Handgun rest; which one to choose

[Onty]

Looking for handgun rest, in stores in my area I found these 3:


CALDWELL THE STEADY REST NXT


CALDWELL MATRIX


MTM

I had seen some gun writers use CALDWELL MATRIX. Would be screw type adjustment on CALDWELL THE STEADY REST NXT and MTM work better, have finer adjustment and more robust than rack and pinion style on CALDWELL MATRIX?

BTW, additional support for rifle stock is irrelevant, I already have a separate rifle support. Thanks!

 

[Col. Harrumph]

I would recommend a plain sandbag over any of those.

 

[12Bravo20]

I use a Caldwell Rock Deluxe shooting rest for pistols and rifles. I still have an earlier version of the MTM rest but only use it for cleaning, it isn't heavy enough and moves all over the place when you try to use it while shooting.

I will suggest going with an all metal rest such as the Caldwell Rock or similar. And prices for a decent to good rest start at $90 and go up from there.

 

[.38 Special]

For whatever it is worth, resting the butt of a handgun on something solid rarely gives best results. I find much better success with a pair of leather sandbags: a "bunny ear" bag to go under the barrel, immediately in front of the frame, (or in front of the trigger guard, on a semi-auto) and a flat bag to go under the wrists. The gun butt and the bottom of the hands should touch nothing.

Something like these:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1015246223?pid=227124

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1015252613?pid=931587

 

[Onty]

That CALDWELL ROCK looks solid, but no rest for a hand.

What do you think if I bolt one of those plastic ones on a solid piece of hardwood, 7-8 pounds weight?

 

[doubleh]

I tried a Caldwell. #2 grandson now has it. I finally gave up and made mine and after a few uses modified it to contain a chunk of steel to give it some weight. Still not being completely satisfied I have made another but haven't tested it yet. I enjoy dreaming up and building things.

Yes, sandbags work well but it's more fun to make your ideas to see if they are better, at least to me. Anyone can buy a bag.

 

[.38 Special]

I don't quite understand the need for weights or strong attachments. My way is of course not the only way, but when I use any sort of rest with a handgun, the recoil lifts the gun - along with my hands and arms - up and away from the bags, which remain essentially unmoved.

Perhaps the most accurate day I have ever had with a revolver - reliable 1.5" groups at a hundred yards, almost like magic with a scoped .44 Magnum - involved two bags of lead shot under the gun, and one under my wrists. The one exposed to the flash gap was black and burned by the end of the day, and the contents surely were tossed at clay birds decades ago, but I have no reason to believe any fancier rig would have improved the results.

 

[jmorris]

Add me to the not using rests often at all. Might rest my arms on something, keeping the firearm from touching other stuff.

XP’s/Contenders and machine rests not included.

 

[Varminterror]

I don't like any "handgun rest" which has a tail designed for a rifle buttstock. It's just too much crap in the way.

I do a lot of my handgun shooting from a Bog Gear "PSR," which is long discontinued now, but I do quite a bit of shooting from a "handgun only" version of the MTM. I do like to have a small sandbag a bit bigger than a deck of cards in every direction to rest under the butt of my revolvers to gain myself a little elevation control and take some of the hop out of the recoil, and I set this on top of the rest portion of either of these.

For specialty pistols, I prefer a bipod and rear bag.

 

[Onty]

I don't like any "handgun rest" which has a tail designed for a rifle buttstock. It's just too much crap in the way.

I agree. Will just remove attachment for a rifle. It is bolted, so removal should be a snap.

 

[doubleh]

I don't quite understand the need for weights or strong attachments. My way is of course not the only way, but when I use any sort of rest with a handgun, the recoil lifts the gun - along with my hands and arms - up and away from the bags, which remain essentially unmoved.

I suppose it's is because we have different shooting styles. Lightweight ones torque to the left with me if anything but a 22and I got tired of scooting them back in place. Also part of my quest is to have a cylinder flash proof rest. My first worked well after the weight addition but the height adjustment was fiddly. The second was made to address that issue. Bags worked very well but I got tired of burning them with revolvers. With the way my hands shake now I am pretty much worthless with a handgun except for close range shooting and sometimes I want to reach out and touch a target.