Need some Rest advice

[Baal]

I'm looking at buying a Sinclair Rest. For use with my Cooper LVT 17HMR with a 2" wide fore end. I'm not a competition shooter, but am fairly serious about wanting small groups.

Should I go with the all purpose rest or the benchrest rest? And for the rear bag should I go with leather or cordura? And what height ears?

Thanks
B

 

[cycbb486]

Hello Norway House.......

Been many years since I have set foot in that place. One of the nicest Northern communities I have been to.

In regards to the bags for the rest, front and back, I would go cordura. The rear bags are leather. Just make sure they have cordura ears. The Sinclair rests are nice but if you want to give a little to a good cause how about the Cowan rest? They are talked about quite often in the US Benchrest circle and priced pretty good.


http://www.benchrest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26854&highlight=cowan+rest+pictures

The rests are made by Joe and students with I believe disabilities. The money is used to fund projects at the school if I am correct.


Calvin

 

[Trevor60]

I have Joe Cowan's rest it has good features with solid adjustment, it can be used for bench or F class shooting (I will have longer leg installed for F class). To order one you will have to put your name on a waiting list and then wait for the school to complete a production run. It could be weeks/months before the next run. Contact Joe at jcowan1@aasdcat.com for details. The rest is $200+ U.S.

A serious alternative to look at would be the Caldwell rock rest. Its a decent rest for the price. Check out the web report on Jeff Cochrane 2005 F class champion over on 6mmbr he used a Caldwell rest. sorry i can access the link at the moment

 

[Oscar Makonka]

I would go with the Sinclair or Hart rest and get one with a windage adjustable top for a few extra $. Have a cowan, while its a nice rest I find it is too light in weight. Also have a caldwell "rock" a very basic rest and much too light. if your gonna shoot benchrest you need something that isn't going to move around on the bench and one that has smooth adjustments. I would go with the all purpose top if your going to possibly use other rifles with different forend styles and widths. There are all kinds of rests out there but the basic sinclair or hart are a pretty hard to beat for the money.

 

[Trevor60]

HI Oscar
What model of Cowan rest do you own the one with aluminum or brass legs?
I have the newer model with Brass legs and the extra weight lower on the rest provides a very solid platform.

Baal you can't go wrong with any model listed it would come down to function over fashion. If your going to limit yourself to your 17hmr or other factory varmint/hunting rifles look at buying one of the more basic rest and use the money left over to buy MORE AMMO.

Here is some additional pic of the cowan with the brass legs

http://grosbier.com/cowan.jpg

 

[TERRY CLOSE]

Caldwells Br 1000 Front Rest Which Is Supposed To Way 24 Lbs But Mine Must Have Gone On A Diet Before I Got It, Is Actually A Real Nice Rest. Adjustable Windage The Works And Way Cheaper Than Sinclair. Make Sure To Get The Front Rest Also As The 3 Inch That Comes With It Is A Joke.

 

[cycbb486]

I have the

Caldwell 1000 BR rest. It works well and is a great starting platform. The only thing that I will change is putting on a Ron Hoehn Joystick top for it. Runs about 250.00 US for the top. I put longer adjusting screws for the feet as well.

 

[Baal]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Right now it'll just be for the Cooper, but I expect I'll want to use it with other guns too.

Should I go with cordura or leather? The Cooper has AA Claro walnut and I'd rather not get it marked up. Oh, and what height ears would work best?

B

 

[Oscar Makonka]

HI Oscar
What model of Cowan rest do you own the one with aluminum or brass legs?

Trevor, yes, mine has Aluminum legs. It sometimes tilts ahead when trying to return the gun to battery. I use baby powder on the front bag to reduce the friction, helps much.

Baal, if you have a cheek piece on your stock, or might use another gun with one, you should go to the rear rest with low ears, A cheekpiece will cause the gun to torque in the direction opposite the cheekpiece should it hit the high ears on recoil and plays havoc with the tracking and tends to disturb the rear bag position then when the gun retuns to battery for the next shot it will be pointing somewhere else besides where it was before. You want to have the gun slide straight back and then straight ahead to return in same position for the next shot. If you shoot in a timed BR match you don't want to be repositioning your bags after every shot.

If you dont want to sctarch up your stock, most guys use clear 3M tape on the stock to prevent marring it. Cordura ears tend to be in fashion and seems to be prefered over leather ears these days. it is less affected by humidity and has better consistency in friction when the stock tracks back and forth on it, leather should it get damp will grab the gun harder than when dry not to mention that it will stretch when wet and contract as it drys out. The bag itself is fine with either fabric or leather but needs a stiff base that will stay flat and not rock or roll around on the bench.