I'm going to start shooting a rifle - Ruger mini 14 (223).
I usually shoot revolvers and know very little (i.e., nothing) about rifles.
What would you suggest for a gun rest for the bench? Fancy metal assemblage or plain old sandbag?
Goal: avoid unnecessary fatigue while getting familiar with the gun.
Thanks all.
Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
2A good bipod is a lot easier to hoof around than a sand (or shot) bag.
That rifle won't instill much fatigue, as it weighs practically nothing compared to many autoloaders.
SuBs
That rifle won't instill much fatigue, as it weighs practically nothing compared to many autoloaders.
SuBs
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Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
3Sandbags here. They are cheap.
Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
4Range bag or backpack that has any support structure. Seriously. Any soft surface that provides a lot of contact points along with enough structural support to help keep the barrel pointed down range will serve as a bench rest. My personal experience with bipods has basically been that they are too rigid, too easily moved, and don't contour well for stable bench rest shooting. They're a good field expedient when you can't sling your pack around though. However at the range I always have my range bag that i can rest the stock on. You don't need the extra weight of a sandbag or specialized rest most of the time.
Just a warning, don't do this with a muzzle break or an SBR. You don't want to tear up your bag. At that point you might want to consider the bipod or "fancy metal contraption" to deal with consistent concussion.
Also, some nicer ranges will have bench rests you can borrow on site if your bag is too flat.
EDIT: side note. while it may be tempting to use one of the big 30+ round magazines at the range, they don't lend themselves well to accurate rested shooting. They get in the way and require a larger bipod or rest to work effectively. You may want to stick with a stock 10 rounder if you have it.
Just a warning, don't do this with a muzzle break or an SBR. You don't want to tear up your bag. At that point you might want to consider the bipod or "fancy metal contraption" to deal with consistent concussion.
Also, some nicer ranges will have bench rests you can borrow on site if your bag is too flat.
EDIT: side note. while it may be tempting to use one of the big 30+ round magazines at the range, they don't lend themselves well to accurate rested shooting. They get in the way and require a larger bipod or rest to work effectively. You may want to stick with a stock 10 rounder if you have it.
Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
5I went with an Atlas bipod and a rear bean bag filled with poly beads from TAB Gear. Works well for me and it stows and transports easily.
Like the arrangement so well I added the same Bipod to my AR....I'll have to dig up a pix of that.....
Here they are:
As mentioned above the 10 round mag is yer friend - otherwise the mag is too long to comfortably get it configured. The one above is a 10 round Magpul PMAG.
VooDoo
Like the arrangement so well I added the same Bipod to my AR....I'll have to dig up a pix of that.....
Here they are:
As mentioned above the 10 round mag is yer friend - otherwise the mag is too long to comfortably get it configured. The one above is a 10 round Magpul PMAG.
VooDoo
Last edited by VodoundaVinci on Sat May 19, 2018 9:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
6I like the bipod (or sling) with no rear bag. There is no challenge to resting it and pulling the trigger remotely, so to speak. Oddly, what I enjoy most is offhand shooting with my lightest rifle.
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Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
7I use a soft bag of sand to rest the rifle on. Practice your breathing. You can see your heart beat in the scope, so you train yourself to fire the rifle between beats when the bouncing bullseye is quiet...
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Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
8For the purpose you describe, plain ol sandbag/your shooting bag/backpack. Somewhat less stable than a sandbag is a bag filled with airsoft pellets rather than sand. Much nicer to schlep around.
Bipods can be tricky. I still haven’t figured out how to shoot one as well as I’d like, but “as well as I’d like” is probably an absurd standard. The Atlas is very nice. If it looks too pricey for you then the basic Harris is a good choice. I suggest not going cheaper than that, as a shitty bipod is a source of misery.
A folded towel or blanket to pad your elbows is a good choice and the cheapest. Look up a bit about proper prone shooting position and duplicate the arm and shoulder positions while sitting at the bench, with or without a sling.
Bipods can be tricky. I still haven’t figured out how to shoot one as well as I’d like, but “as well as I’d like” is probably an absurd standard. The Atlas is very nice. If it looks too pricey for you then the basic Harris is a good choice. I suggest not going cheaper than that, as a shitty bipod is a source of misery.
A folded towel or blanket to pad your elbows is a good choice and the cheapest. Look up a bit about proper prone shooting position and duplicate the arm and shoulder positions while sitting at the bench, with or without a sling.
Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
9Thanks for all these swift & helpful replies. This also prompted me to pay the LGC dues, so I'm now 'official'.
Re: >> big 30+ round magazines at the range, <<
I think our local ranges don't allow them, but that is a practical point.
Actually the rifle only came with a 5-round magazine; I will look for a 10-round.
Which leads to another beginner question -- must an upLULA be sized for the # of rounds?
i.e., for a 5-round magazine, use a 5-round upLULA (and not a 10-round upLULA)
It seems like it shouldn't matter - when the magazine is full, you stop. ?
EDIT: maybe I mean stripLULA? I've only used such things with pistols.
Re: >> big 30+ round magazines at the range, <<
I think our local ranges don't allow them, but that is a practical point.
Actually the rifle only came with a 5-round magazine; I will look for a 10-round.
Which leads to another beginner question -- must an upLULA be sized for the # of rounds?
i.e., for a 5-round magazine, use a 5-round upLULA (and not a 10-round upLULA)
It seems like it shouldn't matter - when the magazine is full, you stop. ?
EDIT: maybe I mean stripLULA? I've only used such things with pistols.
Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
10For the range I have one of these,
The challenge using these is that parts on your rifle may catch on the rest and tear the fabric but if you're careful these last a long time and are inexpensive and easy to carry around.
For hunting I use a monopod. I even made a cheapo bipod strapping 2 monopods together with velcro straps.
The challenge using these is that parts on your rifle may catch on the rest and tear the fabric but if you're careful these last a long time and are inexpensive and easy to carry around.
For hunting I use a monopod. I even made a cheapo bipod strapping 2 monopods together with velcro straps.
Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
11I'm not so sure about practical, unless the range officers are unwilling or unable to step in and tell people to slow down on the trigger pulls during mag dumps. regardless, stripLULAs I thought could be loaded to however many rounds you wanted up to the max. Normally I don't need those with rifle magazines as the feed lips on them aren't so tight as to prevent me from just pushing them down with my thumb. I normally just use a single round upLULA for my pistol mags because the feed lips prevent me just pushing rounds in. I'm sceptical of stripLULAs for magazines like those as I haven't seen one that pushes the ammo back as it pushes it down.rustyrower wrote: Sat May 19, 2018 2:44 pm Thanks for all these swift & helpful replies. This also prompted me to pay the LGC dues, so I'm now 'official'.
Re: >> big 30+ round magazines at the range, <<
I think our local ranges don't allow them, but that is a practical point.
Actually the rifle only came with a 5-round magazine; I will look for a 10-round.
Which leads to another beginner question -- must an upLULA be sized for the # of rounds?
i.e., for a 5-round magazine, use a 5-round upLULA (and not a 10-round upLULA)
It seems like it shouldn't matter - when the magazine is full, you stop. ?
EDIT: maybe I mean stripLULA? I've only used such things with pistols.
Just remember to take your time and pace yourself. If you get anxious or impatient, it's liable to make aiming harder. This isn't action shooting.
Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
12I have a Mini-14 and use a Harris bipod with it. It works fine, though I'm not sure it's any better than sandbags. I also use a stripLula to load my 20-30 round mags. The stripLula will hold 10 rounds at once, though I usually only put in 5 at a time because it's easier to use that way.
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Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
13Bipods have been falling out of favor over the past couple decades. I just gave up my last one to go to bags exclusively.
A lot of successful shooters just use the packs they take to the range with them.
Bluejean legs filled with sand tend to be really good.
Regards,
Josh
A lot of successful shooters just use the packs they take to the range with them.
Bluejean legs filled with sand tend to be really good.
Regards,
Josh
Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
14To Josh: I knew I'd find a use for the bits from my cutoffs.
And thanks to others for clearing up the stripLULA question.
And thanks to others for clearing up the stripLULA question.
Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
15I bought cheap sandbag rifle rests from ebay and filled them with kitty litter which is marginally less messy than sand.
Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
16Thanks again to all for the advice.
In the end, it turned out the range has blocks for rests, the magazines are not so laborious to load after all, and the range officers helped me get sorted out.
I'm having fun with the rifle.
In the end, it turned out the range has blocks for rests, the magazines are not so laborious to load after all, and the range officers helped me get sorted out.
I'm having fun with the rifle.
Re: bench rest for rifle, what to use?
17Use a jacket for extra padding on blocks if you need to.rustyrower wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 5:31 pm Thanks again to all for the advice.
In the end, it turned out the range has blocks for rests, the magazines are not so laborious to load after all, and the range officers helped me get sorted out.
I'm having fun with the rifle.