Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Lead Sled pros and cons?

I get the advantage is in recoil control. It also seems that is is a very repeatable set up with fixed points of contact for the butt and forend, so the gun is in the same position each time. That would seem to help produce the smallest groups.

But I also hear about problems with point of impact being different than shooting the rifle without a led sled. And issues with breaking stocks.

What’s the reality with pros and cons of using the lead sled to test accuracy?

Thanks

I do a little gun blacksmithing on the side and have a good range here in my yard which quite a few guys use. The fellows that use lead sleds tend to get erratic results and often end up using my stack of sandbags and conventional holds. Are the lead sleds bad? Is the shooter technique bad? I can't really say, but they seem to cause a lot of frustration and lack of confidence in groups and verified zero. And, no disrespect intended, the guys that seem to buy them shoot 20 or 30 rounds a year...or...shoot a rifle with too much recoil for their skill level.

I tried a friend's once. With rifles having varying levels of recoil (from .270 to .375) it produced much different results than what I obtained from using sandbags or shooting from field positions. For that reason they seem more than useless to me, a genuine waste of ammunition. The reports of broken stocks is just icing on the cake.

Edit to add: I never saw an improvement with group size. All my rifles shot the same, except for an '06 which somehow shot bigger groups with the lead sled.

i get good consistency but in the end i believe the bags are more repeatable and easier.when i say more repeatable i'm referring returning firearm back to zero quicker and easier.Maybe my whole problem is not using any weight on sled

I use to use it and still have one but recoil has to go somewhere, being tied to the sled the rifle tends to jump up instead of sliding into the shoulder, I found my best groups using bulls bag which gently cradles the forend and recoil pushes into my shoulder. Having said that if people are recoil sensitive I would recommend a shooting shoulder pad.

I use mine to get close, then double check with bags. Doesn’t change impact for me. I have long ass arms, maybe that helps.

I had one given to me. (Birthday gift) I'm not a fan.

I too have read where the slender stocks of lever rifles with substantial recoil can/will sustain damage to the buttstock when fired in a sled.

Recoil energy has to go somewhere.

Not a fan either. first time I fired a 300 magnum off one I thought I was hanging on to a boa constrictor on steroids.

I just use a shoulder pad made by who I don"t remember

There are no pros and their existence is a con. GD

There are no pros and their existence is a con. GD

Did like it and sold it. You can do better with bags

Hmm… I guess I am an odd ball, I have one and like it a lot
I don’t use extra weight
Try too hold exactly the same
Plenty of clover leafs
Point of impact does change
I use it for load testing and initial sight in

^^^^^^^
This

Consider the shooter/support/rifle/sight/cartridge/bullet a system.

In an academic environment, like a load ladder/accuracy nodes, it would have a place.


I use prone/sling for sighting in and load development, and sitting/sling for accuracy testing.

Then I know what to expect in the field.




GR

As I see it, it is one more thing to help people eliminate their propensity to wiggle, i.e. flinch. For a once a year tool for the sighting in days at our range, I think that it would save lots of ammunition. Getting lots of those guys hitting near the bulls eye can be an exercise in diplomacy.

Friend broke is Encore muzzleloader stock the first time he shot it in a lead sled. As in 2 pieces

It is nice when you have 8 to 10 to sight in, at least to get close. I have 7 that need it now, new rifles, new scopes, swap scopes.

I do not care for it. I have found in almost every case, my point of impact is different than off bags. In the past, some of the ranches I hunt out west provide Lead Sleds to sight in with but no bags. Makes things iffy in my mind to know my rifle is 3” high @ 100 and that ain’t the case off the Sled.

Plus it split a nice pre 64 stock of mine on a mule deer hunt.

They would be cool if we didn’t need to learn solid shooting technique…but we do. Hard pass from me.