Better rifle setup and SHOOTER setup for load development from a bench?

J

JimGnitecki

New member
[FONT=&quot]I am not, at least yet, a "benchrester", but I figure I should post here on a Benchrest site in order to get some guidance on proper form and proper use of equipment when specifically doing load development shooting from a bench. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Currently, I am an experienced shooter, but mostly handgun, and very casual and short range rifle. I am trying to learn all the necessary aspects of F-Class shooting (600 to 1000 yards) and PRS shooting, and later, maybe some Benchrest. I'm finding there is a lot to learn.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]But my greatest challenge right now is that my rifle, and my test ammunition handloads so far, appear to both perform better than I do. I have never been coached on how to set up my rifle, my accessories, and the shooting bench position for my body to achieve consistent enough results.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Yes, "sometimes" I can shoot 5-shot groups in the .25" or .30" size range, but I shoot at least half my groups larger than that (as bad as to 3/4" currently), and that's simply not consistent enough to PROPERLY evaluate one handload versus another,. It's also not necessarily "good enough", since I am load testing at 100 yards, where F-Class shooting is done at 600 to 1000 yards! In essence, I am a big uncontrolled variable in my load testing, and since the rifle, and even the initial test loads are apparently quite good, my shortfalls are masking the true differences in performance of the different handloads.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]This is despite my conscious focus on fundamentals such as scope setup, sight picture, natural point of aim, breathing, and trigger control. One specific issue is that I don't feel totally relaxed in my shooting position, although I am certainly more relaxed than I was a few weeks ago.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]I had an epiphany a few days ago at my last range session. I was shooting my typical mix of inconsistent group sizes, and suddenly realized that I was very subtly STRAINING to get my head high enough to get the cheek weld and scope sight picture needed. In examining why, I realized I was sitting on a different chair than at my last range session.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]For the first time, I actually thought about the chairs at our club range. They are all "donated" by members, and they are all mostly different. Some are padded, some not, some good condiiton and some not, and the heights and overall dimensions vary. I grabbed a piece of scrap carpeting typically used by club members on the wooden bench tops, folded it up, place dit on the chair, and adjusted the carpet height until I could get a good cheek weld and scope sight picture without straining.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]The next several groups I fired were instantly notably smaller than the earlier ones, and also notably more consistent (although still not great! ) So, I bought a strong, adjustable stool that I will bring to the range when doing load development, and find what height seems to work best for me, and then KEEP that height consistent.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]That made me wonder what OTHER body positioning mistakes I might be making. I've never been taught how exactly to sit when at a shooting bench, what is ideal sitting height for a 5'7" shooter, how far forward or rearward on the adjustable comb is optimal, should my head be level front to back (cannot be level side to side because runs into the comb before getting the right sight picture in the scope), should my back be upright or leaned into the rifle, how far right should I be into the t-shaped bench (I am righthanded), what scope magnification is appropriate for 100 yard and later 200 and 300 yards load development shooting off a bench, etc. etc.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]I have a great F-Class buddy who advises me on a lot of shooting aspects and handloading, but he does NOT do any benchrest shooting, so he can't guide me on this. I have been advised by a number of other shooters to simply go to Benchrest forum and ask questions.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]If there is anyone here who thinks they might be able to offer some guidance, I can post details of my rifle, my available accessories, my physical build, etc. I would like to be able to do things RIGHT before I practice with bad habits that could be hard to break later.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Jim G[/FONT]
 
In my personal journey, after many frustrating years of wondering "is it ME?, or the EQUIPMENT? or the CONDITIONS??" I decided to begin eliminating variables....

#1- "ME"- can't do much about changing the "ME" part.

#2- "EQUIPMENT"- I bought a Benchrest rifle. An actual, factual BENCHREST rifle. A professionally set up 6PPC

#3-"CONDITIONS"- I could never see conditions, I knew what mirage 'was' but ??? and I knew that wind "blew bullets around" but "how much??".......because of the BENCHREST rifle, I began to actually SEE conditions. This was startling.

I immediately found that I can shoot a whole hang-of-a-lot better than I thought I could..... in fact, take "ME" out of the picture most of the time, or at least take my body out of the picture. The brain is a different story! The meat can hold a gun and poke a hole, but the decision-making process needed work, needs work, every day. But the mind-boggling revelation was, WITH A BR RIFLE, I COULD SEE CONDITIONS!!!! I now have many BR rifles. And I live where I can and do shoot whenever the whim strikes. And on any given day, when I need to sort stuff out I grab up a KNOWN BR Rifle with a KNOWN load (or at least starting load) and within minutes I KNOW what my expectations are for that particular day.

And when I bring in a new shooter, or teach, or try "help" someone, the FIRST THING I DO is put them behind an accurate rifle, a Benchrest Rifle.


SO......for me, having a true BR setup is not only important, it's imperative. I, personally know for an absolute fact that if I had to "keep only one rifle" it would be my HV 6PPC built by Jim Borden. I had to SELL OTHER GUNS to get it, but it definitively answered my nagging questions.

I term this "establishing a baseline".

I think you need a baseline.
 
I agree with all of the above that was posted and your comment about not wanting to develope bad habits. For myself being totally comfortable and being completely relaxed has been a big positive to my own competitive benchrest shooting. That and allot of practice time for me is very important as is learning to read and then being able to adjust to the various wind and mirage conditions. To the point of being 100% confident in shooting all of the various conditions that I see and also learning when not to squeeze the trigger. So I would also recommend that you use a very nice set of wind flags and I use four also when just shooting at 100yds.
 
Thanks, guys! I appreciate the inputs.

But rsmithsr: I hear you, when you say to not mix multiple disciplines at once, but the way I am see, mixing disciplines and skillsets seems unavoidable for multiple reasons.

First, every one of the 3 types of shooting I have mentioned - F-Class, PRS, and Benchrest - requires multiple disciplines and skillsets in order to be successful, and many of the disciplines and skillsets required are common to all 3, with just different variants and emphasis for each of the 3. For example, they ALL require at least the following:

- Good ammunition, which means that good handloading skills and recipes are needed. It is true that PRS requires less precision in the handloads than F-Class and Benchrest. But why would I want to learn and make habitual merely "acceptable" handloading processes and skills, when I know that the FIRST type of shooting I want to do is F-Class, which, along with Benchrest (which will come later) requires GREAT ammunition to be successful in it?

- Identical or at least very similar "fundamental" shooting skills: proper body posture, proper rifle & scope setup, natural point of aim, proper sight picture, proper hold, proper trigger control, breath control, etc.

- Good wind understanding and reading, and proper reaction to it

- Good knowledge of ballistics, and how wind conditions and differences in range are to be properly compensated for

- F-Class and Benchrest, despite their differences, also have a LOT in common. In fact, F-Class is often referred to as "Belly Benchrest". In fact, I can see already that these 2 sports have MANY of the same basic skillsets and habits.

Now, it's true the 3 types of shooting also each require some DIFFERENT disciplines and skillsets. For examples:

- The front rest is very different for each of the 3: Semi-portable rest or "advanced" bipod for F-Class (e.g. Rempel, SEB, or at least Sinclair), Harris or Atlas bipod and "bag" for PRS, and very elaborate and heavy front rest or "leadsled" for Benchrest

- The "hold" also needs to be adapted to the differing needs for the 3, and even within each of the 3, there are proponents and critics for holds ranging from "free recoil" to "hard hold".

- PRS requires good and quick range estimation and proper reaction to it, whereas in F-Class and Benchrest the range is known. But the range, whether known or unknown, has to be properly compensated for both ballistically and via wind management

IF I was trying to become a "contender" competitor in any one of the 3 sports, I can see that a personal training program should ideally encompass only the knowledge and skillsets needed to succeed in that specific sport.

But, I am not aspiring to be a "match winning champion" in even ONE of the sports, let alone 3. And for good reasons: My age, my eyesight, my need, and want, to have a family life outside of shooting, etc. But I DO want to (a) DO all 3, and (b) do well enough to enjoy myself, and (c) not need to stress about "winning" anything. i.e. I want to learn, and enjoy myself doing so, AND not spend a fortune on 3 specialized firearms that I will not ever be good enough to actually NEED.

So, I intend to identify first the skillsets and consistent habits common to all 3, focus on those first, and then branch into the specific skillsets and habits of each of the 3 AFTER that. That way, I am building a solid foundation of fundamentals that I can then "layer onto" with more specific skills and habits.

I hope that makes sense to you.

Jim G
 
not true
the center of an f class target is SEVEN TIMES the area of the center of a br target(600 yard)
big difference in ammo requirement.
same story for each.
trying to learn 3 at one time will not work out well. lots of money spent, little return
 
Hello. Just my 2 cents worth...and you'll probably give me some change back.

All the things mentioned are important pieces to the precision puzzle. It is obvious that you care, which is a huge part of the battle. Don't lose that. As long as you care, you'll figure out the answers to your questions. This will not answer your question directly, I simply want to make sure you are not missing any bigger pieces that have to come first before your questions can be answered. If this is "old news" to you - my apologies.

1st penny: - In my opinion; no pieces are more important than being able to read the conditions. (no matter which discipline you pick) Not paying attention to conditions leads to a very frustrating cycle when it comes to changes in the area of .2" Many times, people spend incredible amounts of time trying to get that .2 (or smaller) out of their equipment yet give up .4 because they do not pay attention to the conditions. A mirage board and two or three wind flags will really help with your consistency.

2nd penny: In your quest remember; precision is not always linear. Linear would be the times where you learn something and it won't get any better. (Your example) would be the height from the bench your stool should be. Again, once you got it - you got it. By the way, I use a rope with a sharpie line on it. Super easy to carry and fast to check.
Many things, however, are not always linear. For example: You learn something called "A". "A" allows you to learn "B". Once you get good at "B" that allows you to do "A" even better. It is a cycle that probably never ends. A good example of this is condition reading. Once you get decent at reading conditions you will be able to "see" how the small changes in your set up affect your tune. The better your tune, the better you will be able to see the small changes in conditions. It is a positive snow ball effect.

Again, if this is already common knowledge, my apologies. This website might be of interest to you. https://www.ctdshooting.com

Stanley
 
rsmithsr said:
not true
the center of an f class target is SEVEN TIMES the area of the center of a br target(600 yard)
big difference in ammo requirement.
same story for each.
trying to learn 3 at one time will not work out well. lots of money spent, little return
Click to expand...

At this point in my learning, I am NOT trying to learn "all about benchrest". I just want a few pointers right now about how to best set up my rifle and myself when shooting groups to test handloads. I'm asking because until I get some good pointers on those "ergonomic" issues, some of my human errors will be as big or bigger than any differences between 2 loads being compared. For example, if the group size difference between 2 loads is only 1/8", but my shooting technique makes errors larger than that, I will have trouble seeing the actual difference that the 2 different loads caused.

I am also not spending any additional money in doing this focus on ergonomic factors right now. I have to test the handloads anyway. I am merely adding more time and effort to setting up both me and my rifle and its accessories. And the time and effort is not a burden; I ENJOY exploring how to make my shooting better.

Jim G
 
JimGnitecki said:
Thanks, guys! I appreciate the inputs.

But rsmithsr: I hear you, when you say to not mix multiple disciplines at once, but the way I am see, mixing disciplines and skillsets seems unavoidable for multiple reasons.

First, every one of the 3 types of shooting I have mentioned - F-Class, PRS, and Benchrest - requires multiple disciplines and skillsets in order to be successful, and many of the disciplines and skillsets required are common to all 3, with just different variants and emphasis for each of the 3. For example, they ALL require at least the following:

- Good ammunition, which means that good handloading skills and recipes are needed. It is true that PRS requires less precision in the handloads than F-Class and Benchrest. But why would I want to learn and make habitual merely "acceptable" handloading processes and skills, when I know that the FIRST type of shooting I want to do is F-Class, which, along with Benchrest (which will come later) requires GREAT ammunition to be successful in it?

You're not getting my message.....You simply CANNOT recognize "good ammunition" nor "good handloading techniques" until you have in your hands a truly BR Grade rifle. This entire rationale of yours all looks good, rational, reasonable, well-reasoned........... It's not. Simply put, IT'S NOT. I spent 20yrs with non-BR rifles and just a few shooting sessions with REAL accuracy re-set my entire outlook.

- Identical or at least very similar "fundamental" shooting skills: proper body posture, proper rifle & scope setup, natural point of aim, proper sight picture, proper hold, proper trigger control, breath control, etc.

Again, simply cannot be established until you absolutely KNOW what real accuracy is.

- Good wind understanding and reading, and proper reaction to it

You cannot see the wind.....YOU CANNOT SEE THE WIND!!! ......... without a BR rifle. Then, and only then can you build your skillset to compensate.

- Good knowledge of ballistics, and how wind conditions and differences in range are to be properly compensated for

"Knowledge" isn't acquired this way. Until you're actually IN A RACE CAR, everything you can learn is immaterial. Richard Hammond, the only licensed racing driver on Top Gear UK once spent two days, and they recorded an episode where ALL HE HAD TO DO is drive an F1 Lotus around the track for two laps. He never got it done. I'm telling you that "ballistics" are completely meaningless without accuracy and that accuracy MUST be experienced for one to advance beyond attendee.

- F-Class and Benchrest, despite their differences, also have a LOT in common. In fact, F-Class is often referred to as "Belly Benchrest". In fact, I can see already that these 2 sports have MANY of the same basic skillsets and habits.

Now, it's true the 3 types of shooting also each require some DIFFERENT disciplines and skillsets. For examples:

- The front rest is very different for each of the 3: Semi-portable rest or "advanced" bipod for F-Class (e.g. Rempel, SEB, or at least Sinclair), Harris or Atlas bipod and "bag" for PRS, and very elaborate and heavy front rest or "leadsled" for Benchrest

- The "hold" also needs to be adapted to the differing needs for the 3, and even within each of the 3, there are proponents and critics for holds ranging from "free recoil" to "hard hold".

- PRS requires good and quick range estimation and proper reaction to it, whereas in F-Class and Benchrest the range is known. But the range, whether known or unknown, has to be properly compensated for both ballistically and via wind management

IF I was trying to become a "contender" competitor in any one of the 3 sports, I can see that a personal training program should ideally encompass only the knowledge and skillsets needed to succeed in that specific sport.

But, I am not aspiring to be a "match winning champion" in even ONE of the sports, let alone 3. And for good reasons: My age, my eyesight, my need, and want, to have a family life outside of shooting, etc. But I DO want to (a) DO all 3, and (b) do well enough to enjoy myself, and (c) not need to stress about "winning" anything. i.e. I want to learn, and enjoy myself doing so, AND not spend a fortune on 3 specialized firearms that I will not ever be good enough to actually NEED.

So, I intend to identify first the skillsets and consistent habits common to all 3, focus on those first, and then branch into the specific skillsets and habits of each of the 3 AFTER that. That way, I am building a solid foundation of fundamentals that I can then "layer onto" with more specific skills and habits.

I hope that makes sense to you.

Jim G
Click to expand...

Read replies in bold above..... and I could tell stories for hours about BR guys who've thrown together a rifle for the fun of it, or been goaded into it, or one where a guy is delivering a customers deer rifle and gets taunted into shooting "with the real men" in a POS or F-Class type match.


AND..... even more hours worth of stories about shooters making claims on the innertube and being invited to a BR Match.

It ain't perty....

You wanna' learn how to shoot? Get a BR rifle.

period.

Sell it when you're done, part it out, trade it for your POS or F-Class gun of choice, but you will absolutely NEVER know accuracy without having fired an accurate rifle.
 
This is worth a read. I heard he is a pretty good bench shooter.
 

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Apollo said:
Hello. Just my 2 cents worth...and you'll probably give me some change back.

All the things mentioned are important pieces to the precision puzzle. It is obvious that you care, which is a huge part of the battle. Don't lose that. As long as you care, you'll figure out the answers to your questions. This will not answer your question directly, I simply want to make sure you are not missing any bigger pieces that have to come first before your questions can be answered. If this is "old news" to you - my apologies.

1st penny: - In my opinion; no pieces are more important than being able to read the conditions. (no matter which discipline you pick) Not paying attention to conditions leads to a very frustrating cycle when it comes to changes in the area of .2" Many times, people spend incredible amounts of time trying to get that .2 (or smaller) out of their equipment yet give up .4 because they do not pay attention to the conditions. A mirage board and two or three wind flags will really help with your consistency.

2nd penny: In your quest remember; precision is not always linear. Linear would be the times where you learn something and it won't get any better. (Your example) would be the height from the bench your stool should be. Again, once you got it - you got it. By the way, I use a rope with a sharpie line on it. Super easy to carry and fast to check.
Many things, however, are not always linear. For example: You learn something called "A". "A" allows you to learn "B". Once you get good at "B" that allows you to do "A" even better. It is a cycle that probably never ends. A good example of this is condition reading. Once you get decent at reading conditions you will be able to "see" how the small changes in your set up affect your tune. The better your tune, the better you will be able to see the small changes in conditions. It is a positive snow ball effect.

Again, if this is already common knowledge, my apologies. This website might be of interest to you. https://www.ctdshooting.com

Stanley
Click to expand...

Thank-you, Stanley. I have been trying to learn about wind, have read and watched videos on it, and now have a Kestrel 2500 to check whether my guesses are correct. I have not yet run into Mirage at our range on Vancouver Island, but I'm sure that will change. I HAVE learned that you can use Mirage to help you confirm the direction of the wind. :)

Jim G
 
alinwa said:
Read replies in bold above..... and I could tell stories for hours about BR guys who've thrown together a rifle for the fun of it, or been goaded into it, or one where a guy is delivering a customers deer rifle and gets taunted into shooting "with the real men" in a POS or F-Class type match.


AND..... even more hours worth of stories about shooters making claims on the innertube and being invited to a BR Match.

It ain't perty....

You wanna' learn how to shoot? Get a BR rifle.

period.

Sell it when you're done, part it out, trade it for your POS or F-Class gun of choice, but you will absolutely NEVER know accuracy without having fired an accurate rifle.
Click to expand...

Sigh. I doubt my wife would tolerate me buying ANOTHER rifle.

And I don't want to shoot ONLY Benchrest. I just at this point in time want some pointers on good body and rifle ergonomic setup. That's all this thread was intended to get.

Jim G
 
1911Nut said:
This is worth a read. I heard he is a pretty good bench shooter.
Click to expand...

Yes, everyone has told me it is excellent. Unfortunately, it is also unavailable at this time (I looked on Google very extensively a few days back), unless a guy wants to pay a specialty book collector shop $400 for a used copy. No kidding.

It's also maybe a bit date by now, as it was published around 2008 or 2010.

I also found a table of contents for it somewhere using Google, and there is only one VERY brief section on setting up your shooting environment. I don't think he really covered ergonomics.

And yeah, "pretty good bench shooter" alright!! A long and highly distinguished career, and even his wife was darn good at it.

Jim G
 
Sugestions

Thanks for your interest in a fun sport. I am confident that you can figure it all out. I came here from many years of Tactical Pistol.
I hooked up with a seasoned Benchrest shooter with many years of of competition experience. Thats important. You can’t teach a person how to hit if you’ve never played baseball.( just saying)

I bought a used Benchrest Rifle from this same shooter who later became a good friend and mentor. I also bought all of the necessary equipment(Used) from this same shooter.

Get to know some of the local Benchrest shooters in your area. If possible, go to a Benchrest match. Observe and take pictures of equipment set up. Ask the same questions you’re asking here. I have yet to meet a Benchrest shooter that is reluctant to share some of his/her secrets to success. The forum is probably not the best place to find answers about table manners.(Equipment set up)

Its an undeniable fact. The more you shoot, the more you learn.:D


Glenn
 
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Chism G said:
Thanks for your interest in a fun sport. I am confident that you can figure it all out. I came here from many years of Tactical Pistol.
I hooked up with a seasoned Benchrest shooter with many years of of competition experience. Thats important. You can’t teach a person how to hit if you’ve never played baseball.( just saying)

I bought a used Benchrest Rifle from this same shooter who later became a good friend and mentor. I also bought all of the necessary equipment(Used) from this same shooter.

Get to know some of the local Benchrest shooters in your area. If possible, go to a Benchrest match. Observe and take pictures of equipment set up. Ask the same questions you’re asking here. I have yet to meet a Benchrest shooter that is reluctant to share some of his/her secrets to success. The forum is probably not the best place to find answers about table manners.(Equipment set up)

Its an undeniable fact. The more you shoot, the more you learn.:D


Glenn
Click to expand...

I'll ask around to see if we have any Benchrest shooting going on here on Vancouver Island. I am currently unaware of any, but then up until now I haven't been looking for it either.

Jim G
 
" Cheek weld? Not in benchrest. "

Totally agree and probably more Tactical shooting related. I also noticed that he mentioned he has a problem with not being able to get his head far enough over the stock to get his eye centered with the scope. To me that even makes it allot worse when trying to get comfortable with his setup. There is a saying the name of the game is the same, meaning every shot fired has to be executed exactly the same. Head placement, hand placement, rifle management, and trigger squeeze just to name a few. When I setup at the bench I can instantly tell if my shooting stool is even just a half inch off in height, distance from the bench or to far forward or back. How I am just not completely comfortable and cannot get completely relaxed and I know it right away. When I am in my own correct position and the cross hairs are lined up at a specific point of impact on the target. I can then back off of the rifle and the cross hairs will not move. If they do I am putting undue pressure somewhere on the rifle or I am just possibly to tense. And there is no hope of the bullet going to my original / pre-chosen point of impact when my trigger breaks. But I am also not free recoiling the rifle but I am actually in direct contact with it and that part of it is unfortunately very difficult to try and describe.
 
I agree with some of the suggestion that have been made, but not all.

I suppose that if you want to be the best of the best, a person would concentrate on one discipline of shooting, but it doesn't sound as though that is what is being asked about. Now, most of us want to do the best that we can, with what we have and what we do.
I also think that each discipline can add something to our overall knowledge or maybe even add something. Learning to read wind flags isn't only good for Benchrest shooting, nor is 100 yard Benchrest reloading skill beneficial only for that one discipline.

Having the right equipment or tools is important for each of the various disciplines. Some are interchangeable and some not.
I do agree going to a Benchrest match to see what people have and use is beneficial, if possible.

In the opening post, there was mention of the shooting chairs being donated and different at the club. I would suggest getting your own chair or stool. Many people use a drummers throne. Its portable, it's adjustable, most are not overly expensive, and you can adjust it to suit your needs for where you're shooting.
I'm surprised no one hasn't already commented on that.

As far as picking one discipline and sticking with only it, I feel confident that even Tony Boyer has shot other guns than just BR rifles, and probably figured out what to do. And yes, Benchrest is his speciality and has a history of being quite good.
 
Louis.J said:
" Cheek weld? Not in benchrest. "

Totally agree and probably more Tactical shooting related. I also noticed that he mentioned he has a problem with not being able to get his head far enough over the stock to get his eye centered with the scope. To me that even makes it allot worse when trying to get comfortable with his setup. There is a saying the name of the game is the same, meaning every shot fired has to be executed exactly the same. Head placement, hand placement, rifle management, and trigger squeeze just to name a few. When I setup at the bench I can instantly tell if my shooting stool is even just a half inch off in height, distance from the bench or to far forward or back. How I am just not completely comfortable and cannot get completely relaxed and I know it right away. When I am in my own correct position and the cross hairs are lined up at a specific point of impact on the target. I can then back off of the rifle and the cross hairs will not move. If they do I am putting undue pressure somewhere on the rifle or I am just possibly to tense. And there is no hope of the bullet going to my original / pre-chosen point of impact when my trigger breaks. But I am also not free recoiling the rifle but I am actually in direct contact with it and that part of it is unfortunately very difficult to try and describe.
Click to expand...

Yes, yesteday, the last time I went to the range, and the first day with my new stool, I finally felt like I was totally relaxed in my shooting position. What I need to work on a fair bit though now is speeding up the process of perfecting the sight picture before firing, as that process is not yet quick enough. Sometimes, I take a bit too long and my eyes start to lose focus. I need to perfect the view a bit faster, as my next big improvement task.

Jim G
 
jimsplce said:
I agree with some of the suggestion that have been made, but not all.

I suppose that if you want to be the best of the best, a person would concentrate on one discipline of shooting, but it doesn't sound as though that is what is being asked about. Now, most of us want to do the best that we can, with what we have and what we do.
I also think that each discipline can add something to our overall knowledge or maybe even add something. Learning to read wind flags isn't only good for Benchrest shooting, nor is 100 yard Benchrest reloading skill beneficial only for that one discipline.

Having the right equipment or tools is important for each of the various disciplines. Some are interchangeable and some not.
I do agree going to a Benchrest match to see what people have and use is beneficial, if possible.

In the opening post, there was mention of the shooting chairs being donated and different at the club. I would suggest getting your own chair or stool. Many people use a drummers throne. Its portable, it's adjustable, most are not overly expensive, and you can adjust it to suit your needs for where you're shooting.
I'm surprised no one hasn't already commented on that.

As far as picking one discipline and sticking with only it, I feel confident that even Tony Boyer has shot other guns than just BR rifles, and probably figured out what to do. And yes, Benchrest is his speciality and has a history of being quite good.
Click to expand...

Yes, I tried out my new stool yesterday, and it made an immediate very notable improvement in my degree of muscle relaxation. It has all the right featiures:

- Solid, smooth, no-give thick, heavy wooden seat


- Seat even reinforced with metal frame to which the ret of the stool mounts (NOT just screwed into the bottom of the seat)


- Huge adjustment range: 15” to 24”, but obviously the lower you go, the less potential play in the screw thread as more thread depth is engaged


- Big-ass jam nut (2” OD) with lever to easily and positively lock the seat against rotation and height changes once at desired height


- Ring footrest for situations where the bench is REALLY tall or your required front and rear rests are for a specific shot are really tall


- All metal frame (no looseness, no flex, plenty of stabilizing weight


- Weighs 15.10 lb, so plenty of stability, but easy too carry when set to lowest height and locked there (see next photo I will send)


- height adjustment knobs on each individual leg, for where the ground surface is uneven


- Very easy to stack extra wood plates on top (after drilling 2 indexing holes) for bizarre situations where a LOT of extra height is needed for some reason, or if you simply want more threads engaged on the central screw for the ultimate in rigidity. 2 more one-inch thick wood plates added on top would make the stool the envy of all the bench resters measuring their groups in hundredths of an inch! :)


$90 delivered from Amazon. In 2 days. :)


Awesome!

Shooting stool - 1.jpeg
 
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