Front rest recommendation’s

[okieairgunner]

Well I am back with another question. I am loving the new wicks flags I got from Ray Hill. They are leaps and bounds better than what I was using or trying to create. But now I am looking a Front rests for bench. I see that several top shooters have either a big front rest mechanism or some have special bipod with a 2-3 foot stance and some with just plain bipod. What are the benefits or disadvantages? What do y’all recommend? Educate me please. I seen something online that SEB sells a Neo-x for $1,700 but one would not be ready for 7-12 months and that just seams crazy high for one. I appreciate the help ladies and gentlemen. Here is a pic of my new Ray Hill flags.

 

[douger]

whats the model stands you useing

 

[okieairgunner]

Amazon Basics Aluminum Light Photography Tripod Stand with Case - Pack of 2, 2.8 - 6.7 Feet, Black https://a.co/d/1BCg4VA

I got these off Amazon. 2 for 40$ they work great.

 

[dizzums]

imo bipods introduce alot of flexible pivot points and any one of them that moves translates right down the line .. alot of that fancy setup crap is posing for the crowd lol, but hey whatever floats your boat .. a caldwell rock or rock jr works just fine, at most you might want to change the bag on it to something that cradles 'your' gun better ..

 

[XSUltimate]

Big front mechanical rests are very nice unless you have to travel distance to your matches. Air travel makes those big rests very difficult to move back and forth safely and economically. I have an older Sinclair rest that I used for a while but have since changed over to a good solid bipod. The mechanical rests usually need a few different bags/different heads purchased to fit the different style of stocks on the rifles you use.
Bipods work very well as well if you have a quality made bipod. Bipods are much easier to transport and less likely to be damaged in transit. They are a little different getting used to as some rifles become a little touch sensitive when you attach a bipod to it. I have some rifles like a thin rubber mat under the feet and others that like to slide freely on the shooting bench. You also have to consider the type of stock your rifle has as some like the red wolf (and others) have such a thin forearm on them it makes it tough to mount a UIT rail for the bipod without making the stock less durable. For those types of rifles you can buy other options such as a bottle clamp with a picatinny rail on it or a custom extended picatinny rail that mounts to your action or frame.
Both work well and I use both. I even use a long one piece rest as well for some of my air rifles and rimfire rifles. I would say maybe 80% or higher shooters at EBR this year were using bipods. Podium finishes were a mixture of mechanical rests and (mostly) bipods so one is not more accurate or more robust over the other. Some of my highest scores have come with a bipod but I also still use mechanical rests based on the type of rifle and travel distances. Good quality bipods can be had for approx. $400+. I got my favorite bipod from Europe. Front mechanical rests run from $200 used up to $2000 and one piece rests are approx. $1000 or so. I think one top ten finisher was even using Caldwell tack driver front bag. Hope this helps you, PM me if you want more info.
P.S. Check out Michaels video at the top of the benchrest page to see the EBR finals competitors and equipment.
Thx
Dan

 

[steve123]

Just my thoughts....

For fast transitions from sighters to bulls on those huge 100Y EBR or RMAC cards I would rather use an F-class bipod like Jeff did who won EBR this. I like the wide stance that helps stabilize the rifle and the ski feet help the rifle track straight back if laid on something like a rug.

I discovered this year I really like having an exact adjustment ability like in a F-class bipod. Once the rifle is pressed down into the bag at the rear you dial the elevation at the bottom of the bipod.
Whereas with a regular bipod you adjust the gang adjust on the legs which is usually a set amount determined by the distance between the slots in the legs then squeeze the bag under the stock to make a final adjustment so its important to maintain the down tension on the bag as well as the squeeze pressure applied to it. I always feel like executing the shot is harder to control even though I've been using this method for 15 years with reasonable success in the firearms world in non BR events.

For 25Y or 50Y BR I'd rather use a one piece rest like Mike N uses. My PQP isn't as nice as his Randolph but still works great. Except for trigger pull the influence on the rifle is nil thus a miss is due to a flyer or wind call.
I don't like my joystick Farley two piece rest near as much because there is a little bit of stiction which makes it harder to put the crosshairs exactly where I want them and also the rear bag eventually gets pushed off center.

That SEB might be awesome but I'm not spending that kind of money on one!

 

[MDriskill]

I am NOT a high-end target shooter of any kind - so may be missing the (metaphorical) target - but I love this fairly basic Caldwell "The Rock" for sighting in, etc.

It's heavy enough to be steady (mostly cast iron), small enough to be easily portable, and reasonably priced (around $100 new). There's a good amount of lockable vertical travel, the feet adjust to sit level on any surface, and the head can be easily tweaked to take about any kind of bag.

 

[okieairgunner]

Big front mechanical rests are very nice unless you have to travel distance to your matches. Air travel makes those big rests very difficult to move back and forth safely and economically. I have an older Sinclair rest that I used for a while but have since changed over to a good solid bipod. The mechanical rests usually need a few different bags/different heads purchased to fit the different style of stocks on the rifles you use.
Bipods work very well as well if you have a quality made bipod. Bipods are much easier to transport and less likely to be damaged in transit. They are a little different getting used to as some rifles become a little touch sensitive when you attach a bipod to it. I have some rifles like a thin rubber mat under the feet and others that like to slide freely on the shooting bench. You also have to consider the type of stock your rifle has as some like the red wolf (and others) have such a thin forearm on them it makes it tough to mount a UIT rail for the bipod without making the stock less durable. For those types of rifles you can buy other options such as a bottle clamp with a picatinny rail on it or a custom extended picatinny rail that mounts to your action or frame.
Both work well and I use both. I even use a long one piece rest as well for some of my air rifles and rimfire rifles. I would say maybe 80% or higher shooters at EBR this year were using bipods. Podium finishes were a mixture of mechanical rests and (mostly) bipods so one is not more accurate or more robust over the other. Some of my highest scores have come with a bipod but I also still use mechanical rests based on the type of rifle and travel distances. Good quality bipods can be had for approx. $400+. I got my favorite bipod from Europe. Front mechanical rests run from $200 used up to $2000 and one piece rests are approx. $1000 or so. I think one top ten finisher was even using Caldwell tack driver front bag. Hope this helps you, PM me if you want more info.
P.S. Check out Michaels video at the top of the benchrest page to see the EBR finals competitors and equipment.
Thx
Dan

Thank you so much. I’ll definitely message you.

 

[okieairgunner]

Just my thoughts....

For fast transitions from sighters to bulls on those huge 100Y EBR or RMAC cards I would rather use an F-class bipod like Jeff did who won EBR this. I like the wide stance that helps stabilize the rifle and the ski feet help the rifle track straight back if laid on something like a rug.

I discovered this year I really like having an exact adjustment ability like in a F-class bipod. Once the rifle is pressed down into the bag at the rear you dial the elevation at the bottom of the bipod.
Whereas with a regular bipod you adjust the gang adjust on the legs which is usually a set amount determined by the distance between the slots in the legs then squeeze the bag under the stock to make a final adjustment so its important to maintain the down tension on the bag as well as the squeeze pressure applied to it. I always feel like executing the shot is harder to control even though I've been using this method for 15 years with reasonable success in the firearms world in non BR events.

For 25Y or 50Y BR I'd rather use a one piece rest like Mike N uses. My PQP isn't as nice as his Randolph but still works great. Except for trigger pull the influence on the rifle is nil thus a miss is due to a flyer or wind call.
I don't like my joystick Farley two piece rest near as much because there is a little bit of stiction which makes it harder to put the crosshairs exactly where I want them and also the rear bag eventually gets pushed off center.

That SEB might be awesome but I'm not spending that kind of money on one!

Yea man I ain’t paying that much for one either. I tried the whole squeeze technique also and I really did not like it. Why not just use the f class bipod in the 25 and 50 yard class?

 

[Loufish]

For real benchrest, eventually you'll find the heavy one-piece rest is better.
Some find bipods are tricky to pre-load consistently and/or eliminate leg vertical torque.

 

[pearl]

I think you should get with some of us at the club and try many of the different rests we have. You would find out if there is something you really hate or love without a costly mistake.

 

[nomojo65]

I personally loved my Farley. The only reason I sold it was I could not go from sighters on both sides of the 25m target cards with out moving the rear bag. (Not Ideal) went to a Randolph rest and alleviated that problem, but not nearly as nice and quick to make adjustments as the Farley.

 

[okieairgunner]

I think you should get with some of us at the club and try many of the different rests we have. You would find out if there is something you really hate or love without a costly mistake.

I think that’s a great idea. But I have mother question. I have seen a couple trains of thought I think. 1 being you want the gun to be able to be able to “recoil” freely. The other train of thought is I see to have the gun in a one pice secured it seams. Which is it?

 

[thomasair]

Guns are free to recoil in 1 piece rests. Locking any gun down is usually not the best recipe for accuracy,

Mike

 

[okieairgunner]

Guns are free to recoil in 1 piece rests. Locking any gun down is usually not the best recipe for accuracy,

Mike

Thank you for the clarification. Up to now I have not paid that close attention to the ones I have seen. I’m guessing you use a single pice for your shooting?

 

[thomasair]

I use a Randolph 1 piece. They are far more adjustable for length than any other I have seen….plus you do not have to move your hand back and forth when adjusting windage and elevation like most.

 

[steve123]

I personally loved my Farley. The only reason I sold it was I could not go from sighters on both sides of the 25m target cards with out moving the rear bag. (Not Ideal) went to a Randolph rest and alleviated that problem, but not nearly as nice and quick to make adjustments as the Farley.

I should clarify that I have the original Farley and it isn't quite right anymore. Also the hub that the stick screws into is worn.

I haven't tried the other generation/s.

 

[bigHUN]

I use a Randolph 1 piece. They are far more adjustable for length than any other I have seen….plus you do not have to move your hand back and forth when adjusting windage and elevation like most.

I was researching that your rest last winter, and made DIY something similar from my extrusion parts laying around in drawers. I really love the one piece rest, very convenient and precise.

 

[steve123]

Yea man I ain’t paying that much for one either. I tried the whole squeeze technique also and I really did not like it. Why not just use the f class bipod in the 25 and 50 yard class?

It's because there is no movement or torque imposed on the rifle with the one piece rest and the target card at 25Y and 50Y is small so transitioning from sighter to bull is fast and painless.

The sighter bulls are on the bottom of the EBR and RMAC cards and these cards are 4ft-ish??? I found with my one piece rest it takes quite a bit of time and revolutions to dial up to the higher bulls and by then sometimes my window of opportunity was gone in the calmer wind condition I wanted to shoot in. Also those top bulls were barely reachable within the full vertical screw adjustment.

With a bipod or tripod that same transition is much faster.

 

[nomojo65]

I must clarify that my initial BR forays were in CF BR. Where you couldn’t use a one piece rest.

I also don’t like the very hard front bag on the Randolph (if you want to call it that!) My plan is to replace that setup with a different front bag setup? You can also buy a one piece attachment for that rest for $250. Still don’t like the hard surface of both front and rear rest.

I just have it my head that those hard surfaces aren’t contributing to accuracy of the shot cycles? At least in my gun. With baby powder I can achieve a very unrestricted for and aft movement or using the “super slick” material of these new bags.

I’m probably overthinking all this? And none of what I said really matters.