Mandatory Superfeet use

J

jessesig

Guest
Our club recently mandated requiring the use of Superfeet for all shooters that have rests with metal/sharp legs. Our bench tops have been destroyed in the past and it was decided that something needed to be done. This rule applies to everyone and includes matches. The club will have a limited number of sets to loan (with a deposit) to help out those shooters who don't have their own set or failed to put the in theirbag before leaving for the range. Do any of you have feelings one way or the other regarding this rule and if so, explain.
Personally, I have used them for several years and do not see any issues.

Thanks,

Jessesig
 
I like them on my Rail Gun on concrete benchs but DO Not like them on wooden benchs.

I have not used them on my bag guns but my feelings are it would be the same.

Russell
 
R. Rains said:
I like them on my Rail Gun on concrete benchs but DO Not like them on wooden benchs.

I have not used them on my bag guns but my feelings are it would be the same.

Russell
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I've been in favor of that to be a rule for all clubs. At Holton the benches were all redone with much work from a few individuals, and it goes against my grain to see some beat them repeatedly putting holes in them. If those same people would have been part of that work party for weeks at a time, I am sure they'd think twice about doing that.
 
What you should outlaw are HAMMERS! My rest has sharp points, but for a bag gun, I don't think my rest has ever moved due to not being pounded into the concrete. I simply get my rest where I want it, then push down with my weight to make sure they aren't siting on a high spot, or the side of a previously hammered hole. No issues.
 
R. Rains said:
I like them on my Rail Gun on concrete benchs but DO Not like them on wooden benchs.

I have not used them on my bag guns but my feelings are it would be the same.

Russell
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Russ, we had super feet with concentric circles on the bottom instead of rubber we tried at Canastota...they didn't work for crap!!
 
Dave Dohrmann (sp/) told me that when he first made Super Feet, that he tried thicker rubber than he later settled on, and that they were too bouncy, that it showed on the target. I thing that if points are sharp, and the rest is just set in place that it will be secure, the problem is that human nature being what it is, a disk requirement is probably the only way to be sure that abuse will not continue.

Years ago, the Fresno range did a cooperative project with the Visalia range, sharing a set of molds that were used to cast benches for both ranges. The Fresno benches are still in pretty good shape. They don't have benchrest matches. On the other hand the the set that were poured at Visalia are pretty pock marked. I did a lot of the work building five of the forms, and did a lot of work getting the ones in Fresno poured (42 benches), and after all of that, it makes me a little tense to see someone abuse them, to the point that I have undoubtedly irritated a few miscreants. Tough. Let them build a few benches. It might just affect their attitude when they see someone take a hammer to rest points.
 
Funny how things change. I don't recollect having a problem with bench tops that were beat all to hell. Every now and then I'd have to make a "new" place but I had a good hammer. A question comes to mind, a rhetorical question....Why worry about it?
 
Having built a bench myself, I probably would be a little testy. To watch guys who just have to pound their rests in a pristine new top would irk me. On the other hand I have always tried to find dimples that worked with my hart rest and usually found them with little problem. I would tend to believe that someone with a bag gun that was having problems with the rest moving has poor technique and should practice his gun handling skills a little more. Rail guns I don't know anything about.
 
Wilbur,
Build a lot of benches? It's pretty basic, after you spend a few months building a range, you don't like to see it torn up. Of course for the guys that tore it up, and were from out of town, and not in line to have to fix it, it has never been a problem.
Boyd
 
I understand completely, really I do....but are banged up benches disfunctional in any sense?
 
Wilbur said:
....are banged up benches disfunctional in any sense?
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Yes, banged up benches can really be a problem, especially for railguns, if you do not use Superfeet, Bench Protectors, Don Nielson's Hockey Pucks etc. Ask Joe Krupa what happened to him at the NBRSA Unlimited Nationals in Kansas City one year when the front point of his railgun fell off into a deep divot as he started his record group. :mad: Yeah, Joe, I was watching. :(

Damaging bench tops with sledge hammers and armor piercing points is fine as long as you had nothing to do with building them and don't plan to come back, but if you shoot in my tunnel, bench protectors will be provided and used. There are a couple of tricks to making and using them but once you get the hang of it you will not be without them. I make mine from quarter inch thick brass discs center drilled to sixty degrees and use hard, sandpaper type self adhesive non slip stuff made by 3M and available in the ladder department of any Home Depot. I don't like the rubber stuff; it moves around.

Gene Beggs
 
Wilbur,
If you borrowed a shovel from me, I doubt that you would return it rusty, and covered with cement. The problem is that in the case of equipment that belongs to an organization, the issue can become clouded, but it is really the same. It has been my experience that people value things in direct proportion to the difficulty with which they were obtained, which is exactly why we are encumbered with so many rules and laws. We know what is right and just when we are mistreated, but somehow see it less clearly when the shoe is on the other foot.
 
One year, I forget which one, we were having the NBRSA Unlimited Nationals up at Kelbly's range in Ohio. One relay had just finished firing and the next was setting up. I watched, horrified, as this one big, burly fellow was hammering his rail gun into the bench just as George Kelbly walked by. I mean the guy was pounding with all his might, again and again, with a large steel hammer! I couldn't believe it! I thought to myself, "Oh boy, here we go; that old boy is going to get a scolding." But I was proud of George, he kept his cool and walked away saying, "Don't know if that bench is gonna' survive that beating or not."

Funny the little things we remember; huh?

Gene Beggs
 
Good topic. Being one that in the past never really used any type of super feet for my front pedestal. Yes benches do take a beating getting pounded match after match. when i ordered my new JJ rest i also got the feet brakit that john sells, this is a one piece brakit and it works nice. I personally would like to see this rule go into affect in my shooting range in Sacramento. Some might agree or disagree with me but in order to keep our benches in good condition we need to take care of them. Gabe
 
That was one of the reasons brought up by the B.O.D. when they voted not to have any more NBRSA matches at the Fayette range. That was just one of the reasons and maybe not the deciding reason but why push it? Too many ranges have quit holding matches and I'm sure that factors in. I now have a private range, No hammers allowed
 
My point was, before I got caught in a politically correct crossfire, that if bench tops were poured with known intent that they will be hammered (like they were for 50+ years) there wouldn't be any concern. It has never been about the inconsideration of other's property or lack of personal investment. It's just benchrest shooting.

Once more, I give. I'll never hammer my rest or rail again....perhaps a little peck...maybe...if the club allows.
 
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