Wm Cook
posted this
13 August 2023
IMHO the most important investment you'll ever make towards accuracy will be the bench and reloading equipment you buy. Rifles and barrels come an go but your bench and handloading equipment is a long term investment.
Rick said:
It has to be solid, every moveable part should have a lock. It should not move before, during or after of the shot. It should have a large footprint. Weight makes them more stable, heavy is good and heavier is better.
Spot on correct. Once you get your front and rear rest on the bench it should never be moved until you put it back in the truck. Again, IMHO weight is critical. Very critical. 15lb + front rest and 10+ lbs rear rest. We always put water under the rear bag and under the foot pads for the front rest adjustment spikes so that they don't move. (Check that statement about water under your rear bag, front pads on days when temperatures are below freezing. That first shot with your front and rear rest sitting on ice is hilarious to everyone at the match except for you. Been there, done that.) Most all use heavy sand.
Scearcy said:
One thing I find helpful in a front rest is the windage adjustment.
For me its an absolute must. With the proper spring loading you can move laterally +/- 14+ inches without touching your rear bag. If you only move your rear bag once you'll probably forget to realign it again (at least I would) and you'll take the recoil cockeyed. And then maybe continue shooting out of alignment for the rest of the match.
Richard said:
Caldwell Rock BR it works ok after I made some modifications..
Midway has a birthday perk where they give you special discounts on some items on you birthday. This year they had the Caldwell BR rest with front and rear bags for $100. I needed (wanted) a second rest so I bought one. Like Richard said it will take a few hours to get it ready to go. The bags were a no go, the forearm stop was too long and had to be threaded, shortened etc. On a positive note my Edgewood bags fit the front rest plate. That's important because you need to be able to switch from 3" BR flat to rounded wide production class to factory class by just popping in the right bag. If cost is an object I would go with the Caldwell as a short term first step. But its light (~12lbs), not as stable as old designs, the bags have to be replaced and modifications have to be made. I would not recommend buying a one of a kind home made design.
I shot a Farley for decades and it was solid. The Farley went away a few years back during a "health emergency looking like range time was about over" period in my life. Before the Farley I had a Sinclair and its the last rest I'll ever own. The front pedestal top allows me to pop in Protector front bags so its easy for me to convert to the forearm style I'm shooting. If I ever so desire to go back to a joy stick I can put one of Butch Lambert's top on my old Sinclair.
And you'll find that after a bunch of years shooting over the same front rest it becomes a bit Frankenstein looking.
Bi pods work great for prairie dogs because you can walk your shots in. But it requires skill levels I'll never have to shoot small groups.
The choice of front rest has to factor in whether you're a bag squeezer or if you want to run a joy stock. With a 3" BR forearm (Heavy Rifle) I would choose the joystick. For Production or factory class I'm thinking bag squeezing is best for me. Always prefaced by saying that I could change my mind on that.
Bill Cook
Patience isn’t a virtue, it’s a delay tactic.