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What's better Bench Rest , Bi-Pods or Sand Bags for Steading Shots?

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FIDI_G said:
...The $26 bipod I have from Amazon doesnt do a great job at holding the gun steady especially at targets of 80+ yards....
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and the $500 bipod setup will not make it 20x better ... ;) maybe 5% better maybe 10% better and we all need to justify the expense.
I spent some time and money on trying what works more or less, for me personally a tripod works much better then any bipod I have seen.
This from an engineer perspective, I am not competing with an airgun but have some two decades in shooting sports and training and shooting as I would compete. And btw this tripod wasn't cheap neither.

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FIDI_G said:
Nice that's a good idea. I dont know where I would find just a cap. But that would certainly make a nice target at 100yd. I have a large steel spoon (4x the size of a regular spoon) and I hit that at about 80yds If I hit it just right I can get it to spin around.
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Google is your friend 😄 it’s been a while since I got mine several years now. I think all I did was Google acetylene tank tops and a couple of sites came up. I ordered them and started using them in an order tomorrow once they found out how good they worked
 
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dizzums said:
i have two setups i use .. first is a caldwell rock jr and caldwell prefilled rear bag .. second is a caldwell turret rest .. i can set both rigs up in a window in the day and leave the gun there sighted on a gong at ~100 .. open the window any time at night and just pull the trigger and ring it lol ..have to have a stable base to set up on though, if it moves when you lean on it etc, no good .. bipods meh, dont like them except to be mobile if i need to setup in an oddball place .. they can do fruity things with a guns harmonics though, not the ultimate in accurate imo ..
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So which is better the turret or the rock Jr?
 
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bigHUN said:
and the $500 bipod setup will not make it 20x better ... ;) maybe 5% better maybe 10% better and we all need to justify the expense.
I spent some time and money on trying what works more or less, for me personally a tripod works much better then any bipod I have seen.
This from an engineer perspective, I am not competing with an airgun but have some two decades in shooting sports and training and shooting as I would compete. And btw this tripod wasn't cheap neither.

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Is there a bag you rest the gun on? Is the big blue knob a windage adjustment? Looks like it would be very mobile and easy to cary arround compared to one of the cast iron Caldwell front rest..
 
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FIDI_G said:
From what i've seen for 100yd coemptions (videos only) bi-pods / sand bag are the most prevalent. I don't understand why though. I would think that a decent adjustable front rest would do a much better job at holding the gun steady than a bi-pod. Help me fill in the gaps what am I missing? I can see the biggest advantage of a bi-pod would be mobility can easily adjust position but would suffer and a stability compared to a rest? Am I wrong here? Again excuse my lack of expertise. Just trying to determine the best course of action with my never ending discretionary spending black hole that the world of PCP brings. This is worse than a bad drug habit.

My thinking is I mostly shoot from inside my house into my back yard. I have targets setup for Zero at 25 and 50yds and targets setup up all the way to 100yds. So if I ever decide to go to a competition then I would like to be practicing with what the really good shooters are using. Unfortunately most of the of the competitions I'm seeing the winners are using some very expensive gear which would be a bit cost prohibitive.

I'm wondering if I should just bite the bullet and get a good bi-pod and call it a day. The $26 bipod I have from Amazon doesnt do a great job at holding the gun steady especially at targets of 80+ yards. I
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The bi-pod removes torquing of the rifle. Many have adjustable cant as well which is very helpful with repeatability. The Highwind rest you linked to earlier has adjustable elevation but the cant is controlled by the shooter and can vary from shot to shot. If you think cant is less important, shoot a group with a bubble level with each shot breaking level then shoot a group with the it a half bubble off and watch your group move.if you are going to shoot a highwind rest and sporter bag set up then you should consider adding a bubble to your scope or pic rail and verify the bubble is level before breaking each shot.

Some use a front bag with tall ears and side wings that allow you to clamp the front end of the rifle firm into the bag to maintain perfect level. Some guns dont like a firm hold and like free recoil so you have to find out what your gun prefers for the best accuracy.

I have Randolph front and rear rests and they have adjustable elevation as well as side to side adjustable windage. That feature is helpful for shooting single targets in a row.

When I shoot indoors at 50’ or at home at out to 30Y I almost always use a front bipod and rear squeeze bag. It’s fast to set up, less gear to lug around and it’s what I’ve grown most accustomed to shooting with. I’ve used my Randolph set up and my scores are almost as high as with my bipod set up.

When I go to the local range and shoot at 50Y or longer then I use the Randolph set up. It’s slightly more accurate setup (for me) and allows me to dial in my hold offs more acccurately for our crazy swirling wind conditions. It removes more of me (or my body) from the shooting equation.

I have an Arnold one piece rest ordered so that will be a new learning experience for me to experiment with for this years outdoor shooting season.

Sorry that I have not given you answers to your questions but it comes down to finding the combo that works best for you and that comes through many hours of experimentation. Do you have a range nearby? Many shooters are willing to talk to you and show you their sets ups and even set behind theirs to get a feel for their equipment. That may be an option worth considering?
 
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FIDI_G said:
I find my sandbags don't really give me enough of a sturdy base for long distances (100yd) under greater scope magnification. I find that using a combination of my bi-pod and sandbags does a better job than either just the Bipod by itself or the sandbags by them selves. But it still shakes. I'd like to eliminate as much of the shaking as possible with out using a led sled. Does a bench rest do a better job at stabilizing movement on long shots? I have NOT tried one yet. What would be the order in trying to get the most stead shot? Help me with the order below or is this just way to vague. Or am I missing something. In order of best aid in steading a shot?

I want to take breathing, technique, posture all out of the equation.

1) Led Sled - Most steady
2) Bench Rest
3) Sand Bags
4) Hybrid Sand Bags and Bi-Pod
5) Bi-Pod alone.

Is a led sled usable in gun matches?
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I would say that short of strapping your gun down and actuating the trigger via a mouse click, there will “always be movement” if a human is touching the gun. Or, environmental factors will induce “movement” at the target. Accepting this and learning when to “send” that pellet or slug is key. I’m not a competitive shooter and like my bipod front and fist as my rear bag. Accepting the limitations it puts on my maximum potential accuracy. Why? Because it’s how I use my guns afield.
 
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I wound up purchasing a Caldwell Led Sled but unfortunately its not ideal.
1) based on how high it sits and my shooting location down into the yard from a two story location its very hard to get enough angle for a 50yd zero.
2) the way the stock fits its extremely loose. I can use a ruber strap to secure the barrel but the side to side movement is way to much present.
3) the way the stock sits the butt cheek is so far back that it messes with your eye relief. So you have to adjust your seating position which isnt the most comfortable position.

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I’m not a benchrest competitor but like many airgun and PB shooters I do a lot of shooting off a bench to zero the scope and test pellets for group size at various ranges out to 100 yards.
Typically I use the shown Crostac bag but I notice some fine left right movement that probably doesn’t help group size. I’m thinking I’m going to pick up a Hog Saddle and see if that minimizes the motion. I’ll attach it to something or other to sit on bench as rigid as possible.



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Many different techniques can work. I think the PB benchrest shooters use rests like a SEB or Sinclair. Rests which cost more than any of my PCPs. I bet they would help but I'm not ready to buy one. Caldwell had many much less expensive options. The Rock br would be my choice if I had to buy something I thought would help right now. Pretty substantial but reviews say it has a bit of slop in it. Spending 5 to 10 times more probably gets rid of the slop and adds precision to the movements. But using any "fancy" rest off a plastic flexible shooting bench isn't going to give the best results either. Concrete benches way to heavy to move are the standard for the PBs. I also agree completely with the sentiment already expressed that the shooter is more of the issue for most of us than the equipment. My choice for now, after trying several other setups, is a front bipod that adjusts for cant and a home made monopod in the back. Some guns might prefer a sandbag in the front but mine seem to do fine off the bipod.
 
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