Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Anyone use a Lead Sled

Been thinking about getting one and just wondering if they’re worth the money and if they’re a big advantage over traditional sand bags.

No

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Well, I'm ready to get flamed, but I have been using one for years and love it.

The haters will tell you they are no good and break stocks because they are so rigid, especially if you add weight to the sled.

I bought mine, padded it, use NO additional weight shoot and some heavier recoil guns like 12 gauge slug guns and I'm still waiting for my first broken stock.

I have one of the original lead sleds, and it weighs 17 pounds. If you use it on a smooth surface it will slide at the shot into your shoulder, hence no solid rigidity. I am in effect add 17 pounds to the weight of the gun and can shoot 12 gauge slugs all day in a t-shirt.

Here is how I padded it.

If you can't shoot a rifle off a bench with bags to get it sighted in because there's too much recoil, buying a contraption to help isn't going to matter, because you'll still be afraid of it in the field and flinch.

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Yes. For guests here for big game hunting they work just fine for them to check zero. Works very well and worth the money here.

Osky

Nothing wrong with it for working up loads. Just remember...you're gonna shoot way different from any other platform.

I’ve been shooting many years so I’m not skittish of the recoil, just seems with age I’m not able to hold as still or maintain steadiness of the crosshairs as I used to.

Along with all the other facts already stated I don’t like the lead sled due to the fact of you can’t get any sort of cheek weld when a rifle is in it. The one I have is now just a rifle cleaning station.

I have a pretty deluxe range in my yard, and a lot of guys drop by to use it, sight-in, change scopes, chronographing, whatever...my personal observation is that the guys who insist on using a lead sled have inconsistency problems. Hard to explain, but they get flyers, and then lose confidence and say, well would you mind shooting a group and we'll see if it's me or the gun? So I will fire off a sandbag group, 8 times out of 10, I will do better than the lead sled. And trust me, I ain't no David Tubb.

I never saw the need for one and I do a lot of shooting and reloading. With sandbags and my portable shooting bench I can shoot MOA on most rifles which is just fine for hunting. But I can see where they could be useful for checking accuracy of your reloads as it would take some of the human factor out of the shooting equation.

I had one but sold it. On harder kicking rifles it seemed to bounce the rifle off my cheek which I didn't like. It might work for some people but I didn't like it.

Thanks for all the replies. Got some good honest evaluations which is exactly what I was looking for.

I have one works fine if you feel it will help you go for it. I prefer à bipod that is fully adjustable and à bag at the rear bottom of the stock. Use it to sight in and then shoot off à rest.

A lead sled kept me shooting through '08 to '10 while my rotator cuff wes torn and while I healed from the surgery. I have not used it In ten years. But it was a treasure when I needed it.

With anything above 25/06 I just use a folded beach towel for a recoil pad. Better to prevent a flinch that to try to get rid of it. One of the guys in our hunting club has a lead sled and he gets pretty erratic results. He can’t figure out why I get better results just shooting off bags.

If you clamp à board on the front of à portable stand you can apply pressure to the bipod legs. My Bergara 6.5 hmr will shoot .5" groups at 100 yards, also have a vortex razor for a scope. I'm an ok shot nothing compared to the 1000 yd. Compétition guys thou. Other rifles under an inch.

I've shot hundreds if not thousands of rounds at the range working up loads for me and others. Every shot has been off of sand bags and most recently a caldwell front rest (the kind on a small tripod with a padded cradle for the forend of the gun). The cheek weld and ability to squeeze the rear bag with my off hand to make micro adjustments in elevation can not be replicated with a lead sled. Many years ago i tried a lead sled that my buddy had at the range and I did not like it at all. I would get the gun on target then when I finally got down on the gun, the contact with my thrigger hand/shoulder/arm/cheek was enough to shift the point of aim enough to make the exercise frustrating. Maybe I don't know how to operate one, but I never could see how anybody could be as consistent off of a lead sled as they are off of bags. I just can't get comfortable with one.

And I've seen inconsistency problems observing others at the range, sort of what Flintlocke mentioned above.

No! At only 60 ft/lbs recoil, it doesn’t seem to be a necessity! 😁 memtb

I just shot the other way when I had my shoulder surgeries.

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JFC…..
LMAO!