-piece" rifle rest or a bi-pod with a rear rest - all with very good results to see what your rifle will do. What is important is that your rifle is able to return to a "natural point of aim", whereas you are not coercing the rifle to stay on target in any manner before you squeeze the trigger. Applying pressure to the side of the stock or pushing the rifle ever so slightly to the side to get your sights aligned is where a lot of repeatable accuracy goes out the window. You want the rifle to slide straight back when fired. You want firm support under both the front and rear of the rifle.

The one-piece mounts are not allowed for use in most center-fire matches - so be aware of what rests are used in the type of competition you might want to actually use it in - if competition may be in the cards at a later time. That all said, you can cut the lower leg portions off of an old pair of jeans, fill one loosely with sand (rear) and the other firmly with sand. Use wire to tie off the ends. My "jean bags" work surprisingly well. If you really want a one-piece unit as you describe -and without paying huge bucks (about $200.00), I'd look at Cabela's all-steel unit. I rarely use mine - but for indoor or low-wind absolute accuracy testing - it is pretty good little unit.