Since the snow started coming down, most of my pistol shooting has moved indoors and unfortunately I didn't have enough time to finish developing a load for my new G17L. One of the things that I've have been struggling with is finding some kind of suitable rest to use for load development and for adjusting sights. The indoor range is often crowded, the benches are quite narrow and there aren't any sand bags or other things to use as a rest. You have to bring your own because anything left there will eventually get shot up or destroyed by idiots.
I've been using the beanbag I use for precision shooting up till now in various ways, but haven't been able to get consistency I want with it. The method that I normally use is to rest the front of the frame on a sandbag (trigger guard and slide NOT touching) and grip the gun how I normally would, but with the bottoms of my hands resting on the bench. Works well with a sandbag because it holds it shape well, so you can adjust it for height. That doesn't work with the beanbag. I tried wedging it against something and pushing into it. However, contact with the trigger guard creates inconsistencies. I also tried squeezing the beanbag with one hand to adjust height while firing with the other. Better, but still not as consistent as I can do with a sandbag.
Well today, I got fed-up and walked into the store (attached to the range) and bought a Caldwell Pistolero rest. Looked cheap and flimsy, but it was all that they had. It was only $35 and I figured if it showed promise I could reinforce it or build something similar out of metal. So, I got it along with a box of Winchester White Box 115 gr. and tested it out at 25 yards.
The first group I fired was the bottom one (10 shots). I adjusted the height with the pistol sitting on the rest, but with the additional weight of my hands on it when I fired the group, the rest was bending in the middle. I was using the flex in the rest to adjust the vertical (fighting with it is a better description). It worked ok, but not great.
So, I re-adjusted for height for the next square up and started shooting a group holding the pistol very lightly. Didn't work! Fired 5 shots and I could see them all over the place to the left of the target. So, I put pressure on the rest with my hand and re-adjusted the height. The next five shots clustered nicely and were back to the right side of the square.
I re-adjusted again for the top square putting pressure on the rest and fired a 10 shot group. It clustered in the same place as the last one, with only a couple flyers.
Not bad, but it requires a bit of technique. Better results could be had from a heavier, more solid rest. But, that would obviously cost more than $35.
Conclusion: It's not bad if you want something cheap that can help with consistency for load testing and such, and it can be improved with a bit of reinforcing. The pedestal is nice as is the front rest. However, they could have made this a lot more solid by simply adding a few extra ribs underneath, and an additional support in the center. Great ergonomic design, poor mechanical design. I will probably end up making one out of steel that has similar features.
I've been using the beanbag I use for precision shooting up till now in various ways, but haven't been able to get consistency I want with it. The method that I normally use is to rest the front of the frame on a sandbag (trigger guard and slide NOT touching) and grip the gun how I normally would, but with the bottoms of my hands resting on the bench. Works well with a sandbag because it holds it shape well, so you can adjust it for height. That doesn't work with the beanbag. I tried wedging it against something and pushing into it. However, contact with the trigger guard creates inconsistencies. I also tried squeezing the beanbag with one hand to adjust height while firing with the other. Better, but still not as consistent as I can do with a sandbag.
Well today, I got fed-up and walked into the store (attached to the range) and bought a Caldwell Pistolero rest. Looked cheap and flimsy, but it was all that they had. It was only $35 and I figured if it showed promise I could reinforce it or build something similar out of metal. So, I got it along with a box of Winchester White Box 115 gr. and tested it out at 25 yards.
The first group I fired was the bottom one (10 shots). I adjusted the height with the pistol sitting on the rest, but with the additional weight of my hands on it when I fired the group, the rest was bending in the middle. I was using the flex in the rest to adjust the vertical (fighting with it is a better description). It worked ok, but not great.
So, I re-adjusted for height for the next square up and started shooting a group holding the pistol very lightly. Didn't work! Fired 5 shots and I could see them all over the place to the left of the target. So, I put pressure on the rest with my hand and re-adjusted the height. The next five shots clustered nicely and were back to the right side of the square.
I re-adjusted again for the top square putting pressure on the rest and fired a 10 shot group. It clustered in the same place as the last one, with only a couple flyers.
Not bad, but it requires a bit of technique. Better results could be had from a heavier, more solid rest. But, that would obviously cost more than $35.
Conclusion: It's not bad if you want something cheap that can help with consistency for load testing and such, and it can be improved with a bit of reinforcing. The pedestal is nice as is the front rest. However, they could have made this a lot more solid by simply adding a few extra ribs underneath, and an additional support in the center. Great ergonomic design, poor mechanical design. I will probably end up making one out of steel that has similar features.
