I was watching a video of the more well known established benchrest shooters and was noticing that if not all of the shooters, most of the shooters use their left hand to control the front rest joystick. While I am not ready for such a setup, I was wondering how long does it take to get use to using that joystick, rather than tucking you left hand under the rifle towards the butt pad of rifle. Please excuse my descriptions of the forms of shooting as I have just recently began to apply the practices to my own technique.
Front rest
- Thread starter webphut
- Start date
John Kielly
Shari's fan club
About as hard as changing from buttons to a zip fly for me.
As of right now, I usually just keep my left hand either under butt of stock as a rest, or against rearbag if I am using one. Sometimes no bag available when hunting, so I adjust heights using my hand. When using rear bag, I usually just rest my hand around it someway, sometimes squeezing it to adjust for height. But like Imention in earlier posts, I’m slowly adding more politically correct practices to my technique. I have a ways to go, very green!
I switched from button fly to zipper in 1980’s, lol. I still miss the button fly, but dam things 70 dollars now
J+J front rest and Bag Squeezing, Farley front rest with Edgewood rear bag, Seb Neo and a custom Edgewood offset loaf, i have them all and prefer the Seb Neo and a custom Edgewood offset loaf. As your shooting improves so will your equipment, and technique. If you're loading a left hand feed action the joystick is 6-8 inches away from the port. Bag squeezing is more time consuming. It's hard to run 5 shots in under 25 seconds. You can run 5 in 15-20 seconds with the Seb with some practice. It comes down to whatever you are most comfortable with.
Last edited:
Some bag squeezers might argue a bit with that but it's close enough either way to not make much difference. Shooting fast is a good thing...but can be a very bad thing in higher winds.
Ain't nobody interested but I remember Keith Gantt and Rick Woods were shooting fast at the Super Shoot one day and both had rifles that you would only dream about. They were 1st and 2nd place until the 4th target. Keith came back from the line all but crying saying he shot a 5. I said "don't worry about it...you're far enough ahead to survive a 5". He said it wasn't a 5 but rather 5 inches. Actually, it was a 6+ inch group but it didn't matter much. Rick did the same thing, same target, same shot. On the other hand, had it not been for that big'un they woulda placed 1st and 2nd by a mile. Looking back, I'm pretty sure I would have done the same thing because it was working quite well. They both simply got caught!!!
Ain't nobody interested but I remember Keith Gantt and Rick Woods were shooting fast at the Super Shoot one day and both had rifles that you would only dream about. They were 1st and 2nd place until the 4th target. Keith came back from the line all but crying saying he shot a 5. I said "don't worry about it...you're far enough ahead to survive a 5". He said it wasn't a 5 but rather 5 inches. Actually, it was a 6+ inch group but it didn't matter much. Rick did the same thing, same target, same shot. On the other hand, had it not been for that big'un they woulda placed 1st and 2nd by a mile. Looking back, I'm pretty sure I would have done the same thing because it was working quite well. They both simply got caught!!!
5 rounds in 25 seconds? Is that how long you have to shoot? I am teasing the idea of getting into the competitive Benchrest shooting, but I am not so sure now. I am going to give that a try the next time I go to the range. I am a bag squeezer as of right now.In the photo you can see what I have setup, not exactly a modern benchrest setup, but it is what I have and so I shoot it as close to Benchrest form as possible.(until I outgrow it and move up to a used modern Benchrest rifle) Thank you for your information.
Attachments
FBecigneul
Member
Shooting benchrest is done differently in two aspects at least. There are runners and there are pickers. A picker sets up and waits for his or her condition to come around and then shoots a sighter or two and tries to shoot one or two record shots while that condition hangs around and then waits for the condition to return, if it ever does. A runner fires a coupe sighters quickly into the sighter target and waits for his a condition, any condition, that persists to appear. Then he runs five shots into the record target in 10 seconds. That is true with or without mirage. Dwight Scott told me you have seven minutes in which to decide which 10 seconds you are going to use. With the rifle pictured, I’d take the front stop off the rest and move fore and aft to get rough elevation on the target and squeeze the bag for minor changes in deflection and elevation. A runner’s most important piece of equipment is a good set of brakes and while running if a flag or tail flickers differently slam on the brakes. A runner sets up his bench in such a way that it takes no time to get another round into the chamber and ready to shoot again. To him, the rounds are set base up or pointing down range on a towel so he can grab one without having to think.
Shooting benchrest also has two totally different disciplines, group and score, and they are diabolically opposed. While a group shooter can get comfortably set up on his or her target, a score shooter has to move around a target paper with each target some distance from the last target that he shot.
Shooting benchrest also has two totally different disciplines, group and score, and they are diabolically opposed. While a group shooter can get comfortably set up on his or her target, a score shooter has to move around a target paper with each target some distance from the last target that he shot.
Last edited:
It sounds exciting and frustrating all with an adrenaline rush or a bad temper...LOL.
There is a major major flaw with my rifle, even though I do my best to shoot group, the stock is not wide and flat enough on fore end and because the action is a factory Sako, the amount of force required to cycle the bolt, cause the rifle to rotate thus effecting rifle tracking greatly. Until I outgrow this rifle and buy a new or used “Benchrest” rifle, I just do the best I can do. The 10 seconds, I am going to see what I can do.
Butch Lambert
Active member
Isn't your rear backwards? You can get a flat piece of 3" wide aluminum to attach to the front sling screw to help the rocking. The Hart base is good.
Yes, I know it’s backwards in photo.
The aluminum plate is exactly what I had in mind. I just need to get the front bag with the 3” opening and then I will put the plate on. I think that will reduce quite a bit of the rocking motion during the cycling of the bolt.
This is actually all my fathers stuff. I inherited it from him in 2005 when he passed away. I think it was pretty up to date gear back then. Now though I get the impression it’s obsolete stuff, but I don’t care. I use it and like I said earlier, I will buy me a retired Benchrest rifle when I feel I have outgrown this rifle.
rkittine
New member
I just set up my new SEB NEO and am glad I read this post as I hated the lateral a
control mechanism on my Bald Eagle and disconnected it. I have not used the joy stick yet, so I will play with it this week.(Zippers only here. Takes to long with the buttons especially since I have had prostate cancer treatment and the issues that go along with that!)
control mechanism on my Bald Eagle and disconnected it. I have not used the joy stick yet, so I will play with it this week.(Zippers only here. Takes to long with the buttons especially since I have had prostate cancer treatment and the issues that go along with that!)
Webphut,
Urban Rifleman markets a 3-D printed, 3 inch wide front bag rider on Accurate Shooter Shooters Forum. It looks like a solid set up, attaching to a Picatinny rail.
Rick M.
Webphut,
I've had your rifle, in fact it's the specific rifle that got me into my first BR rifle...... and I tried 3 different plate setups on it. The one I found most useful was called the Hart Accuracy Asset https://www.hartcustomrifles.com/product/hart-accuracy-asset/
Be very careful with your selection as there are a bunch of "wide forends" out there which are worse than useless as they set so far below the centerline they screw with accuracy, bag handling, recoil reaction, rotation etc etc..... bottom line, whether you make, steal or buy one you want it to add as little height to the setup as physically possible. I actually have one that's only 1/16" thick in the center with gusseted/thickened sides which, to use you place saran wrap on your forend and BED the plate to the specific rifle. The bedding is to make it stiff. Problem is, it RIDES well, but IMO that's only half the battle...... it doesn't RECOIL well. When the rifle lifts up and back under recoil the thing flops like butterfly wings....
I will recommend the Hart Accuracy Asset for your A1
I've had your rifle, in fact it's the specific rifle that got me into my first BR rifle...... and I tried 3 different plate setups on it. The one I found most useful was called the Hart Accuracy Asset https://www.hartcustomrifles.com/product/hart-accuracy-asset/
Be very careful with your selection as there are a bunch of "wide forends" out there which are worse than useless as they set so far below the centerline they screw with accuracy, bag handling, recoil reaction, rotation etc etc..... bottom line, whether you make, steal or buy one you want it to add as little height to the setup as physically possible. I actually have one that's only 1/16" thick in the center with gusseted/thickened sides which, to use you place saran wrap on your forend and BED the plate to the specific rifle. The bedding is to make it stiff. Problem is, it RIDES well, but IMO that's only half the battle...... it doesn't RECOIL well. When the rifle lifts up and back under recoil the thing flops like butterfly wings....
I will recommend the Hart Accuracy Asset for your A1