Bench Rest Shooters, what rest/bag do I need?

[777funk]

Curious of this? I'd like to find the most stabil rest and I'd like to keep it simple/inexpensive if I can. I like the idea of bags. I have lead birdshot laying around and I have rice, cat litter, etc.

Also... I like the idea of the shooting sling. If I get used to BR shooting, I'm guessing my point of impact would be much different with a sling. Is that a correct assumption? I'd guess it would be since the sling is pulling on the forarm vs having it resting on a bag, things would be much different due to inhibiting the gun's natural recoil.

 

[tuj]

protektor bags with the cordura ears are what I use. I fill them with reptile sand.

The front rests are the Sinclair competition rest. A really good rest makes a lot of difference. Cowan makes some good ones. Depends on if you need windage or not too. If you are a true benchrest shooter, then you will be shooting the USBR50 (green meanie) or IR50/50 targets which have 25 bulls for score. Having a nice windage top makes a lot of difference when you are using a 36x scope and needing to make all 25 shots plus sighters in 20 minutes.



What the custom 40X will do at 50 yards:

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I shoot local rimfire matches. My Model 37's stock design doesn't work well on a flat top rest, plus the way the gun "likes" to be held doesn't work well with a rest.....I use a Harris BR bipod and hard bottom Protektor bunny ear bag....I usually shoot in the high 240's on the green target. My 16x scope usually holds my X count down, though.

 

[Walkalong]

Bald Eagle bags were very popular while I was shooting Benchrest. The new Edgewood bags are very nice and Protektor bags were common. It is illegal to use anything like lead shot to fill bags, it had to be sand, which is what the "heavy" sand is for.

My front rest was also a Bald Eagle and very common. The Farley was yet to be invented. (Dates me) I kept all my stuff for the bench in a home made box and would keep it near the firing line during the match. You can spend around $200 and up (Emphasis on the up.) on a rest. You don't have to have one of the super nice ones, but it has to be very solid to be suitable. Don't buy a cheap rest for serious target work. They are OK for playing at the range, but not serious work.

Shooting off a rest and bag is quite different than shooting with a sling, but with practice you will get the hang of it soon. Find a Benchrest match to go to and ask questions. They will be happy to help you.


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