First one is at my cabin in Pennsylvania. 3 leg with cherry log legs and white oak top. About $30 in scrap wood and 1.5 hr build with my son.
Second is just after I built it in Houston. Treated 2x4 legs (4) and plywood top that was spar varnished. All wood free from the home construction site scrap pile in my neighborhood. 3 hr build.
Third one is a 2 seat ambidextrous, corrugated galvanized roof, with 2” pecan top (chainsaw milled 18-24” wide), spar varnished. At the ranch in South Texas. This cost me about $2000 and took about 40 man hours to make.
I welded up this one using 2" square tube and 6" C-purlin. It's very stable and can easily be lifted in and out of a truck bed. I added the ammo cans and keep targets, stapler and shooting bags in them. We leave it at the deer lease and just drag it to whatever shooting distance we want.
Sweetest design I've seen^^^^^ .
The benches with the office chairs are a fu cking joke.. Here's mine:
1 hour of work:
Old military table. Made in 1962. I reinforced it a bit:
I've shot some good groups off of this portable bench:
Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.
I'll kick it off. I built a wooden shooting bench last year for the front porch at deer camp. This year, I decided on putting something in the field that would be there a while. This was my first attempt at a concrete slab bench. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. It took (4) 80 lb. bags of sakrete. I used hog panel wire for inside the concrete for support. To make the bench slick, I lined the concrete form with plastic trash bag and for the top, I use a piece of shower paneling inside of the form. The top of the bench came very slick almost like granite. The bench top weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 340 lbs. At some point, I may pour a pad and put a roof over the bench. I also may do something different than cinder blocks it's sitting on. As it sits, I can shoot out to 400 yards. I'd like to get a dozer in to be able to shoot out to 600 yards.
Let's see your bench.
not real mobile, must be a bear to move out varmint shooting... but I bet its solid once you get it set up.
"Minus the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the Country" Marion Barry, Mayor of Wash DC
“Owning guns is not a right. If it were a right, it would be in the Constitution.” ~Alexandria Ocasio Cortez
yeah I have a similar type... an 88 4Runner.. some times I use a three step mobil ladder, and shoot off the roof of it also. that is more user friendly than the hood, but I have a tire mounted on front and have a Rube Goldberg set up using a piece of plywood, that makes that flat also.
"Minus the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the Country" Marion Barry, Mayor of Wash DC
“Owning guns is not a right. If it were a right, it would be in the Constitution.” ~Alexandria Ocasio Cortez
I'll kick it off. I built a wooden shooting bench last year for the front porch at deer camp. This year, I decided on putting something in the field that would be there a while. This was my first attempt at a concrete slab bench. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. It took (4) 80 lb. bags of sakrete. I used hog panel wire for inside the concrete for support. To make the bench slick, I lined the concrete form with plastic trash bag and for the top, I use a piece of shower paneling inside of the form. The top of the bench came very slick almost like granite. The bench top weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 340 lbs. At some point, I may pour a pad and put a roof over the bench. I also may do something different than cinder blocks it's sitting on. As it sits, I can shoot out to 400 yards. I'd like to get a dozer in to be able to shoot out to 600 yards.
Let's see your bench.
not real mobile, must be a bear to move out varmint shooting... but I bet its solid once you get it set up.
I don't think mobility was the idea, but there's no rotting or need for an expensive shelter. It's not as pretty as some, but with the price of lumber and under $30, I think it'll outlast any and do the job as good.
Seafire, I didn't take it that way. I have a portable bench I take out for pdogs. It folds, etc. Happy Camper had it right in that I wanted something there for the long haul. A little concrete sealer on it an it should outlast me. Lumber prices these days require a mortgage just about. I've never messed with concrete. This was an experiment for me that turned out "usable". If I were to pour another, I'd use some quarter round inside to prevent the 90 degree edges. It did take using the tractor to move it to the field.
There's some really nice benches in this thread. A lot of time and devotion can be seen in them.
Glad I found this thread. Recently I came in to possession of some items from a deceased gunsmith/woodworker/leather goods maker, etc engineer type. Included was this HIGHLY detailed design/build and assembly booklet he had developed for a mobile shooting bench. It's 30 pages long with materials lists, cut templates, assembly order, etc. I am no craftsman; but I believe I could build one with this guide. This guy was all about attention to detail. His workshop was amazing. Thoughts from any one on the design and if there would be a market for such an item or the build instructions? Welcome any questions. Thanks