Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Favorite rest for sighting in a rifle

Hey guys,
Curious what is y'alls favorite rest for load development? Looked at the Caldwell (Rock, Rock BR), Sinclairs, and the like.

Don't want to spend any more money than needed, but am not opposed to spending money (if it's warranted).

But, I cannot afford anything even remotely close to a seb neo.

As a side note, currently have a Caldwell Deadshot shooting bags, and while they are great, want something that will provide a better platform for load development. I'm wanting to remove the human element as possible.

Caldwell Bags

Same here.

Thans fellas.

Rock BR good rest doesn't break the bank. Used sand filled shot bags for a long time and really like the BR.

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Home made from a jack...I like it better than my Sinclair for most things...it is a scissor Jack with gear reduction and a few mods...

I'm using a "Bull Bag" and my gun case as the "rear" support. It works well for me.

I think Huntsman has the patent on that one..

Could be but had mine quite awhile...not the first time I posted it so maybe he copied mine...don't matter...

As pictured above, front rests don't need to be fancy to work great. I know a few guys here use the el-cheapo Hoppes front rest. I used one for a loooooooong time and it is very portable/light and is pretty steady. I upgraded to a little more stable front rest, but still use the same rear bags. Those are generally Caldwell, stoney point or Protektor:


Here's the Hoppes, they come painted bright orange, but I repainted it blue:




Here's my heavier upgrade:

Maybe he stole your idea then....

My Caldwell bag moves too much for me with extreme target work. General sighting in, its fine.

Kenny Jarrett's rest is the best I've ever seen for the serious stuff...

Hart BR

That's neat

Uncle Buds Bulls Bag

For load development I use an older Wichita front rest with a bunny ear rear bag. For setting a hunting zero, prone with my pack and Latigo sling to be certain of the "field" point of impact... for me at least it is different.

Hart pedestal rest.

Hart.

Bought it through Sinclair Intl. It weighs 18 lbs. Weight is your friend on a front rest. I have a leather front bag on the Hart. My rear bag is leather too. I suggest Cordura topped bags for front & back. It allows the gun to recoil freely. With solid leather you need to spray your bags with Suave deodorant with Talcum Powder. I am tired of doing so. That is why they make Cordura tops.

Hart front rest with front bag and rear bag from Protektor.

I should give those Cordura bags a shot too........

Nothing wrong with the rock BR, I have looked at upgrading but have yet to find a reason. Only paid 99 bucks for this probably 10 years ago. 15 lbs. stable foot print, rear screw gives good repeatable height adjustment for small changes. It just works.

Hart seems to be popular here too.

Back pack.

actually I was looking at 1 of these in the A/P version. 30 lbs.

http://www.brownells.com/shooting-a...competition-shooting-rest-prod39322.aspx

Or maybe this ifin I wanted to go cheap.

http://www.bullets.com/products/Triangle-Windage-Rest-Cast-Iron/BE1153

One of the best responses to the OP. Hart for me too, with interchangeable tops because I am lazy as well as fussy.

For the past couple of years I have been a range officer at our local range. I am amazed at the number of "serious" shooters who invest considerable time and money "testing", but IMO achieving suboptimal results because their technique is deficient even if they have decent equipment. Poor choice of rest(s) and how they are used is a major culprit. Gimmicky rests, even expensive ones, seldom work as advertised.

The dynamics of a light-for-power hunting rifle vs. a typical benchrest rifle are distinctly different. A big game rifle with a synthetic stock free floated will bounce clear off a hard packed front bag like benchresters use. Wrap around forearm checkering will kill your groups too, not to mention a sling swivel stud. A simple expedient like a plastic baggie between stock and the rest can improve groups significantly.

Paul

I posted this on another forum but am wondering about the Caldwell NXT rest. I have to shoot left handed rifles now since losing the vision in my right eye and at 78 I am not the sight in shot I use to be. Have a lead sled that the Daughter and Granddaughter use when shooting the bigger guns and I also have some bag rests. Just thought this would be easy to use at the range. Is it OK or a piece of junk? Price seems pretty reasonable.

Lead sled. I buy mine used from ingwe.

Sleeping bag on a pickup hood.

ingwe showed me that. I prefer the 'sled.

Sleds are pretty classy, especially if Ingwe autographed them.

He didn't autograph mine, but he did put it through his "break-in procedure" for lead sleds, which is maybe even better.

That makes Bobby Hart smile.

smokepole,

I would be interested in hearing all about that, because I have always been interested in breaking-in my gear "properly." I keep hearing about "proper" break-in on the Internet, and am always eager to learn.

I switched from a metal front rest when a rifle jumped off of it from recoil and hit it's stock on a sharp corner. It's a Sinclair. Any metal front rest would damage a rifle that hit it.

Now I use a large soft bag as shown covered with a soft towel and a leather rear.

ingwe has a youtube video, PM him, it's great!!

For years I used a variety of different bags. I recently bought a Caldwell Full Length Fire Control Shooting Rest and prefer it. I get rifles sighted in much faster using less ammo.

....remember, always treat your stuff with love and respect. Identify the proper harmonic ossilations and you're there..

Does Bed, Bath and Beyond have them in stock or will I need to order one of those...?

You know Bobby ?

I've found the more shiet one has to lug out to shoot lessens the amount of shooting one does.

My experience was exactly the same.

I'm not a fan of any of the one piece the fore-and-aft rest setups, but some favor them.

My absolute last choice would be a one piece light plastic rest.

Especially if cost is a concern, the traditional shot bag filled with sand works pretty darned well, at the expense of weight and convenience. For a softer rest the bag can be filled with beans, kitty litter, or whatever. Combined with a commercial bunny ear rear bag, you would be well set for sighting in, i.e. anything but serious benchrest work, at minimal cost, just like in the photo.

Paul

Girlfriend's butt cheeks. Gotta figure out how to make her stop giggling though...

I used a 70's vintage Hoppes for years (and still do sometimes). Now it's one I built out of a heavy iron laboratory stand base, with fine thread height and windage adjustment. Sand bags are a mixed assortment gathered over 40+ years of shooting, selection of which is determined by which rifle I'm shooting.

One of the more insightful, true posts in a long time.

Hart rest with cordura bags front and rear. I too got tired of the baby powder trick to make the rifle slide in the bags. Tip - make sure you lock the adjustments to eliminate any extra movement in the front rest.

I also put a Sinclair speed screw on the rear leg for quick vertical adjustments.

I used to stop at the Hart gun shop - Wally and Bobby were great company.

This is not as much a recommendation as it is a question. I came by my current arrangement somewhat by accident, and it worked.

One day, shortly after I bought the farm, I left town without my shooting stuff. I had deer rifles to sight in and ammo, but nothing else. I fashioned a quick rest out of scrap wood, covered it with carpet and shot some of the best groups I ever had with both rifles. I paired that with a rear bag filled with kitty litter, and pretty much have been shooting off that ever since.

The rest is about 2 feet of 2X6 nailed to a 2 foot scrap of 2X4 in an 'L' arrangement. I put a layer of carpet pad and then a layer of carpet scrap over it and nailed it on the inside of the 'L'. Here's a pic:



My question to all of you is this: Is there anything wrong with this arrangement? I get good results, but should I consider changing it?

Wow, the way that started out, I'm glad it had a happy ending.

IMHO, if you're getting good results with your rest, that tells you all you need to know. The only real advantage of a store-bought front rest is it's easier to adjust the height for different rifles but if you don't need that, why bother.

Homemade stuff, you can't beat it with a stick.

That's kind of what I was thinking. Thanks.

I just always felt kind of cheap and amateurish not having invested big bucks in a front rest.

Yes, I guess it did start out rather ominous, didn't it? I had a buddy who used to do freelance anti-terrorist work. She'd never say she was going to the Mideast to ace some bad guys. She'd just say she was "Flying to New York to check out some farm property."

It took about a year for me to get the bugs ironed out in getting back and forth to the farm without leaving important things behind. You should have seen me scratching my head the day I brought the rifled deer barrel for my Mossy 500 instead of the turkey barrel. The patterns were awful.

The one thing that I finally figured out was that ammo is down at the farm and inventoried at least 2 weeks before the start of deer season. Ditto for all underwear and socks.

New loads get tested with a front block and towel under the fore arm and a rear bag that more often than not is a jacket. If its a keeper, I'll sight in and shoot just like I would in the field. Off sticks, pack, sitting...

You might want to check out the latest copy of Rifle Magazine. Page 34 - "Rifle Rests - Tips for Better Shot Placement Afield" by JB

No but a good friend of mine is good friends with him and his family. Actually my buddies deceased grandfather was pretty close with the Hart family for quite a few years.

I heard plenty of good things about the Hart family........

I use the one I sell both for competition and hunting rifles.




This is with a BR rifle and I change the bag for hunting style rifles. The coaxial joy stick makes it quicker to get back on target after each shot.

I've been making these for 9 years and have 900 units out there. I sell the top only to fit your base.

I have one of the cheap plastic rests from Midway that I have equipped with a Protector bunny ear bag. I have found it adequate for the task of sighting in hunting rifles and feel no need to spend money on anything fancier.

For sighting in a hunting rifle, I made a clone of a Sinclair rest with the screw and nut from Sinclair.

For bench rest guns, a Bald Eagle cast iron, one of the newer ones from Taiwan. Nicely made and works well.

I have a BullsBag X7 shooting system and love it. No problem shooting at 800 yds.

http://forum.nosler.com/viewforum.php?f=40&start=50
JD338