Front rest for bench/field shooting~have you guys seen these?

.22LRGUY

.22LRGUY

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Hey guys~first off...I'm a person who hand loads for his varmint guns, not a target rifle owner/shooter. However, I'm not satisfied with my handloads until I can see five shots at least touching @ 100 yards. That was easy with my .223, only @ 3/4" with my new .243Win. I'm mustering the courage to try and bed that rifle, but I've never done it before. That's for another thread. Anyhow, having shot off some home made bags..I started digging around on US Varmint-shooting forums..and found a fair bit of affection for the bench bags made by this guy; http://www.dog-gone-good.com/ Apparently, rock-solid things. If I understand it right, he makes them for Sinclair and Brownell's as well. I've seen a similar bag made by Caldwell's for about $41.

I guess the questions are these~have you guys seen, or used bags like this? Opinion? Source for them in Canada? With a rear bag, it strikes me as being a good choice for range/load testing work, as I only do that maybe 2-3 times a year. I could see it being pretty good for prone shooting in the field, provided you didn't have to carry it too far. I would prefer to buy something like this in Canada vs. getting dinged by our poor dollar, by UPS brokerage, etc.

Anyhow, thanks for chiming-in. Much appreciated!
 
I have one like this from Caldwell and its OK if the height fits you, your rifle and your rear bag. Mine developed a small leak after a year of use and the surface between the ears is quite beat up, largely due to shooting rifles with aggressive picatinny rails on the bottom of the stock.

I find I don't use it much anymore since I bought a mechanical bench rest.
 
I prefer using a sand bag. I'd look into jsa large bag, I've used it as a rest for my 22 LR and was getting 1/2" groups at 50m. It's heavy enough to not move around light enough for field use, and you can cinch to make smaller/harder. It doesn't hold your rifle upright like with bunny ear bags, but I found I didn't like something holding the rifle in place.
 
bsand said:
I prefer using a sand bag. I'd look into jsa large bag, I've used it as a rest for my 22 LR and was getting 1/2" groups at 50m. It's heavy enough to not move around light enough for field use, and you can cinch to make smaller/harder. It doesn't hold your rifle upright like with bunny ear bags, but I found I didn't like something holding the rifle in place.
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Thanks bsand~I really like the look of those bags. Much appreciated.
 
For prone shooting, those X bags are going to be way too low... better to just use a Harris or tip top and a rear sock or fist.

They are great for those in the PD fields who shoot off a hood or table. I have similar and it works ok... heavy when filled, kind of slow to adjust... As much as the "clamping" style was supposed to help, I actually ended up not liking it.

I have found that best accuracy is when the front and rear are supported, allowing the rifle to move smoothly and straight under recoil. All the stuff I have tried that works by holding the rifle in place, usually ends up with horrid flyers as the hold varies from shot to shot

YMMV

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
For prone shooting, those X bags are going to be way too low... better to just use a Harris or tip top and a rear sock or fist.

They are great for those in the PD fields who shoot off a hood or table. I have similar and it works ok... heavy when filled, kind of slow to adjust... As much as the "clamping" style was supposed to help, I actually ended up not liking it.

I have found that best accuracy is when the front and rear are supported, allowing the rifle to move smoothly and straight under recoil. All the stuff I have tried that works by holding the rifle in place, usually ends up with horrid flyers as the hold varies from shot to shot

YMMV

Jerry
Click to expand...

Are those tip top bipods any good? There seem to be a plethora of Harris knock offs.
 
Mystic Precision said:
For prone shooting, those X bags are going to be way too low... better to just use a Harris or tip top and a rear sock or fist.

They are great for those in the PD fields who shoot off a hood or table. I have similar and it works ok... heavy when filled, kind of slow to adjust... As much as the "clamping" style was supposed to help, I actually ended up not liking it.

I have found that best accuracy is when the front and rear are supported, allowing the rifle to move smoothly and straight under recoil. All the stuff I have tried that works by holding the rifle in place, usually ends up with horrid flyers as the hold varies from shot to shot

YMMV

Jerry
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Best answer.

That being said, I've got the filled caldwell version if you want to buy it lol. Shipping to Ontario would probably ruin any savings however.
 
The bags are great for plinking,gopher shooting,or things like that. I've had a medium sized front one for five plus years. It works great but as was mentioned it's too low to use on the ground.
I ordered directly from them. They were great to deal with and I believe their products are warrantied for life.
 
BioPace said:
Are those tip top bipods any good? There seem to be a plethora of Harris knock offs.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the slow reply.. missed your question

I just got a tip top bipod and inspection showed a very well made set up. I have to get out and shoot it a while before deciding if it is better then a Harris.

Certainly the features it offers are better.... I just don't know how durable it is.

Many of the Harris clones are very poorly make with thinner materials and even more slop... they are built to a price point NOT performance.

I sense the Tip Top is the first I have seen that focuses on actually improving function at a fair price.... get some real world feedback when I get some time to shoot with it.

Jerry
 
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