Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Magnetospeed on Rock rest

For those who asked about mounting the Magnetospeed on a Caldwell Rock rest, here's the photo. The plate on top of the rest normally holds the sandbag. I drilled one hole in it to hold the MS bayonet.

I really like this setup.

I do too, but it took me a couple months after buying the Caldwell rest before I got off my butt and figured it out.

It works well, for a couple reasons. First, the Rock is heavy enough not to shift around due to muzzle blast. Second, it can be easily adjusted for height, if need be to get the muzzle of a particular rifle in the right place.All you have to do is make sure the muzzle sits just above the V-rest at the rear of the bayonet--which is where the barrel is normally strapped to the muzzle.

Coolio.

If I ever spring for the magneto speed I may have to look this one back up.

Fortunately, our range is never very busy, so the Pro-Chrono suffices for now.

Thanks for the pics John. Explains it well.

Thanks MD I like my Magneto Speed but kept thinking I needed the Lab Radar. With just the purchase of the Rock Junior and your input I no longer have a yearning for the Lab Radar.

Clean setup JB!

I also have been working on a rest for the magnetospeed.

This is the simpliest only required opening up two existing holes.One on the magnetospeed where the strap bolt goes through to 1/4" and the other one opening up one of the offset holes on the quick release plate to 1/4". This is on a manfrotto fluid head. Center bolt is removed.

If there is an issue it might be leaning over bench to get the height correct when range is hot not sure how easily that can be done.





Also working on a platform to sit on bench similar to yours JB. Issue there is that the rifle will have to be moved to rear of bench and not sure range rules will allow it.

One experiment has a few magnetic base dial indicator offsets with three rods so magneto speed can be attached to front rest and extended the correct amount forward of the bench. The last connector has a small bolt and nut for magnetospeed. The offsets allow for a wide range of adjustment.

Great idea thanks for sharing

You're welcome--but the original idea wasn't mine, though using the Caldwell rest was. Dirtfarmer rigged up his Magnetospeed with another rest that he had on hand, but after I looked at several brands the Rock looked like it would work easily--and it's also relatively inexpensive.

That looks really good, but I'd be lucky to make it through 10 shots before I destroyed the bayonet. LOL

Just completed the fourth variant. Will be going to test all four soon.

This one has a old tripod head installed on a 1/2-13 threaded rod. There is a snug hole in bar, the two knurled nuts will allow vertical adjustment. The bar will be clamped to front edge of bench. Should be close enough to the bench to allow adjustments during a hot range.

Proper alignment to prevent blowing up the bayonet is something that should be addressed in preparation for each shot, IME.

The Magnetospeed extension device seems a good idea when a longer bench is not practical. A free standing rest needs something to sit on.

In my case, I built a tailgate bench for my Z-71 which gives plenty of room for the rest mounted device. May not be for everyone in every situation. The typical shooting range benches I've seen may not be long enough.

DF

Thanks for showing your version Dirtfarmer.

I have my own bench for occasional shooting on BLM land but mostly go to the range where they have concrete benches as shown in picture. They have limited length:

Looks like a nice range.

Yeah, those benches are too short for free standing Magnetospeed, an extension set up would work better in that setting.

Or one could use a tripod set up beyond the bench to support a free standing device. Not sure if all ranges would allow that and from what I see, not sure that would work with the step down, concrete to dirt, right where the tripod should be sitting. Maybe using a rail on the tripod would allow Magnetospeed to be positioned rearward enough to function.

DF

Just a thought with limited fore-and-aft space: why not make a plywood "sled" that provides that extended length needed for the third rest? Looks like you only need another 12"-18"

I'm lusting for a Labradar, but I can't justify the price. I'll stick with my Chrony II.

JB,
Been there & done that in several prototypes. Still working on a couple of others. The problem for a lot of us as mentioned by AZshooter, the benches, public or private, are too short for both rests & rifle. Not criticizing your setup. Like DirtFarmer, it works well with your own manufactured shooting platform. Not all of us have that luxury.

Working specifically with Magneto Speed bayonets, all 3 generations, I have tried extra rifle rests, c clamp bases & T-Tracks for adjustability, fabricated attachments mounted to the rest feet & others. I want to provide something that will work well, be simple & cost effective. I am still theorizing. Recently stumbled upon the Masterpiece Arms Magneto Speed bayonet adapter & rod. I will be testing it out with my Masterpiece Arms stock soon. Then adapting it for my composite stock configurations. I’ve received some questionable stares at the range while testing some of my concoctions.

Eventually between all of us we will come up with a nearly fit all solution. I have yet been unable to interest the M-Speed folks in helping to champion the cause ultimately, although, they have helped me with a prototype. Maybe at some point they will see the need & provide some engineering.

Already got a Labradar. Are you guys telling me I need a MS too? Be Well, Rustyzipper.

I was waiting for the go ahead from my eye surgeon. Just had cataract surgery in my shooting eye. Once again have 20/20 in that eye!

I tried the long aluminum bar setup which extends off end of bench. Darn Bench made of concrete had a downhill slope! It wasn't too difficult to set it up to shoot. Had to be extra careful with the positioning of the rifle on the front rest. Had to move the rest and rifle around some after each shot. Was a bit of a pita. I am setting it aside to try the easily movable aluminum box support that sits on the bench as shown early in this thread. I figure I can move it around quickly to center on rifle instead of moving rifle and rest to align with magnetospeed.

More results to come.

Current prototype which is working quite well. But, like DirtFarmer said, it's a lot of fabricating for the average user. I am working on simplifying by integrating both of these examples & fine tuning it. I would prefer something that mounts to the forearm of the stock utilizing the sling stud the way a bipod would to eliminate the adjustment of two separate units.






Original idea, which also worked well but required too much fidgeting.

Wow, that is impressive work. It looks like it would cost more than the MS. Very nice metal wrk! Looks solid.

I may be in the minority but I don't mind the barrel attachment for my uses. When I work up a new load I find safe pressure/velocity. Find accuracy. Finish with another velocity check and dope my drop. Yeah, it does cost me some extra rounds that way.

But it’s the way the product works. If you have to rebuild the darn thing get another product. Most of these modifications are completely unusable in a myriad of situations.

Wow, sure hope that does not progress adversely.

I have my bayonet screwed on to the mounting plate of a tripod. It is a little tedious to set up, but once everything is in place it seems to work fine. Fortunately I have access to a range were setting up in front of the bench is not a problem.

Why not just get one that's already on the market then?

I will, and don't have issue with that, if it comes to that. Do you know of anything available that we have not touched upon in this discussion?

Dunno why some people appear to be getting upset by using a Magnetospeed on a stand.

I bought my MS from somebody on the Campfire, essentially new, for a very good deal. The "stand" cost me $50 at a local store, and between them I have less than $200 into the project.

The concrete benches at my local range are similar to the one in the photos, but just enough longer that by setting up rifle rests a little farther back, the MS works fine. The same thing works on my Stukey portable bench.

Without going back through the posts to see if these were mentioned, there's the Wiser Precision, MK Machining, and David Tubb's. I've got the Sporter model but may have to upgrade to the V3 to work with suppressors. Wiser says people have used their unit with the Sporter and a can, but the whole unit has to go in front of the can. Like others my issue is bench length so would have to use something attached to the sling swivel or front rest like yours. If it gets too complicated to set up, I might as well go back to an optical unit, which isn't ideal at a club with a lot of members.

I initially tried a tripod mounted unit. The ground in front of our benches is too uneven to be able to setup, or make later adjustments, from behind the firing line. Preventing an elongated seize fire is the goal.

Nice setups Reloader 28. Like the attached to front rest concept. Grooved rail also an excellent idea.

My solution is pretty low tech. Using a magnetospeed setup similar to the one built by Mule Deer and using a rifle rear bag and front rest similar to Dirtfarmer, I simply place a 2' x 6' finished particle board shelf on top of the shooting bench at the range, set my individual pieces on the shelf, align as necessary and shoot. Simple and does not require any modifications to store bought stuff other than the one hole in the rock rest jr to hold the magnetospeed unit. Can easily be adjusted for different rifles and the weight of the rifle, rests, bags and caldwell unit hold the shelf in place while shooting. And the shelf only cost about $15 at a local builders supply store.

rflshtr,

That's too simple to work!

Absolutely brilliant....

Yep, that'll work.

Low tech, high yield....

DF

Tried that first. Worked just ok. Quickly determined fewer moving parts was best. I’m glad it works for you. Not good for me.

What extra "moving parts" are you talking about? And what problems could you pinpoint?

The plywood I used was not well suited for the application. It was only a piece of scrap I had in the garage. Reckon it did not fit well enough to be captured by the points of the rest. Under recoil it kept working its way forward. Though the idea worked quite well my mind was awhir with better ideas on the way home. From there I moved on to other attempts at streamlining the process. May be I abandoned the best & simplest idea too early.....?

I am ate up with reinventing the wheel.

The objective for me is multiple targets abreast. Thus my MS needs to track with the pivot of the barrel. If I were shooting single page targets it would not be an issue.

RFLSHTR & I had the same idea. Ultimately I did not want to pack around a large plank. In hindsight, that may work out best. I started by tucking the rear edge of the board under the front of the rest. It never occurred to me to extend it to include the entire footprint of the rest.

I'd probably want my board more than 6" wide, maybe 12".

If a piece of plywood, I'd make sure it was at least 5/8", cut to fit the bench with enough overhang off the front to accommodate the free standing Magnetospeed. If it moved, one could apply a clamp or two such that it/they wouldn't interfere with shooting.

I don't see why something like that wouldn't work.

DF

I got a 24" wide shelf that is 6' long since I have two rifles with 30" or longer barrels and wanted one board for all rifles. If you limited your chronographing to 24" barrels or shorter, you could get by with a 5' or shorter board. I like the wider board/shelf since everything can fit on top of it but I drive a pickup so size of the board is not an issue for me. So far I have not needed the clamps to hold things in place but have not used it with large bore, dangerous game type rifles. The wider board also allows the whole set up to be slid around on the bench top to engage multiple targets left or right depending on the range set up you are shooting at. The whole point of this thread is to share ideas and we all should recognize that each idea might not work for everybody. For me, simple is better but that is just me.

IMO, simple is always better...

DF

Thanks for the ideas. I am going to mount mine with the angle iron extension for short benches. Looks simple enough. I think I already have the aluminum stock.

Look at Reloader28's set up. I like his witness rod under the barrel to easliy re-establish perfect bayonet to bore alignment, shot to shot. That's a bigger deal with guns that kick.
and with guns wearing suppressors.

That's slicker and faster than my idea of slipping a wooden dowel in the bore to adjust bayonet alignment..

DF

I just look at the muzzle's relationship to the V-block used when attaching the MS to the muzzle after every shot. So far the muzzle or MS position hasn't shifted much between shots--but haven't shot many hard-kicking rifles, either.

I set my equipment up in my shop today on top of a portable folding bench and took some measurements using one of my 30+" long barreled rifles.

Depending on the bench at the range you shoot from, the board/shelf might only need to be 4' to 5' long rather than the six feet of my shelf.If you use only shorter barrel rifles maybe less than 4' would be adequate to get the rifle and rests on top of the board along with the chronograph set up.Over time, if I find I do not need all 6', I will cut it shorter to make it more convenient to move around .For my style of bench shooting, I really like the 24" wide footprint.

Agree with the added width.

How thick is your plywood?

DF

I bought a pre-finished shelf that measured 24" wide by six feet long and the width is 5/8th inch particle board covered in a smooth finish on top and bottom and one side.

That'll work.

DF

Also thanks to this thread I set up my Trigger Stick for the Magneto and it is easy and portable. The ball & pan head of a regular tripod is better but I usually can level it enough with the leg height and line up with the barrel.

What is the lowest deck height on the plate for this rig?

A little under 4 inches.

Thank you very much

That's a nice setup but here in NY a loaded firearm other than registered handguns can touch a motor vehicle. Not even leaning against it, nuts here.

Just need to be out in the woods, far enough in the wildernes that they'll never know.

I shoot on my place, no one out there to bother me. Cows leave me alone when I'm shooting. They don't like the noise.

DF

That's what we do here also and out of sight from liberal view.

The Libs could learn from the cows - stay away from things you don't understand that scare you.

Well, if they were smart as cows....

DF

I'm guessing your maple syrup operation is pretty remote.

I've seen pictures, have a jug of your syrup in my refrig. Good stuff, BTW...

DF