Ransom shooting Rest

[jiminthecorner]

I don't know if it me only but can someone explain when testing handgun accuracy why the Ransom Rig only shoots 1.5 to 2" groups??!! I would expect it to shoot into one ragged hole but it seems not so. I,ve seen tests in the NRA mag and many others. What causes the discrepancies?? When I have my rifle in a VISE IT SHOOTS < THAN 1"" GROUPS OR FAR LESS!!Any way its a question I'VE always wanted to ask> jITC

 

[JBD]

The ransom rest test the gun and ammo for its mechanical accuracy. I have a target rifle capable of shooting .3 inch groups at 100 yards with excellent ammo and about 6 inches groups with poor ammo. If you held it in a vice, I would not might damage it, but it would take away any aiming errors that I would have with my .3 inch group and 6 inch group with poor ammo.

 

[Onty]

I don't know if it me only but can someone explain when testing handgun accuracy why the Ransom Rig only shoots 1.5 to 2" groups?...

Ransom Rest tests how good are handgun and ammo, eliminating human error in that process. If handgun-ammo combo make 6 inch group at 25 yds, Ransom Rest cannot improve the group, it can just eliminate me or you as a another source of the error that would otherwise make group from 7 to 20” (or more ), depends how skilled is shooter. Some folks claim that they could get better group than Ransom Rest. Well, for 0.001% that could be correct. For rest of us ordinary mortals, Ransom Rest is the only way to see what is really going on. Clamp handgun well (follow instructions) and make sure that return down and trigger pull are uniform…

 

[Grizzlypeg]

The rest creates the perfect conditions to measure the true accuracy potential of the handgun. But if the gun and ammo are only capable of 4" groups, that's all it will shoot, even when held down steady and all user error is eliminated. There are guns that will shoot extremely tight groups in a ransom rest, and a great shooter may come close to duplicating that. But you can't do any better than the guns capable of except by luck.

 

[sillymike]

There's a world of difference between what kind of group a rifle can shoot and what a pistol can shoot...

 

[EdGCNM]

There is a certain degree of skill required to use a Ransom Rest properly. For one thing, if it is not anchored into a VERY secure mounting point it may not return to exactly the same spot between shots. And with some guns (e.g. 1911's) it must be re-sighted for each shot or it may not group as well as a human using the sights. The barrel on a 1911 is not attached to the frame of the gun, it locks into the slide. The slide often shifts slightly on the frame between shots. The RR holds the frame of the gun, and that is not necessarily where the gun is aiming.