Which one is better? I have the Sinclair, it's rock solid and smooth. I just ordered the bald eagle because I shoot left hand. I know I can mod the Sinclair. What do you guys think? Also, what is a Sinclair rest with br windage top worth? I'll likely keep both. But just curious.
Bald eagle vs. Sinclair rest.
- Thread starter rl4930
- Start date
lots of backlash in the bald eagle, especially in the windage adjustment. The post threads were so rough that when you unlocked the height adjustment the entire top would tilt 10 degrees to the side resulting in having to guess the elevation adjustment by trial and error to get your rifle to the height that you needed it for the next shot, spend a bit more and get something precision built
Not saying you have to go to a Seb to be happy......
I have used a half dozen front rests now, the affordable entry level rests all have some quirks and issues that you can either live with and cope or move on and hope the replacement is better. From personal experience I can tell you that caldwell rests have some issues with rough machining due to mass production and a known issue of plastic bushings that crush over time and bind the movements with the elevation adjustments and also serious backlash with the windage, They have 2 models but I think the first model was discontinued. Version 1 had a windage top that pivoted on a front pin for windage, also introducing serious torque on the forestock as it did so, however as advertised it did move your point of aim from right to left and vice versa. Version 2 had a true windage top that moved side to side in a true linear movement, the mechanics to make it do so are crude and elementary and serious amounts of backlash were present.
The Bald Eagle as outlined above had some issues with rough threads on the elevation that caused the post to lean hard to the side when unlocking the lock bar to make adjustment, but it did move up and down with no friction, unlike the caldwell, the cable used to run the windage top had far to much flex, when making windage adjustments the cable would flex until there was enough preload on it that the windage top would move, however when you stopped twisting and released the handle the top would spring back, and again the coarse roughly cut threads did not help with this issue, there was a noticeable wobble, both of these windage tops relied on both the threaded rod and springs to operate correctly.
The Cowan rest, machined by machine school students trumped the construction and usability of the 3 aforementioned rests hands down bar none, the windage had no backlash and the elevation adjustments where smooth, threads on the post and mariner wheel precise enough that the post and top did not lean when the lock was undone, price point was on or near enough to the bald eagle, the difference in price is also the difference in quality.
Windage tops may be highly over-rated, I guess it depends on what your shooting and how dependent you get on using it, 24 shooters per relay today and I think there was more fixed tops then windage tops in use, some of the top guys from around the world are bag squeezers and cannot give that up, others place as little pressure on the rear bag as possible to make the shot count, boils down to how you get used to shooting. I started way way back on a old cast orange rest, not even sure of the make but it was basic, switched to a midland front rest, upgraded to a caldwell rock, used a caldwell br 1000, bought the cowan, moved over to the bald eagle, moved on to the seb neo coaxial......if I had to downsize now after experiencing all of them I would go with the cowan, but I don't have to downsize lol.......but I sold everything off except the seb and the Cowan.
I have used a half dozen front rests now, the affordable entry level rests all have some quirks and issues that you can either live with and cope or move on and hope the replacement is better. From personal experience I can tell you that caldwell rests have some issues with rough machining due to mass production and a known issue of plastic bushings that crush over time and bind the movements with the elevation adjustments and also serious backlash with the windage, They have 2 models but I think the first model was discontinued. Version 1 had a windage top that pivoted on a front pin for windage, also introducing serious torque on the forestock as it did so, however as advertised it did move your point of aim from right to left and vice versa. Version 2 had a true windage top that moved side to side in a true linear movement, the mechanics to make it do so are crude and elementary and serious amounts of backlash were present.
The Bald Eagle as outlined above had some issues with rough threads on the elevation that caused the post to lean hard to the side when unlocking the lock bar to make adjustment, but it did move up and down with no friction, unlike the caldwell, the cable used to run the windage top had far to much flex, when making windage adjustments the cable would flex until there was enough preload on it that the windage top would move, however when you stopped twisting and released the handle the top would spring back, and again the coarse roughly cut threads did not help with this issue, there was a noticeable wobble, both of these windage tops relied on both the threaded rod and springs to operate correctly.
The Cowan rest, machined by machine school students trumped the construction and usability of the 3 aforementioned rests hands down bar none, the windage had no backlash and the elevation adjustments where smooth, threads on the post and mariner wheel precise enough that the post and top did not lean when the lock was undone, price point was on or near enough to the bald eagle, the difference in price is also the difference in quality.
Windage tops may be highly over-rated, I guess it depends on what your shooting and how dependent you get on using it, 24 shooters per relay today and I think there was more fixed tops then windage tops in use, some of the top guys from around the world are bag squeezers and cannot give that up, others place as little pressure on the rear bag as possible to make the shot count, boils down to how you get used to shooting. I started way way back on a old cast orange rest, not even sure of the make but it was basic, switched to a midland front rest, upgraded to a caldwell rock, used a caldwell br 1000, bought the cowan, moved over to the bald eagle, moved on to the seb neo coaxial......if I had to downsize now after experiencing all of them I would go with the cowan, but I don't have to downsize lol.......but I sold everything off except the seb and the Cowan.
calvados.boulard
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Victoria BC
I have a Cowan rest and can attest to the quality. Rock solid. Windage adjustments are smooth and consistent. I got mine with a 2nd top so I can have two different bags set up ready to go. Great rest from a great guy (Joe Cowan), and supports a good cause.
Thanks,
Cal.
Thanks,
Cal.
Ok! Thanks for the info guys. I decided to stick with the Sinclair and I cancelled the order for the bald eagle. I will check out the Cowan. I think I want my next rest to be a coaxial. I need the windage tops, as I'm not bag squeezing at all.
Thanks for the time and insight yodave.
Thanks for the time and insight yodave.
