Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Competitive Shooting Rests for shooting off a bench

FMP others have commented, and let me. I'm far from the best.. but I have managed to be the highest scoring shooter once at Perry in a match, and I've beaten David Tubb(not Tubbs) at 600 in the process of winning our state match at 600 too...

I was NOT born that way. I used to miss deer at 50 yards. WHOLE deer. And I got a bit better. When I started highpower I was shooting 200 yards offhand and was lucky enough to get all shots on paper (the reduced target thats about maybe 30x30 inches). I"ve come a LONG way and the ONLY way to do that, is to start somewhere, we all did and I can promise none started at the top. Folks are UNBELIEVABLY helpful to new and old shooters. At least in highpower they are and I've delved into silhouette, blackpowder, pistol bullseye, IPSC, IDPA, 3 Pos smallbore too and was welcomed there and pointed in the right direction quickly.

Good luck, jeff

Wusses huh... I thought we were weenies.

We also shoot score in BR. Ten ring is 1/2" diameter, "X" is a 1/16" dot on a 100 yard target. Them dots don't come easy...

Went to the range today..very very cold- not sure, but I don't think my gun was shooting as consistent as usual. I managed to shoot a .25" group- as my daily best, but most were around 1 MOA or greater. I am a little despondent, as I saw some good results my first time out.

The temperature was in the negatives with the wind chill.

-Would I hit different once my barrel cools? It seemed, once I walked down range...by the time I got back, loaded, and ready again- I had one bullet off, then the next 3 where great.

Is there any conditions that are considered "ideal"?

Ftr,
I think you will find that the best Fclass shooters don't use bipods. If you know anything about FClass, you are aware of a fellow named Gary Costello from the UK. Gary won the FClass World Championship this year to refresh your memory. Gary has one of my Shadetree Engineering rest tops. The serious FClass shooters are going to the Coaxial rests as you can get back on target quickly and not miss a wind condition.
Butch

FTR and I along eventually with FMP shoot F-TR. We're restricted to using some form of bipod unless we'd choose to shoot in the F-Open class.

FMP, yea it's normal for a cold barrel shot to be outside of the group.

okay..figured..

Butchlambert, I can surely understand your desire to sell your products here, but you should learn a little more about F-class.

F-TR shooters may be only using .223 or .308 and bipods, but you would be amazed at we we can do even with those limitations.

I have long considered F-open to be nothing more than an armaments race where equipment trumps skill; your ignorant post confirms that thinking. You can keep your GPS-located, battery-operated, chrome-plated, gyro-stabilized, laser-aimed, hydraulically-controlled coaxial rest, I'll stick with my bipod and continue to improve my skills.

AJ is right and this is where it is important to know your rifle. If the first (cold bore) shot is out of the group, you must account for that as you make your adjustments. This is where the quality of the barrel comes into play. An excellent barrel, properly stress relieved should not have much if any difference from cold bore to hot. A competition rifle will have a heavier contour barrel, increasing the rigidity of the barrel and taking much longer to heat up to the point where the barrel may shift.

In an F-class match; I will try to get my 20 rounds for record down range at a fairly rapid rate, if I have the conditions doped right (and I have a fast puller.) My barrel will be warm once I am through, but it will not be moving on me. One of the things we fight in South Texas is the heat build up in the barrel and we have evolved a few tricks to cool the barrel down between relays. These come into play in the hot summer months, but for right now, they are not needed thanks to Global Cooling.

I will tell you right now that I consider the barrel THE item to spend your money on. But only when the time is right. For now, the one on your rifle is all you need to learn to shoot. You will know when you are ready for a new barrel. Barrels are consumable; think of them as a set of new tires on the car.

ftr,
I'm glad that we have somebody here on the forums that is the end all know all. From now on I will PM you for advice on shooting matters before I post.
By reading the post it appears that the open class guys buy their wins.
Butch

lol, f-open is really belly benchrest, even if in the nra rules it says it's not. I'm not slammin' f-open at all. Utmost respect for those folks.

I do agree with FTR S in that f-open is an equipment race for some. And that hurts the discipline.

Oh yea, I shoot F-TR, mr state champ '09, 4th in mr nra regionals '09 (all f-class was combined, so somewhat as expected open guns took 1st & 2nd, tr gun 3rd, me in 4th by 3 points). See, like Rost i can post my accomplishments too. 2009 my first full year shootin' f-class.

It's all for fun mostly guys. Unless you're sponsored or selling gadgets to fellow shooters you'll never recover your ammo expense. Last year my total winnings were around $50 iirc.

Great shooting TooDogs. I have been on the campfire for quite sometime and I do not push my products. If that were so I would list quite a few guys that use them throughout the world. I don't believe in his original post he mentioned FTR FClass shooting. If he did and I missed it, I was mistaken.
ftr, I'm sure you're not as much a smartass as you come off. Your facial expressions and voice inflection does not show up on the net.
Butch

TooDogs, congratulations on a good year.

Like you I have the utmost respect for the F-Openers and for the benchresters also.

I just get a chuckle when I see them kneeling on their prayer mats as they adjust their front rests.

Butch, you can PM me any time, but I only know of F-TR, sorry to disappoint you.

No, but I know they are buying higher scores. You said it yourself when you urinated on bipods; the top F-class shooters all use rests, not bipods. Why would you be trying to sell them a new type of rest if it was not going to help them better their scores? F-Open shooters use exotic calibers, heavy rifles and the rests that I described earlier. So, yes they bought higher scores. The wins, on the other hand, are up for grabs.

However, even with all those advantages, the good F-TR shooters, using the same targets as the F-Open guys are not that far behind the good F-Open shooters; the gap is not that great and it is narrowing.

I know this much, if it helps the score, like a better rest, and if everyone else has a chance to use it and its legal and you can afford it, you are dumb not to use it. You are then shooting apples vs oranges and not representing your abilities the best you can or at the minimum handicapping yourself.

FMJ, YES weather can affect things like accuracy...see the thread on Temp Sensitivity of powders... It might not, it may have just been you, but it very well could have been ammo issues in cold weather or even rather than powder, an issue of the primer not being hot enough in cold weather.

Thats one reason I do my best to shoot ambient temp ammo... I keep my ammo in a small cooler if temps are wild one way or another, not on ice or heat, but just to keep from getting too hot or cold... and pull it out when I'm ready to shoot... I"ve seen just what you talk about in heat situations.... AA2520 and WW 748 were notorious for it.....

I use a cooler for my ammo also. Beyond that, I load my SUV the night before the match but I put the rifle or the ammo in the vehicle only when I leave in the morning. I use Varget, but I see no benefit pushing the temp issue either way.

A straight 70 degrees, a slight tail wind, would be swell for this cat.

On a side note, regardless of what type of competitive shooting requires more skill, what products are better, who knows what, and what everyone has won- we are all here for one reason- which is the decency for the love of shooting sports, so lets play nice.

-Anywho, I have to start re-loading, so I can find what the old girl really likes to spit out. I am hoping the next warmish day(30's) I am going to get down there and send a few more down range.

How many shots do you usually shoot before swabbing/cleaning, while shooting?

FMP

Varget smarget, real f-tr guys use Reloader15, lol.

Anyone heard anything about this IMR 8208XBR powder? Ad says it's stable from -40� to +165� F.

I am curious?

Similar to 133/322 speed.

Hodgdons has a bunch of loads for it on their site.

FMP, we ARE playing nice.
Rost likes to remind us he's great at Hi_Power. The 495 awards are pretty special. FTR knows it all 'cause he's from Texas, don't ya know!. AJ is one of the good guys. Don't know Butch much, seems OK (lol). I'd be honored to shoot with any or all of these gentlemen any time. Me, I'm just a goof from Wisconsin that likes shooting his money down range, as well as tinkering with things that need tinkering with. Gonna play with ejector spring pressure soon too.