Shooting benches

MilitaryCollectorMark said:
Would you have any other photos?
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Not on hand. Maybe this weekend I will drag it out of the shed and take some photos showing more detail

The front legs are splayed out a few degrees both sideways and forward. The rear leg is splayed out rearwards. I made the top with 2 layers of 3/4" Fir plywood laminated together. With the heavy top and splayed legs it is a solid as a rock.

This is the design: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Rick+Jamison+shooting+bench&atb=v314-1&ia=web
 
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There's a bench you can make out of 1 sheet of 3/4" plywood. You don't need anything else. You need to be able to cut the pieces out and everything slots together. Its a rigid bench and completely portable. It's also ambidextrous, you just need to flip the top over. I found the plans on the net, if you search for it you'll find it.
 
I avoid benches.

They are almost always set up in a way where its very difficult to get straight back behind the rifle, look at how canted you generally have to be to shoot from a typical shooting bench. Not conducive to shooting good groups.

I shoot prone or from a tripod. I don't practice from a bench, as I never shoot from the bench in real situations. I don't drag a shooting bench with me to competitions or for hunting, so I don't see any point in practicing from one.
 
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Built this a few years ago.
 
kthomas said:
I avoid benches.

They are almost always set up in a way where its very difficult to get straight back behind the rifle, look at how canted you generally have to be to shoot from a typical shooting bench. Not conducive to shooting good groups.

I shoot prone or from a tripod. I don't practice from a bench, as I never shoot from the bench in real situations. I don't drag a shooting bench with me to competitions or for hunting, so I don't see any point in practicing from one.
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True, why I like to see bench setups to get ideas.

I agree on your take on bench test shooting other than it’s the only way, for me, to confirm POI. I surely can’t do it offhand and while I can prone the ground is really cold here almost half the year.

I am curious to how the guys shooting the tightest groups do it from a bench? Nothing meant from the comment. I practice free hand, tripod, bench, prone, off hand etc for whatever situation I need. My worst still is off hand free hand, goes to figure though.

Thanks for your input.

I edit to add this also for my young daughters who, while can shoot sub MOA groups are not strong enough to shoulder a rifle free hand nor can they lay in the snow very long prone. They do try.
 
Southcountryguy said:
True, why I like to see bench setups to get ideas.

I agree on your take on bench test shooting other than it’s the only way, for me, to confirm POI. I surely can’t do it offhand and while I can prone the ground is really cold here almost half the year.

I am curious to how the guys shooting the tightest groups do it from a bench? Nothing meant from the comment. I practice free hand, tripod, bench, prone, off hand etc for whatever situation I need. My worst still is off hand free hand, goes to figure though.

Thanks for your input.

I edit to add this also for my young daughters who, while can shoot sub MOA groups are not strong enough to shoulder a rifle free hand nor can they lay in the snow very long prone. They do try.
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Build a bench that allows you to be completely 100% square behind the rifle.

Most benches have those cutouts on either the left or right side (or both), which forces you to be really canted behind the rifle. There's no need for those, a square surface would be better.

I would just build a rectangular bench that has enough room front to rear to hold your rifle from bipod to rear bag, and enough room to support your elbows as well. No fancy geometry needed. Bench will be longer, but will be much better for shooting.

In the winter, you could also shoot off of a shooting mat in the prone position, or put a sheet of plywood on the ground with a shooting mat on top of that.
 
kthomas said:
Build a bench that allows you to be completely 100% square behind the rifle.

Most benches have those cutouts on either the left or right side (or both), which forces you to be really canted behind the rifle. There's no need for those, a square surface would be better.

I would just build a rectangular bench that has enough room front to rear to hold your rifle from bipod to rear bag, and enough room to support your elbows as well. No fancy geometry needed. Bench will be longer, but will be much better for shooting.

In the winter, you could also shoot off of a shooting mat in the prone position, or put a sheet of plywood on the ground with a shooting mat on top of that.
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Thanks for the tips.

In winter we set 3/4” ply on 2” rigid insulation, then blankets to be comfy, wish I had pics. Still gets cold fast for my girls. At a bench with insulated seat they do better and I do better punching paper. Also compact take down design would be transportable to the gopher patch.

Again, thanks.
 
kthomas said:
Keep in mind that a compact take down design will compromise on stability. No free lunch.
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Absolutely, I am also a tradesman with enough experience to know I don’t know it all and to ask for ideas. With the right leg splay and angle you can be remarkably stable, like a saw horse and especially with adjustable legs.

Thanks.
 
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