Front rest top... hard vs soft

7

777funk

Guest
Curious what makes the most consistent surface. I know the idea is that we want recoil to do the same exact thing each and every time. I've thought about this for a while now but what's the consensus on the surface hardness for a front rest top. And...

What would happen if you had something like hard maple for a surface just below the forearm. Sorry if this is a stupid question... but I'm curious.

A while back in my backyard range (air rifle) I had pop can targets setup in the woods. I could hit one at 75 yards EVERY time if I set the rifle on stacked blocks of wood on the bench. I'd get it set up with the crosshairs about 6" high and then the ONLY thing I'd touch is the trigger (wouldn't even look through the scope once everything was set). I could hit the can standing up with my back turned and only my finger and thumb touching the rifle.

But when I held the rifle I could only hit it about 20-30% of the time. This led me to believe wood is a good surface to touch the rifle but... am I wrong here? Rules aside of course...

The rifle was a Gamo spring piston .177. For those of you not into air rifles, springers recoil forward, backward, and torqued making accuracy difficult to learn to obtain. So in many ways it's like shooting a hard recoiling rifle (recoil and hold sensitivity really come into play). I think they're great practice.
 
Trust me in the time that Benchrest shooting has been around, there has been someone that has tried all sorts of things, but the thing is if it worked people would be doing it. The old tried and true sand bag is the best thing out there. Even with a sand bag you don't want it packed tight, if it is too hard it will cause vertical in your groups. With that said, I would think that putting something hard under the gun would be a very bad thing. Just because something works on an air rifle, or even a rimfire doesn't; mean the same rules applied to a center fire rifle, they are as different as night and day.
 
I don't think you have shared with us just where you are located. There are any number of people who will be more than happy to help you get where you want to go, but it will be much easier if it's a hands on project. It can't be stressed enough that it will be a huge advantage if you could go to a benchrest match and see how these things work. There is a good chance you can fire a rifle that is set up to do what you want to do. You can't imagine how much difference this will make and how many questions it will answer.

Rick
 
82boy said:
Trust me in the time that Benchrest shooting has been around, there has been someone that has tried all sorts of things, but the thing is if it worked people would be doing it. The old tried and true sand bag is the best thing out there. Even with a sand bag you don't want it packed tight, if it is too hard it will cause vertical in your groups. With that said, I would think that putting something hard under the gun would be a very bad thing. Just because something works on an air rifle, or even a rimfire doesn't; mean the same rules applied to a center fire rifle, they are as different as night and day.
Click to expand...


We should not forget sand is in the rule books. I've built some rest tops with flexible sheet foam and felt. If the rules allowed I wouldn't be using sand in the front.
 
There is not rule that prevents you from getting creative about how that 1/2" minimum thickness of sand is supported, is there, or from using a felt surface over it? If there is, someone please correct me.
 
Boyd Allen said:
There is not rule that prevents you from getting creative about how that 1/2" minimum thickness of sand is supported, is there, or from using a felt surface over it? If there is, someone please correct me.
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Sandbag
The Front Sandbag shall be a bag, without additions, containing sand only, and at least 1⁄2 inch thick over its entire surface. The bag must be able to be deflected horizontally at least 1⁄4 inch with finger pressure at any point. The portion, which contacts the rifle, shall contact the entire surface under the fore-end. Tape on sandbag is legal.


Perhaps the " without additions" clause? I'm not sure myself. I doubt anyone would object to a felt covering.
Constructing a bag with both foam and felt on top of sand might turn heads and raise questions.
Just pointing out "sand" precludes other designs that may or may not be better.
 
jo191145 said:
Sandbag
The Front Sandbag shall be a bag, without additions, containing sand only, and at least 1⁄2 inch thick over its entire surface. The bag must be able to be deflected horizontally at least 1⁄4 inch with finger pressure at any point. The portion, which contacts the rifle, shall contact the entire surface under the fore-end. Tape on sandbag is legal.
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The Key word is HORIZONTALLY. I see people all the time pressing Vertically.
 
What I was suggesting was how a bag might be supported as well as what the top might be made of. A legally constructed and dimensioned bag might be supported by a variety of underpinnings, and still be legal, since they would not be part of it, but only what it was on and/or between. It was just a suggestion for a little experimentation. I have not tried it.
 
Boyd Allen said:
What I was suggesting was how a bag might be supported as well as what the top might be made of. A legally constructed and dimensioned bag might be supported by a variety of underpinnings, and still be legal, since they would not be part of it, but only what it was on and/or between. It was just a suggestion for a little experimentation. I have not tried it.
Click to expand...


Understood Boyd.

FWIW my prerookie problem was my cheapo 3'' bag would work fine with light recoiling rifles. once I started toying with larger fare I found it constantly became misshapen due to torque. My fault im sure but my homemade solution worked flawlessly. 100% consistent in shape and the felt didn't seem to care about humidity,rain or snow as far as stickiness was concerned. Maintenance free and just a few bucks to boot.
 
777funk said:
Curious what makes the most consistent surface. I know the idea is that we want recoil to do the same exact thing each and every time. I've thought about this for a while now but what's the consensus on the surface hardness for a front rest top. And...

What would happen if you had something like hard maple for a surface just below the forearm. Sorry if this is a stupid question... but I'm curious.

A while back in my backyard range (air rifle) I had pop can targets setup in the woods. I could hit one at 75 yards EVERY time if I set the rifle on stacked blocks of wood on the bench. I'd get it set up with the crosshairs about 6" high and then the ONLY thing I'd touch is the trigger (wouldn't even look through the scope once everything was set). I could hit the can standing up with my back turned and only my finger and thumb touching the rifle.

But when I held the rifle I could only hit it about 20-30% of the time. This led me to believe wood is a good surface to touch the rifle but... am I wrong here? Rules aside of course...

The rifle was a Gamo spring piston .177. For those of you not into air rifles, springers recoil forward, backward, and torqued making accuracy difficult to learn to obtain. So in many ways it's like shooting a hard recoiling rifle (recoil and hold sensitivity really come into play). I think they're great practice.
Click to expand...

Air rifles are not a good comparison to centerfire or even rimfire rifles..I find it strange that your springer type air rifle would shoot well when totally supported by wood...I have had several springers and found that they have their best accuracy fired (supported) from your hand...even the instruction manual that comes with the RWS rifles recommends that even if you are shooting from a supported rest that you place your hand under the forearm to reduce the variation that comes from shooting off a hard or semi-hard surface...
If you shot your rifle unsupported off hand..I would expect less accuracy than off the wood..but put the rear of the rifle on a sand bag and the front supported buy your hand resting on a front rest of some type should give best accuracy...
 
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