I was out shooting yesterday morning and I watched this dude unload his 40lb sled, strap his gun to it and proceed to knock out some pretty fair groups with a 7mm. He then proceeded to tell me that that was the only way to turn out super tight groups. I asked if I could shoot at one of his 200 yard targets, then produced a tighter group than either of his first two off only a bipod. :D

What fun is had or knowledge or skill gained by strapping a gun to an immovable object and doing nothing to the gun other than pulling the trigger? What do you derive from that?Am I missing something here?

I could see using it for sighting in and for seeing how adjustments you made affects its accuracy while removing the human factor. Other than that it seems like a really expensive hole punch.

it is a whole different game, that's for sure. personally, i don't understand it. what i do know is lots of the rifle accuracy technology is learned from the bench rest guys. i won't put down their sport at all.

I could see using it for sighting in and for seeing how adjustments you made affects its accuracy while removing the human factor. .

And the weight helps to lesson/remove the effects of recoil.

I know folks that use the sled&strap method for zeroing.
But in actual benchrest competition you can't tie down the rifle can you?

Was this a hunting gun (7 mag) strapped to a Caldwell lead sled?? Elaborate some on his gun. If it was a lead sled, then not quite benchrest.

I know people who sight in magnums with a lead sled and then wonder why they miss everything in the field. :laughing::laughing:

In some of the heavy gun classes, they do use a sled/rail type setup.

I didn't look at his gun that carefully. He did mention that that is the only way he shoots. It was not a Caldwell sled but some heavy contraption that he struggled to get up on the bench.

I won't put it down since I agree with you Sniper, I just don't see what pleasure you could get out of it. When I shoot, I go home happy when I have accomplished some goal or shoot to a good point.

I didn't look at his gun that carefully. He did mention that that is the only way he shoots. It was not a Caldwell sled but some heavy contraption that he struggled to get up on the bench.

I won't put it down since I agree with you Sniper, I just don't see what pleasure you could get out of it. When I shoot, I go home happy when I have accomplished some goal or shoot to a good point.

Maybe he has some type of shoulder injury to keep him from shooting heavy loads. But if he pulled it up on the bench, then maybe not.

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God Bless,
David B.

I have a couple friends like that...

They are more interested in reloading the PERFECT set of rounds, then shooting the rifle..

I personally would rather have the satisfaction of shooting well on my own with nothing but me and my rifle. I can see where it would be useful when zeroing or testing new loads though.

I could see using it for sighting in and for seeing how adjustments you made affects its accuracy while removing the human factor. Other than that it seems like a really expensive hole punch.

One beef I have about my local range is lack of a solid rest for testing my handloads. I'm not the greatest pistol shot & wouldn't mind knowing if it's the pistol/load or me.

The deal with benchrest is that it makes the equipment more critical. To be competitive you most certainly most have some shooting skills, but you most also have your equipment performing at the top too. Shooters of more practical type competitions certainly can benefit from good equipment, but it doesn't make or break you like it does in benchrest.

It ultimately ends up being pretty darn interesting and expensive. Plenty of things to tinker with, and more cool blingy expensive toys to buy.

Truthfully, that guy didn't sound like a benchrest competitor, but simply somebody with some sort of home made mechanical rest for testing his rifles.
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I have a lead-sled type rest I use, but no strap. I can see two advantages

1. zero a scope
2. test re-loads

It takes the shooter out of the equation and give you an accurate measurement of the gun and load. If your testing a lot of loads off a bench it also saves the shoulder. My hunting rifles are all pretty lite, shoot enough rounds off a bench and it it gets punishing on the shoulder even for 30-06 recoil. I practice shooting in all the standard positions, but don't have a bipod on any of my rifles ( too much bulk for hunting).

the chain is as strong as its weakest link. i do not care how accurate the rifle is if i cannot hold the group. i can see the usefulness of a sled but i do not have one. if you are worried about recoil tho... your round is too big

Some of the sleds are a whole lot heavier than 40# iffen the guy the OP was watching was a actually a heavy bench shooter and not just someone messing with loads with a Cabelas anti recoil fixture...

Been a follower of the sport of Heavy Bench for years but never got involved mostly cuz of the issue of the "shooter" not being that actively involved but also cuz of the $$$ for a competitive piece as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benchrest_shooting

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Railgun1.jpg

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=5669230

http://uk.video.yahoo.com/watch/3547779

The objective is a 1 hole 5 shot group to be competitive.

D.

I didn't think 7mm was competitive in Benchrest. All 6 or 6.5 mm. Does anyone here compete ??

I can understand the sport of benchrest shooting or heavy benchrest shooting but I have no interest in that. It looks like it takes all the fun out of it. It does raise a question, though:

It's easy to build a very high tolerance gun, have precise handloads and measure your distance to target precisely, but how do you account for winds? It seems to me that just the slightest change in wind would have a dramatic effect on a hyper-accurate gun.

... It does raise a question, though:

It's easy to build a very high tolerance gun, have precise handloads and measure your distance to target precisely, but how do you account for winds? It seems to me that just the slightest change in wind would have a dramatic effect on a hyper-accurate gun.

From what Ive read and seen, therein lies the shooters ability...i.e. the ability to "read the wind" and compensate accordingly/repeatably cuz there taint no such thing as a perfectly breezeless or mirageless day at any range on this planet... ;)

D.

From what Ive read and seen, therein lies the shooters ability...i.e. the ability to "read the wind" and compensate accordingly/repeatably cuz there taint no such thing as a perfectly breezeless or mirageless day at any range on this planet... ;)

D.

unless it was the Houston warehouse

...and measure your distance to target precisely, ...

What I've wondered, from a competition standpoint. How do they measure out precisely the distance such that all competitors are shooting exactly the same distance? I would bet that one side of the range could vary from the next by 5 to 10 feet and not be entirely noticeable.

What I've wondered, from a competition standpoint. How do they measure out precisely the distance such that all competitors are shooting exactly the same distance? I would bet that one side of the range could vary from the next by 5 to 10 feet and not be entirely noticeable.

they know the range because the are shooting at actual engineered ranges. the square ranges that they are shooting on are most likely nra certified to be within specs to keep it all equal.


I can understand the sport of benchrest shooting or heavy benchrest shooting but I have no interest in that. It looks like it takes all the fun out of it. It does raise a question, though:

It's easy to build a very high tolerance gun, have precise handloads and measure your distance to target precisely, but how do you account for winds? It seems to me that just the slightest change in wind would have a dramatic effect on a hyper-accurate gun.

reading wind is an absolute must for competitive bench rest shooting. i drive by the 200 yard bench rest shooters on the way to our 1k yard match. they must have hundreds of wind indicators all over the range between them and their target. on the 1k range, they have flags every 15 yards. during our matches, we have a flag at 200 yards, 600 yards and 1k yards. last weekend, we tied all the flags against the poles to add a challenge to the match. you needed to be able to read the mirage to judge wind. i usually use mirage over wind anyways.

I didn't think 7mm was competitive in Benchrest. All 6 or 6.5 mm. Does anyone here compete ??



i don't follow benchrest but i would bet the 7mm is very competitive in the heavy gun class. the 7mm 180 grain berger vld bullet has a higher bc than all 6.5 and under bullets and almost all 30 cal bullets. they can be driven fast in 7wsm and larger cases. you would need a 210 grain berger vld 30 cal bullet to match the 7mm vld's performance. the 7mm may not be very popular in the short range benchrest matches.

they know the range because the are shooting at actual engineered ranges. the square ranges that they are shooting on are most likely nra certified to be within specs to keep it all equal.




reading wind is an absolute must for competitive bench rest shooting. i drive by the 200 yard bench rest shooters on the way to our 1k yard match. they must have hundreds of wind indicators all over the range between them and their target. on the 1k range, they have flags every 15 yards. during our matches, we have a flag at 200 yards, 600 yards and 1k yards. last weekend, we tied all the flags against the poles to add a challenge to the match. you needed to be able to read the mirage to judge wind. i usually use mirage over wind anyways.





i don't follow benchrest but i would bet the 7mm is very competitive in the heavy gun class. the 7mm 180 grain berger vld bullet has a higher bc than all 6.5 and under bullets and almost all 30 cal bullets. they can be driven fast in 7wsm and larger cases. you would need a 210 grain berger vld 30 cal bullet to match the 7mm vld's performance. the 7mm may not be very popular in the short range benchrest matches.

Peruse the Precision shooter site or pick up one of their "how to" compendiums of various articles from their magazine they publish iffen ya haven't.

The words retentive and OCD come to mind for a whole lot of the preferred techniques for reloading, hardware, etc., the amusing thing is how the top bench shooters deal with wind/mirage, "its magic, a whole lot of experience with a little luck thrown in" is real typical advice/thoughts on the matter...:D

D.

unless it was the Houston warehouse

Most people will have no clue what you're talking about.

Most people will have no clue what you're talking about.

I just read that story recently...

I personally would rather have the satisfaction of shooting well on my own with nothing but me and my rifle. I can see where it would be useful when zeroing or testing new loads though.

I get more pleasure out of "maiking it harder". I like the challenge of hitting a squirrel in the head with a 32 caliber patched round ball opposed to precisely shooting its eye out.

I've shot long range rifle quite a bit. Once I got to a certain skill level, it just didn't turn me on. Sled guns never did anything for me at all.

I get more pleasure out of "making it harder". I like the challenge of hitting a squirrel in the head with a 32 caliber patched round ball opposed to precisely shooting its eye out...



Ditto, but I do like the challenge of at least attempting shooting the eye out...offhand. :D

In my case anyway, the intrigue of the heavy bench is more the mech design engineer in me that's likes precision toys than wanting one. I also like cross patched .50 cal 40 rod rifles with a barrel that's as big around as a mans bicep ML slug guns for the same reason...

D.