Going to have to shoot left handed for at least this year. Want advise on a good ambidextrous bench.
One that would resalable I hope.
Haven't needed a bench in a long time could search the web which I will do but trust the people on hear.
Thanks
Brad

They had a thread, maybe in long range hunting. Had some really nice ones. Some even had what looks like boat tires and a trailer hitch (seems like slumlord of all people had that one)... I'll give it some thought, try to track it down, been quite a while back.... Probably so far back it will just be a bunch of pictures that photobucket won't show.

build yer own......

? How many women have told you the same ?

Years ago Rick Jamison had plans to build your own. Fairly easy & portable. You can probably google his plans.

A metal folding-leg sawhorse, a scrap of 3/4 inch plywood, a few bolts from the junk drawer or hardware store, and an hour or so with a jigsaw and a drill for the bolt holes, and you're done. When no longer needed, remove the plywood and you still have yourself a sawhorse.

Check out Knothole Designs, www.knotholedesigns.com. I love the one I have, and it's available in left hand. I bought mine when the maker was at a gunshow in eastern Montana, but since then he has a good website, pictures and specs.

Not too hard, can be made ambidextrous if you like. We used a double layer of 3/4 inc good plywood, and mounted the legs with Iron pipe flanges from Fleet Farm. The trick is to use hardwood blocks you saw diagonally to achieve a 15 degree angle for the legs. mount to bench, and mount flanges to block. Might want to cap the bottom of the pipe to keep dirt out. 1 & 1/4 inch is good but you can use one inch if you want..

If you have a welder pal you can make leg mounts with flat stock and pipe nipples sawed at the 15 degree angle.

My nest bench is going to be made so I can shoot in a standing position.

flipped my right handed one. Will carry 2 when my shooting pard or my son go with.

built this for my own use, towable has storage and a 8 ft sun umbrella for when shooting in sun.. umbrella is stored in 6 in pvc tube on side. Still need to get new tires and paint fenders.. 1 pic of bench unfinished.

https://imgur.com/a/YFh5vmC

Virtually all of the many LR hunters in PA use a portable bench for shooting at animals.
A major reason is the steep and often rough terrain isnt conducive to good prone positions.
That coupled with the fact that most of us just plain shoot better from a bench.
Many of us have found that a light weight aluminum angle frame of say 16”x32” covered with a single layer of 5/8”
plywood is as good as a double layer of 3/4” and lighter. No need for left or right, just radius the back end.
Leg dimensions are fine as stated, but by using aluminum electrical conduit in lieu of pipe, considerable weight is saved. Use the aluminum couplings as mentioned for welding in the corners of the frame for screwing the legs in place. 3 legs are enough and saves weight, but more solid with the single leg in front. As low to the ground as possible is best for stability, many of us shoot from our knees to keep it lower and faster responce time. just keep a small pc of carpet for kneeling on. Raising the bench high enough to stand, requires bracing the legs which some guys do.
My bench has 4 legs and weighs about 20 #. i have a sling attached to it for carrying broken down to distant hunting locations.
But, and actually there are no buts about it, from the standpoint of speed, as in getting shots off quickly with good enough accuracy for most long range situations, one of the good, with the emphasis on good, shooting tripods is a valid replacement for a bench for long range hunting. Gun weight and bulk is a factor, but 15 # plus guns on the good ones work fine. Check out The Ultimate Tripod, made in Pa, or the Lone Star made in Texas.

Wife bought me one of these Caldwell portable benches from Midway a few years ago. It's not bad. No, it's not rock solid, but not bad either. Sets up fast, not too expensive, very adjustable. I think about $150 or so.

These are the bees knees for shooting vermin all day.

https://www.amazon.com/Muddy-Swivel...ting+bench&qid=1586458812&sr=8-8

The Caldwell that MM posted is probably just as good if not better. Just be sure it swivels. And use real bags. Dump the stick.

Fück that Chinese made shït.

More than $150, but still under $200.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1015046882?pid=522717

^^^This^^*

Here is one that I built, and it is rock solid. Lonny, on this site, made the threaded leg brackets. The rest, I took care of in my shop.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5mPh5RFuR9aq2EiV8

I have used the Black & Decker Workmate for years for P Dog shooting. I have used other portable benches but none work as well.

I put a 2x6 in the area between the jaws and tighten it up . A 4 or 5 ft length works about right for me.

There are several models from heavy to light. I have used all and I like the light model the best as it is easier to load in the PU or move.

I'm pretty sure I've spent more time on a prairie dog town than you have.

That looks like a solid varmint table.

Anything that doesn't swivel doesn't deserve a second glance.

Buy American, or from her allies.

I've been using this folding table for years. It is inexpensive, solid, easy to transport and very durable. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lifetime..._GOaxnNL5zAZCZuRZ72cLWdPChhoCRJEQAvD_BwE

I just bought some of Lonny's brackets a couple of months ago and am building one this winter.

These benches have great reviews, they are well built. The only drawback is they aren’t cheap.

https://www.doashootingbench.com/product/shooting-bench/

I have one of these. Works great when it’s setup. Haven’t used it since leaving the Black Hills ten years ago. I might need to see if I can remember how to assemble it.

I have done, and still do, some good shooting off a basic folding table from Home Depot or wherever it was I bought it. Don't recall the exact price, but I'm sure it was under $50. Then again it's been many years ago I bought it.

Of course these don't swivel, and with four legs, they generally wobble until you kick the dirt out from under one leg, or shim a leg with a rock or something.

It is stable though. More stable than the other Caldwell bench I posted earlier on.






And you can cook on it.....grin,

I have had one of these for several years. Goes to South Dakota once a year for our annual prairie dog hunt. It is a quality bench that is pretty easy to set up and break down. It is perfect for what I use it for and rock solid. Expensive but if it is something you will use it isn’t hard to justify.

This is the basic T-table ambidextrous plans that have been around for 20 years that can be made from a 1/2 sheet of plywood. Nest 2 identical shapes, cut & then glue & screw together. Pipe fitting brackets sold in the classifieds here. Excuse male model, I got him cheap.




Wanted more room & built another that was 6 or 8" longer, & a few inches wider & with out the cut out for a lefty. Went from 1 1/4 pipe legs to 1 1/2 for this one. Solid, plenty of room but it was a bit much for weight & portability, even just getting it in & out of the truck & assembling was a pain to me.





Ironically, the MTM portable is the same dimensions as my first, it cost about 65 bucks if ya shop. It doesn't weigh much & is about a 90 second set up. Stability the trade off.

I used this for a prarie dog hunt in Montana this past July. I liked that you could adjust it for uphill, downhill, sidehill angles, fast and easy set up. It was actually more stable than I thought it would be, and if I missed at 400 plus yards, it was me (and the wind) not the table.

Made in America too.

MTM High Low Shooting table.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1019275620

For sure. The ones I see at sportsman's and Cabela's are rickidy as chidt...


This one took me an hour to build and is very solid, yet very portable:


Throw it in the back of a pickup and set up anywhere.

Other than this, most of these replies didn’t notice the OP had “portable” in the title.

I do something similar. I have two plastic saw horses that I set up about 5 feet apart. I lay a couple 2x6s down on them and a sheet of plywood on top. A couple clamps on each side, and we’re good to go. I use a shower chair from after I had surgery. Each leg is adjustable enough to not be totally annoyed.

Where does portable fit in that chicken coop?

I toss a sheet of plywood in the bed of the truck, toss 2 2x6s on top, toss two folding plastic sawhorses in there, a few clamps, and the chair. Just takes a couple seconds to set it all up.

Holy crap if that’s a couple seconds, I’d hate to see how long a year is.

Best one I have come up with is my golf cart. It has a bed on the back...four sides about one foot high....let down tail gate... I have a rolling shop stool to sit on. Got a piece of 3/4" plywood about 4 feet long that I lay across the bed and sit on the stool at side of bed...perfect height and very stable. Very mobile and left or right hand shooting. Got no money in it already had the plywood....kinda cheap.

my golf cart works, too......

Mine:

My portable version......

I've settled on two pieces of half inch glued & screwed together as a good compromise between weight & stiffness.

48" x 30", rounded corners, and a 10" x 16" cutout.

Indoor/outdoor carpet on the top, folded under & stapled.

Folding banquet legs from Menards on the bottom. Off set so the lay flat.

Weight is 37 pounds.

Used to be under $50.00 to build at the old prices.

3/4" piece of plywood with a 2x4 cleet on the bottom that a workmate clamp table pinches. Place a couple of sandbags on the table leg braces. Stool of your choice.

An old military table I got from my grandfather. Dated 1962 on the underside. Its held up well for as much as its been used:

Correct on all counts. If it doesn't swivel, save your drivel.

These work great and nothing else in their price range is even close to being as good.

Lots of ideas here too. Hard to get much more portable than your tailgate.
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...10549308/Tailgate_benchrest#Post10549308

Build UR own as mentioned

3 legged design is solid---table top is 2-3/4" pcs ply wood 38" long x 24" wide

Hint....1.25" pipe sleeves cut/welded @ 15* (pic 1) Legs 30---31" long

pic 2.........prob kilt a million p/dogs over this table the last 20+ yrs

20 Vartarg on table

Tikka nut and I use Lonny's brackets. I go to the Habitat for Humanity and buy solid core doors, and you can get two great table tops from one door. Home depot, lowes can make/ cut 1.25" galvanized pipe legs to your length and thread one or both ends. This makes for an extremely sturdy table, just as stable as a concrete bench. I do a couple of things extra, I put two coats of fiberglass or casting resin on the table to preserve it, and I put V notches in the off side of the table to lean guns up against. When transporting, simply screw the legs out of the table. I have one that I have been using since 1987, and it is still ROCK SOLID! I used a SawsAll to cut out the bench tops, and a heavy duty saber saw would do the job also.

Custom wood suppliers for cabinet makers sells 1.5" plywood, if you want to get the good stuff, and you will get two tables out of one sheet, sell one.

There are various ways to attach the table legs to the underside of the table during transport after they have been unscrewed.

These benches are so sturdy, it is hard to believe...rock solid.

Lonny's legs are made so well, they will be around for a couple of hundred years, and I use a 4 legged version.

I like the seat that a drummer uses to sit on, completely adjustable for all heights, purchased at pawn shops...$40 or so..

Remember one thing when you are designing a table, you need your elbow on the arm that pulls the trigger to be supported. It is a huge mistake to have your elbow unsupported.

If you need Lonny's contact information, send me a pm. I just got in 4 sets of 4 brackets for my brother and nephews, and have great table designs.

Also, many skimp on the thickness of the table top, this is a huge mistake. 1.5" plywood or 2" thick wood from solid core doors is the best way to go. Each leg support uses FOUR 5/16" or 1/2" carriage bolts with lock washers, and they do not come loose.

My table legs are cut 31" long, and we have shorter legs we screw in for the kids to shoot off of....we start them off young!

Three basic issues on any shooting table:

A. sturdy

B. correct height

C. stool you sit on has to be of the correct height for each person using the bench, and people do vary in their torso.

D. shooting stool should be comfortable, not cutting off the circulation in the legs.

When are you guys gonna learn? V-notches suck. Cut handholds instead, no chance to accidently knock stuff over, when the barrel is slid into a 'hold....

2" deep V notch. If you are a clutz, then put a small bunji cord with eye hooks on each side of the V Notch. Guns do not fall over or out of the V notches.

Huntsman, I have no idea what you are talking about. I put two handles on the front of the bench and one on the rear of the bench to move the bench around, but this has nothing to do with standing up extra rifles up against the bench while the barrels cool. The 4 legged bench with the 1.5" top is so sturdy, you are not about to knock the guns over bumping the bench unless you are stone cold drunk.

says the guy who's dog don't like to lay under the bench in the shade....

Buddy of mine had one of these and I told him how much I admired it. Top was a little different, plywood with an edge board so ammo and other parts like scope covers and tools don't fall off while shooting. I usually put a shooting mat on mine while shooting.. Last birthday one showed up in the back of his vehicle when we went shooting with my name on it... Great little set up, very light and portable to move around, and pretty darned stable. If I get time this year I'm going to build a rotating unit like the ones sold at Midway, etc.... but a bit heavier.

Started shopping for parts and I found the folding legs for these (or I should say the tables they come on) are on craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for dirt cheap quite often, even sometimes free because people just want them gone. Mine has adjustable legs by inserting the adjustable legs from those handicap portable toilet stands that fit right into the bottom of the legs. Drill a couple holes and you can adjust about 6-8" up and down.

Bob