ABOUT BENCH RESTS

Ken Campbell Iowa wrote: could you just attach a ” stabilizer/slider plate to the screw hole( s ) for the * roundy sling attachment thing ” ?

screws make good attachers ....( except when used to attach and align barrels ... ) ...

I think it's called a “sling swivel stud"; sometimes they have wood screw threads, sometimes machine screw threads. We talked about using the Ruger Charger bipod attachment kit, the set of parts that attaches a short piece of picatinny rail to the forend, using the sling swivel stud. This ~$10 kit provides the piece of rail to which about anything can be attached, including a slider that would eliminate wobble/rotation about the long axis of the gun. That might be a good approach, but for now, another approach.

i would also consider using poly/delrin boxed sheet under your sliders ( ...thus ” sliders ” ) ...... should only touch gun by trigger, and it should recoil exactly the same each shot .

My experience with a “sled” on SS rifles is that I need some friction at the sled/front rest surface, very slick no-friction surfaces let the front skitter around. With the grip stabilizers I use, wood to wood or plastic pipe to wood surfaces, with baby powder, gives me just the right friction; easy to slide but not too easy. Skitterless.

need to define goals::

squirrel hunting system :: you, gun, 20 cent ammo, field position ... testing ammo ::: nearly a full cheating rig and rest... testing yourself :: 40 cent ammo and full cheater gun ...

I've shot only Thunderbolt, Fed Automatch and Norma Tac 22 in the Charger. I will try various ammo while learning the gun and maybe wearing in the trigger. The Charger is the “other” gun that I bring to the range and shoot when I forget the gun/ bolt/ scope/ ammo for the gun/ammo testing planned. And shoot as time permits when I don't forget anything. I'd like to see how the Charger does with “reasonable” not-eley-target-$ ammunition. The instant goal is the get a plate, ?3” X ?6” X ?1/2” with holes to attach to my Hoppes rest, That has a “V” groove cut in the ? 6” length, a ?6” long groove. The sling swivel stud would slide in that groove, allowing the gun to freely rotate, windage, about the stud. With a stabilizer under the grip, a no-sand-bag rest system maybe almost as good as a machine rest, at very low cost. 

don't feel bad if this is confusing :: at my age i just want things to go bang one more time ... ( g ) ...

kenI got a start on the stabilizer on the grip of the Savage Rifle stock, it will work but it ain't pretty yet. joe b.