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What type of rest is most used for 100 yrd competition target shooting?

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Besides the price of the really nice rests another reason I haven't gotten one is I enjoy shooting the way I do with a bipod and monopost. I have to be careful to minimize my contact with the gun or I wobble too much but if I keep to minimal contact I can get steady. I think I could shoot a little better if I had a rest which would totally stabilize the gun so I could almost eliminate contacting it except for the trigger but I don't think I'd enjoy shooting it that way as much. It can be done with bags but is harder than with a nice rest, I think. If I decide to try a different style rest I will probably start with a Caldwell. I don't expect them to be as steady as the brands costing several times as much but they offer both a front rest with elevation and windage control (I think it's called the Rock BR) and a joystick model (I think that is a fire control). The joystick model is the most interesting. Seems like it would be the easiest to move from target to target.

Another thing the really serious BR shooters do is to have guns with really wide flat forends. Minimizes cant I guess. Like up to 8 inches wide. I won't go to 8 inches but I could make a stock with a wider foreend. The Caldwells won't handle the really wide ones, however.

I don't have any dedicated benchrest guns and probably never will. I prefer to hunt but target shooting is something interesting to do in the off season. r
 
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I got curious and decided I wanted an early fathers day present and bought myself a relatively inexpensive bench rest, a Caldwell Rock BR (about $135 on Amazon). I got it mainly because it is inconvenient to make horizontal aim adjustments by moving my rear monopod. I'm shooting a lot of 30 yard challenge targets - 24 bullseyes per 8.5x11 sheet. Picking the monopod up and moving it for horizontal adjustments takes a lot of attempts for each bullseye. So I wanted a rest where the vertical and horizontal adjustments can be done via an adjustment screw. I've only shot about half a dozen targets with the Rock but it is much easier to adjust than my old method. I have not shot any targets better than my best with a particular gun and ammo with the bipod and monopod. But I've shot some good targets and I think I may do slightly better with the new rest when I get a few more targets shot.

The one comment that came up on this thread about limited vertical or horizontal target is definitely not true for this rest. My backyard range is limited to about 35 yards. At that range I get almost 6.5 feet horizontal adjustment and over 9 feet of vertical adjustment. That is just turning the handwheel for the vertical, doesn't include repositioning the center post. At 100 yards you would have almost three times this adjustment available. I think that is obviously sufficient to cover a target. I think the person that made the comment was talking about joystick rests, I have no experience with them.

I assumed that the bipod would be better for cant and that is clearly true. With the bipod attached you essentially cannot cant the gun. That is not true with more conventional front rests like the Caldwell Rock. I'm using the three lobe bag which surrounds the forend on three sides. I have to put 1/4 inch shims on each side of the gun to use this bag, it is intended for wider forends. With the three lobe bag the rest gives reasonable control of cant but not even close to as much as the bipod. But overall it is more relaxing and easier to shoot with the Rock. If I just wanted to shoot some 5 shot groups I might still use the bipod and monopod, however. It is only for something like these benchrest style targets where I see an advantage for the Caldwell Rock (or presumably other similar rests). If you are not changing your point of aim a lot a bipod may be the way to go. It is lighter and simpler than the Rock. I think that the cant "weakness" of rests like this Rock is why high end benchrest guns have really wide forends with flat bottoms. With that I think there would be no practical advantage to the bipod. But I don't see me making a stock like that. But there is a chance I will put some threaded insets into my softwood P35 stock so I could screw on a temporary wide forend piece.

I like messing with things like this. Seeing what works and doesn't work. Another idea I had but haven't done anything with yet is to make a horizontal screw adjustment for the monopod. I am sure it is possible to make a base for it around an inch tall that would allow screw adjustment for horizontal like it has for vertical. It would not be as smooth as the Rock I suspect, however. The Rock is VERY smooth on vertical adjustments and pretty smooth on horizontal. It is just a captured piece of all thread going through what appears to be a cast iron cradle for the horizontal adjustment.
 
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I might try that. Hoped to do some shooting today but it rained all afternoon after I got home from church. I tried a target after 7pm but it hadn't really stopped raining completely and I didn't do well. I shot a 196 yesterday but was holding a little off for what I thought was wind. Seems like the wind wasn't really affecting POI that much, the zero was a little off. By the time I got that corrected the rain had picked up. I will get good conditions soon. Just need to be patient.
 
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Something I whipped up myself. Based on the Randolf but much heavier with all surfaces machined for flatness and squareness. Smooth as butter it is. I made about 10 of them back in the day. Way to much work goes into it to do just one.

Smith Rest.jpg
 
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I highly recommend a TargetShooting.com one piece rest. The rest is adjustable in length so it will hold any length and shape bolt action stock from a Tom West P-Rod to a CZ Lux including Thomas, USFT, and FX Impact.

The front bag carrier windage adjustment will span both a N50 or ARA card at 10 meters. The rear Elevation adjustment will also.
 
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JimNM said:
The answer depends on the rule of the competition. Some comps let you use a one-piece rest, other demand a two-piece rest. You can use bipod front with mono pod or sand-bag rear rest. Some rules state a maximum weight of the gun and or the sandbags.

For fun shooting, I use a tripod turret from Caldwell or bipod and bags. You gun will have different harmonics for each set up. My bench rifle will double the group size if I have the rear rest too far forward. Moving the rest 1/4" makes a difference for that gun - and it shoots groups that show that difference.
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I am certainly not a bench shooter, but isn't this question difficult to answer? Considering the rules and the journey to becoming comfortable and completely relaxed, which starts from the chair and goes up. You can guide someone in the right direction, but ultimately, we all have different body positions that make us more comfortable. This is merely a question, not a statement. I am simply a hunter.
 
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csdilligaf said:
Troy what rest is that? I've seen them before but can not find them for sale now.
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It is a very, very, very early version of Mr Brownlee's Custom Rest.

Targetshooting.com

This rest is a 1-piece Rest with windage and elevation controlled at the front. It is adjustable in length so you can very finely balance a rifle for recoil.

This rest is excellent for IBS group shooting.

Mr. Brownlee's current version is much more accurate.

I plan on updating to a 2000 LP rest as you can still adjust length and the front rest is very smooth in windage and elevation adjustment.
 
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Troy Bakel said:
It is a very, very, very early version of Mr Brownlee's Custom Rest.

Targetshooting.com

This rest is a 1-piece Rest with windage and elevation controlled at the front. It is adjustable in length so you can very finely balance a rifle for recoil.

This rest is excellent for IBS group shooting.

Mr. Brownlee's current version is much more accurate.

I plan on updating to a 2000 LP rest as you can still adjust length and the front rest is very smooth in windage and elevation adjustment.
Click to expand...
Did not know Wally made a joystick rest.
 
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