OK ,I have a AR,Garand,M1a loaded,and a PTR that I want to bench shoot.What should I buy?A lead sled?Sand bags?What to you guys use?I do much of my shooting standing up but would like to dial my rifles in and see how accurate they can be.
Suggest some equipment to buy to start bench shooting
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jpwilly
Member
I have a Caldwell Rock rest that I use. I'll lay a sandbag over it and use a sandbag to support the buttstock.
The lead sled will work so will stacking up sand bags.
The lead sled will work so will stacking up sand bags.
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WardenWolf
member
I have a Caldwell Steady Rest. I'm not a fan. It works okay, and is lightyears better than nothing (I use it to dial in my rifles' scopes), but that's all it's good for. Most of the Caldwell stuff I've seen is junk, and is bad enough that I'd be very hesitant to buy their high-end rests.
krs
Member
Whatever rest you decide on, make sure it's a heavy one. My Wichita is cast iron but only weighs 14 pounds. Luckily the range I used it at the most had wooden firing point benches so the pointy feet could be tapped in to make it stay put.
The lead sled does not have a wide enough rear pocket to accomodate all the military width butts. There's also some question as to how good it is to your wood stock to lock it into a vise so all the recoil has to be absorbed by the wood.
Spend @250 at Sinclair's and you'll never need a better rest. Cast iron stainless. Great rests. I compete with mine. Get a good rear bag too. It's just as important as the rest. Bald Eagle or Protektor make great rear bags.
Spend @250 at Sinclair's and you'll never need a better rest. Cast iron stainless. Great rests. I compete with mine. Get a good rear bag too. It's just as important as the rest. Bald Eagle or Protektor make great rear bags.
Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow
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Lead sled DFT:
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=149023
Great rest and relatively cheap. I've got the regular lead sled, and would like to have the DFT.
Horsemany, if you spend $250 at Sinclair's, you'll have 1 of the two rests you need.
http://www.sinclairintl.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=RIBBRICO&type=store
Never heard of this, nor had any problem with it personally, and I've shot several different milsurps.
Very true. But you can control this by simply varying the amount of weight you put on the sled. If you're real concerned about it, and/or want as close to natural recoil as can be had with the sled, then simply put *NO* weight into the sled - then it's only the weight of the contraption itself. Then it recoils some - not really a vice at all. I normally use ONE lead bag in the sled, and it still recoils a tad, and puts less stress on a stock. I don't think using two or more lead bags is a very good idea, especially with a wood stock and a high recoiler.
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=149023
Great rest and relatively cheap. I've got the regular lead sled, and would like to have the DFT.
Horsemany, if you spend $250 at Sinclair's, you'll have 1 of the two rests you need.
http://www.sinclairintl.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=RIBBRICO&type=store
Never heard of this, nor had any problem with it personally, and I've shot several different milsurps.
Very true. But you can control this by simply varying the amount of weight you put on the sled. If you're real concerned about it, and/or want as close to natural recoil as can be had with the sled, then simply put *NO* weight into the sled - then it's only the weight of the contraption itself. Then it recoils some - not really a vice at all. I normally use ONE lead bag in the sled, and it still recoils a tad, and puts less stress on a stock. I don't think using two or more lead bags is a very good idea, especially with a wood stock and a high recoiler.
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Well then I must be making that up! Stuff a mauser but in your lead sled and take a picture for me.
What? Point is buy a good rest and don't go cheap. You can't easily recoup what you paid for your old rest if you ever want to upgrade.
I know more than one person who regrets buying a lead sled. When they jump upon recoil they are very hard to get back on target and the adjustments are very course/crude(I guess that's why you long for a DFT). It's way easier to use a seperate front rest with a rear bag. Hence you won't find a lead sled where anybody shoots competitively. It's certainly better than nothing for a novice but I can shoot better groups off sandbags. Sandbags are actually easier to load up and take to the range than a lead sled too.
Bozzman3. A garand buttplate might be a tight squeeze for a lead sled too. I can't remember the specific milsurps that wouldn't fit on a shooting partners lead sled. I know the Mauser won't. And don't plan on using a conventional lead sled with your AR unless you like banging your magazines on the frame rail.
Well then I must be making that up! Stuff a mauser but in your lead sled and take a picture for me.
What? Point is buy a good rest and don't go cheap. You can't easily recoup what you paid for your old rest if you ever want to upgrade.
I know more than one person who regrets buying a lead sled. When they jump upon recoil they are very hard to get back on target and the adjustments are very course/crude(I guess that's why you long for a DFT). It's way easier to use a seperate front rest with a rear bag. Hence you won't find a lead sled where anybody shoots competitively. It's certainly better than nothing for a novice but I can shoot better groups off sandbags. Sandbags are actually easier to load up and take to the range than a lead sled too.
Bozzman3. A garand buttplate might be a tight squeeze for a lead sled too. I can't remember the specific milsurps that wouldn't fit on a shooting partners lead sled. I know the Mauser won't. And don't plan on using a conventional lead sled with your AR unless you like banging your magazines on the frame rail.
aka108
Member
Try "benchrestcentral.com" Lot of information on that site.
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