Accurate shooting from a bench

In my opinion when using a tripod, the legs should be 90 degrees to the bore! If they are angled either forward or backward as shown in many photos on here, the groups will suffer. Before some of you blow a gasket, which I know is gonna happen. Im not saying great groups cant be shot off a bipod with the legs tipped but better groups are available with the same gun with the legs 90 to the bore.
 
I shoot off of front and rear bags. Trial and error has taught me that using a bipod on a hard concrete or wooden surface such as a shooting bench may result in upwards "muzzle jump" just as the round is fired. Through experimentation I have determined that the use of a bag results in straight-back recoil rather than the upwards jump that I experienced using a bipod. It didn't seem to matter how I loaded the bipod - I still got muzzle jump immediately upon firing. So I now reserve bipod use for the field, period.
 
Bartok5 said:
I shoot off of front and rear bags. Trial and error has taught me that using a bipod on a hard concrete or wooden surface such as a shooting bench may result in upwards "muzzle jump" just as the round is fired. Through experimentation I have determined that the use of a bag results in straight-back recoil rather than the upwards jump that I experienced using a bipod. It didn't seem to matter how I loaded the bipod - I still got muzzle jump immediately upon firing. So I now reserve bipod use for the field, period.
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I thought this was common knowledge. Yet, tons of people seem to like bipods for some reason. Go figure. Again, there's a reason pretty much all unlimited benchrest competitors have a one-piece rest. They'd be using bipods if bipods were superior. I mean, bipods are a make-shift way to get a stable shooting platform in the field, i.e., shooting at the enemy in random locations. When transportation and speed of setup are not an issue, as in, you're not surprised by the enemy and need to shoot as quickly as possible with some stability, there are better alternatives. A good competition-dedicated front rest and rear bag is a much better alternative, and a one-piece rest is another step above that. The one-piece rest is felt to be such an advantage that certain shooting sports don't allow them, and you must then resort to the next best alternative, a good front rest and rear bag. A front rest combined with a separate rear rest is another alternative. But the one-piece beats them all. They are cumbersome, however. A bipod is rather convenient, but it is not the best thing to shoot off of. You're giving away performance by using one if you are not required to use one.
 
The FTR game has created some very interesting 'bipods'. So stable they have been 'ruled' out of some games that require the use of a bipod.

There is a huge difference in how a rigid vs a foldy bipod operates... and then you add the benefits of skis vs peg/feet. You don't load the MPOD when you shoot.

When you look at the F class game, the accuracy difference between Open and FTR is moot yet one class uses front pedestal rests akin to what a table top BR shoot would choose, while the other uses 'bipods'. One can weigh as little as 13ozs... while the other is in kg's

YMMV

Jerry
 
Fore and aft gun rests are all very well, but I'm trying to build skills that are useful, which is to say reproduceable, in the wild, so will either shoot with just a bipod, or perhaps my range bag, as a rest. It is of course also possible to bench shoot freehold, ie, sitting down and resting both arms on the bench, but the enflamed tendons in my elbows won't take that. They should make those benches with softer wood, lol.
 
Big Bad said:
Fore and aft gun rests are all very well, but I'm trying to build skills that are useful, which is to say reproduceable, in the wild, so will either shoot with just a bipod, or perhaps my range bag, as a rest. It is of course also possible to bench shoot freehold, ie, sitting down and resting both arms on the bench, but the enflamed tendons in my elbows won't take that. They should make those benches with softer wood, lol.
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_Shorty said:
I thought this was common knowledge. Yet, tons of people seem to like bipods for some reason. Go figure. Again, there's a reason pretty much all unlimited benchrest competitors have a one-piece rest. They'd be using bipods if bipods were superior. I mean, bipods are a make-shift way to get a stable shooting platform in the field, i.e., shooting at the enemy in random locations. When transportation and speed of setup are not an issue, as in, you're not surprised by the enemy and need to shoot as quickly as possible with some stability, there are better alternatives. A good competition-dedicated front rest and rear bag is a much better alternative, and a one-piece rest is another step above that. The one-piece rest is felt to be such an advantage that certain shooting sports don't allow them, and you must then resort to the next best alternative, a good front rest and rear bag. A front rest combined with a separate rear rest is another alternative. But the one-piece beats them all. They are cumbersome, however. A bipod is rather convenient, but it is not the best thing to shoot off of. You're giving away performance by using one if you are not required to use one.
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Shorty is absolutely right. Bipods -- good quality ones -- are certainly much more available in Canada than any good front and rear rest system. While it's possible to find Caldwell variations of front rests in Canada (I've used them) it gets hard to find others. Good bipod systems are much more readily available.

The one-piece rest is the type that's preferred by serious benchrest shooters, but the problem for Canadian shooters is often how to get one. There was a time when shipping them from their U.S. sources of sale or manufacture was not an obstacle. Now it's less straightforward.

When a one-piece rest such as the one shown by Shorty is not available, a mechanical rear rest such as that made by PQP combined with a good quality front rest may be the next best choice for rimfire benchrest shooting.

 
grauhanen said:
The one-piece rest is the type that's preferred by serious benchrest shooters, but the problem for Canadian shooters is often how to get one. There was a time when shipping them from their U.S. sources of sale or manufacture was not an obstacle. Now it's less straightforward.
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Yeah, I think I lucked out. It was a bit of a song and dance to convince him to ship me one, as he said he doesn't ship to Canada. I got the impression that he didn't want to have to go out of the shop to drop it off, whereas his usual domestic shipper picked up straight from the shop. He wouldn't take the order at first, but a day or two later he had a change of heart. Maybe sales were a little slow that week, hehe. I've actually been wondering about demand if a guy were to start making front rests, or one-piece rests, in Canada. It does seem like they're hard to get and have been for many years.
 
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