Proper rest for sighting in a revolver?

I sight in with a firm hold in a modified Weaver stance.

I obtain my best revolver accuracy off of a bench by letting the gun touch nothing but me. No front rest whatever. Two sandbags that I place my wrists on and my grip totally supports the gun. Just far enough forward that in recoil it ensures the butt does not touch the bench or the bags.

Make sure if you have a front cover it doesn't jump too high.

Without a doubt, this has proven to be the most accurate for me. Alternatively at longer ranges - say 100 yards - I have tried with a front rest and get different results depending on the recoil of the gun, i.e. if it is a straight back push (think S&W or Redhawk grips) or if it rolls in the hand like Blackhawks, BFR's, FA's, etc, etc. If it rolls, it touches nothing but me.

If the gun has adjustable sights, I rest my hands/arms on the roof of my car to sight it in. (I shoot at a sand pit.)

If the gun has fixed sights, I shoot it off hand.

For example, I sighted my Ruger Single Six in on the car roof, and the Ruger MK II I just started shooting off hand.

I don't use any rest when sighting in.
Cost of ammo and shooting practice is contant, Just bring the target in closer and adjust you sight as needed.
Use the same grip, stance, support you will use for hunting or target shooting.
This will give you some real world practice on the sight and trigger.
Using the rest won't make you a better shooter for the rounds fired.

Fellahs... as much as anyone appreciates the fact that practice is what it is, it is impossible to take the shooter out of the equation by sighting in a gun by shooting it offhand. Especially if sighting in involves different loads for accuracy testing.

I challenge anyone to shoot a handgun at 50 yards offhand and from a bench and honestly be better offhand. He can always practice after he has found the right load and got the sights on target.

You probably won't have better groups shooting off hand, but there is a decided difference in the POI between rested shots and off hand shots. Since the OP plans to use shooting sticks and sitting then that will be the best way to zero the revolver. Start with the target close to get centered on the bull then move back to the range you plan to shoot from.

Majic, isn't that like saying if you are going to hunt in Alaska for Mountain goat the best way to sight in your rifle is uphill at 45° in freezing cold mountains?

Finding a load and sighting a gun in should always be done in a manner that removes the shooter from the equation as much as possible. Obviously after that is all done the zero should be checked in actual shooting conditions, but the PIO is going to be much more dependent on his hold than whether or not the barrel rests on sticks. IMHO of course.

Using a machine rest and sighting a gun in means nothing to the shooter except the gun is going to be close. What matters is how the gun will shoot for you. Your eyesight, hold, and mechanics will influence where that gun will put bullets for YOU. As this gun will be used in a hunting situation using shooting sticks then the shooter needs to know where his shots should be going since he may only have a chance to get off one. SO even though you don't have to sight in uphill you do have to understand how gravity affects your shot and adjust your aim accordingly. You also need to know how that cold temperature and less dense air of the mountains will affect your velocity. That's one of the reasons why people who travel to hunt spend a little time at the range to make corrections to their sighting systems before going out on the hunt.
Bench shooting does nothing but proves how well a gun can group it's shots.

True, there IS a POA difference. Bench-testing is to check group sizes, see what the gun is fundamentally capable of. You then work your way up to there, having gained confidence in the gun (mindset matters).

i rest my wrists & maybe forearms on a rolled up towel or jacket or knees or tree stand brace .
never the grip touchin any thing but hand!!

GP100man

After I take my red dot sight on and off my pistol or revolver, I have never used a shooting aid to sight in. Its a waste of time and ammo.
I use both firearms for bullseye matches.
I have several revolvers that have had various types and weights of handloads shot through them.
Shooting off a rest will help tell you how accurate the arm and ammo is.
I have used a rest to compare differant weapons and loads. Such as when shooting two different revolvers of the same caliber/load.
It won't teach you anything else. I you can't call your shot when sighting in. You need more practice. A rest won't give you the practice.

Majic and Jim both have it exactly right.

You use as much support as you can for the gun while determining accuracy of either gun or loads, and then you get the gun off the rest for sighting it in.
The handgun will try to rotate on firing. If the rear end behind the pivot point is locked into or onto a non-movable base, the rear can't pivot downward as much as it will when firing offhand. That will change the point of impact between the two methods of shooting, in some guns & calibers quite markedly, in others not as much. Shooting with the grip or the hand holding it resting on a non-yielding base will generally cause a lower bullet impact than firing free-handed.

Use the rest to find your accurate load, establish windage, and a rough elevation. After I've done that, I move my hands forward far enough off the rest to allow some natural pivoting during firing, but still leaving my forearms supported enough on the rest to remove most wobble. Then I dial in the impact elevation I want at whatever distance (usually 25 yards), and I'm close enough to the correct POA/POI.

Denis

I think we are all saying the same thing.. TEST on a bench, SHOOT from (or as close as possible) actual hunting conditions after arm and ammo are chosen to fine tune the sights.

it is impossible to take the shooter out of the equation by sighting in a gun by shooting it offhand.

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Actually, ultimately you need to sight in by shooting offhand. Handguns often shoot to a different point of impact from a rest.

Yes, your groups will be larger offhand, and you will need to shoot more to reliably locate the statisically correct center of impact. But it can be done, and really must be done.

Actually, ultimately you need to sight in by shooting offhand. Handguns often shoot to a different point of impact from a rest.

Yes, your groups will be larger offhand, and you will need to shoot more to reliably locate the statisically correct center of impact. But it can be done, and really must be done.

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I agree.

I start in close (7 yards) to get a zero and then move out (15 yards), adjust a bit, then move to 25 yards (this final distance is for my longer barreled handguns) and do some final tweaking.

Finally, move the target board to 50 and then 75 yards to see where I am hitting (high or low) and make note on needed site picture at those distances. Sometimes this is like registering a field howitzer. A couple of shots to get the range and then fire for effect.

True, there IS a POA difference. Bench-testing is to check group sizes, see what the gun is fundamentally capable of.

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I think Jim is right here.

When I want to see which ammo shoots best out of a gun I'll shoot off a bench. I look for group size rather than poi.

When I sight a gun in I do so holding it as normally do which for me is a Weaver stance.

tipoc

When I shoot for best group, to prove out some test loads or see how good the gun will shoot.
I use a sand bag rest sitting at a bench, a two hand hold, with the frame area just forward of the trigger guard resting on the bag along with my wrists, elbows on the table.

It's not the same as shooting standing, but the purpose is to test with as little human error as can be done without a machine rest, like those made by Ransom. Then put it together from normal shooting positions and see what can be done.