Here are some shooting rest styles that I prefer. You can find similar types from a number of
manufacturers. I’m also using Midway as
a source but, again, you can buy similar items from any number of vendors
including Cabela’s, Sinclair, Sportsman’s Guide, etc..
What you want is support between the firearm and the bench
that holds it steady, raises it sufficiently to get it on target and allow you
to get behind the sights, damps vibration from recoil, and allows the firearm
to recoil rearward or upward consistently.
For pistols, I want something that supports the base of my
hands; not the barrel. The exception
would be your Contender which we would treat more like a rifle. For rifles, I want something to support the
stock at the forearm in the same place I usually put my hand and at the rear
underneath the buttstock. Generally, I
don’t want anything behind the rifle that will interfere with recoil other than
my shoulder and hands. I also want to
place the rifle so that when it recoils the front sling stud/swivel (if there
is one) won’t hit the front rest and cause the front of the rifle to jump
up.
With lighter recoiling rifles- for me the .300 magnum on
down- I let the forearm rest directly on the front rest. With heavier recoiling rifles and spring
air-guns, I need to hold the forearm and rest the back of my hand on the front
rest so that the recoil and point of impact will be the same as when shooting
in the field.
I use sandbags or bean bags for the front and rear as they
absorb the vibration from firing the weapon.
If you put the hard stock or barrel against a hard object, the rifle
will jump away from the object and throw your shot. From field rest positions, like the side or
limb of a tree, you can put your hand or something soft like a hat or jacket
between your rifle and the rest.
Sandbags are heavy and are great for on a fixed range. Since I have to haul all my stuff, I filled
my bag with beans. That won’t be good if
they ever get wet so a better choice might be Styrofoam peanuts or the plastic
BBs they use in airsoft guns.
This is an inexpensive front rest similar to the one I
use. It’s adjustable for elevation and
has a fairly wide place to place a front bag.
Here’s a much fancier (and expensive) one for benchrest
competition. It has a larger area for
the front bag and more adjustments. It’s
heavier to keep from shifting position.
It also has a front stop so you can slide your rifle forward into the
same position every time.
Here’s a lead sled that’s designed to absorb recoil for long
strings from heavy recoiling rifles.
This is of limited utility since, when you subsequently fire the rifle
from your shoulder, the point of impact will be different. This is mostly of use for load development or
testing the rifle.
Here’s an inexpensive model that incorporates front and rear
rests. It’s bulkier than separate rests
and you do have to be careful how you place the rifle in it.
Here’s something similar for the pistol. This one would work for your Contender or
similar single shots. I prefer not to
rest the barrel on repeaters because it will shoot to a different point of aim
from conventional positions. This would
be good for testing but not zeroing.
Here’s a front and rear bag set that don’t require a
mechanical rest. Note that your
elevation adjustment is extremely limited.
Here’s a style of bag that’s very popular and very
steady. But again, it has very limited
elevation adjustment.
Here’s kind of a neat system. You rotate it to get the height you
want. You need to use some sort of
padding or bag on top and you’ll probably want to use something to support the
rear of the rifle. I use some old socks
stuffed together.
Here’s a fairly extreme version of a rear bag. When you’re in position, you can make minute
adjustments in elevation by squeezing or relaxing your hold on the “ears” to
raise or lower the rear of the rifle.
Here’s an example of a front bag. This one has straps to hold it to the
mechanical rest. The surface of your
bags should be fairly slick to allow the rifle to recoil freely- suede or nylon
is good. It needs to set on your front
rest solidly. The curve on the top of
the bag should be close to the curve of the forearm on the rifle to keep it in
a consistent position but still allow minute windage adjustments. The front bag for a benchrest rifle with a
very wide forearm will have a wider curve than the bag designed for a sporting
rifle. A wider front bag works
acceptably for narrower forearms but not vice versa.
Here’s a Ransom Rest.
This is probably the standard for accuracy testing pistols. You don’t touch the pistol at all when it’s
fired in this rest. It’s designed to
test the mechanical accuracy by eliminating the human component entirely. Note that, especially with semi-autos, it is
possible to shoot smaller groups from rollover prone than a Ransom Rest but you
have to be very good.
Millett used to make kind of a neat synthetic front and rear
rest set but they appear to be discontinued.
While heavier and fancier may be neat, or even necessary for
benchrest competition, I have shot sub half-minute groups off the cheesy,
lightweight setup I use. Frankly, my
rests will outshoot most of my rifles. A
steady bench is probably more important than what kind of rest you use. The lightweight setups are awfully nice for
hauling around. If I had a permanent
range in my backyard, I would probably build a concrete bench with rubber shock
absorbers and get one of the heavy, benchrest style mechanical front rests with
a couple of big sandbags filled with heavy sand. Compact and lightweight has its advantages.
One of the advantages of separate front and rear rests is
the ability to set up on different surfaces or use the front rest by
itself. If I don’t feel like setting up
the bench, I can shoot from prone off a matt or piece of cardboard and still
use my rests. If I only have a small
surface, like the top of a wall, I can use the front rest by itself.
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