"The Accurate Rifle" by Warren Page is the best book on benchrest shooting that I've ever read.

You must be comfortable when shooting from the bench.  Whatever you must do to get comfortable, do it. There are two types of front rest commonly used, the muzzle clamp and the sand bag. The muzzle clamp is a device which clamps on the barrel of the rifle and which has two feet that slide on a flat surface. The muzzle clamp is also called an "anti-cant" device, since it keeps the shooter from canting or twisting the rifle about the long axis. The sand bag is a sand bag. When either a sand bag or a muzzle clamp is used, they are supported by a "bench rest". This "bench rest" can be one of the precisely adjustable and expensive rests, or a box or a block of wood. The butt stock is supported by a sand bag.

The type or cost of bench rest equipment used is not nearly as important as the technique the shooter uses.

You can make a pretty good set of sand bags from shot bags.  Shotgun shooters buy shot in cloth bags, and will happily give them away.  Fill the bags with dried peas or beans or rice or whatever else you can think of. Don't use sand because every shot will knock a little cloud of sand dust out of the bags to settle on the innards of your rifle. The full shot bag works well as the front bag. The rear bag should be smaller, a little bigger than a softball. The bottom of the butt stock must ride in a "u" shaped channel in the rear bag. The bottom of the stock must be well below the top of the bag. Use big rubber bands to hold everything together until you've got it right, and then sew the bags up. Put the front bag on a box or a block of wood or several blocks of wood or whatever works. Unless you're desperate to get rid of the money, don't buy a bench rest and bags until the homemade equipment limits your shooting ability. By that time you will have a good idea of what type of rest and bags you want.

Sit down so you're facing the rifle, almost at right angles to it. Your chest should be resting on the edge of the bench. Get the rifle on the rests so that it is aimed at the target. Hold the rifle with your right hand on the wrist of the stock, finger near the trigger. Hold the rear bag with your left hand. You'll be almost hugging yourself if your arms are in the right position. Aim the rifle with your left hand. Squeeze the bag to lower the point of aim (raise the butt stock), release the bag to raise it. Move the rear bag with your left hand to adjust windage. Don't do any aiming with the right hand. The right hand is there to hold the rifle and pull the trigger-that's all. Depending on how you and the gun are built, the butt of the rifle will be against your shoulder or arm. I am made so that the butt rests on my shoulder hinge or on my bicep.

You must have a solid seat, you must settle in and relax and not have any part of your body tense and not have your heart beat move the sights.

When once you have everything right you will know it and you'll always recognize the condition again. Spend some time working on the position; the time is well spent. Don't shoot from a rickety folding chair or a canvas stool. Don't balance the rifle on the bags; mash the rifle down on the bags so it won't move when you let go of it. Don't shoot from a rickety card table sort of bench.

When the sights (iron or scope) get blurry, that is because you forgot to breathe. Lack of oxygen affects your eyes. Breathe on a regular basis.

   Some shooters hold the rifle tight, others hardly hold it at all, and let the rifle recoil into their shoulder. I've only been able to shoot well when I hold the stock firmly-not tightly-with my right hand, and when the butt is firm-not tight-against my arm. You don't want any tension or stress in holding the rifle, these lead to shaking.

The rifle should be free to recoil on the rests, particularly the rear bag. Position the rear bag so that nothing (like sling swivels) catches on the bag. Lubricate the bags/stock with baby powder so that the rifle slides freely on the bags. The pleasant odor helps some to relax.

The position of the rifle on the front sand bag can be very important. Some rifles are very sensitive. Sometimes the rifle wants the front end of the forend on the bag, sometimes another rifle wants the rear of the forend on the bag, and other rifles don't care. Write down the forend/bag position!

After each shot, return the rifle to the proper position. Don't let the rifle edge backwards with each shot. Re-position the rifle after each shot!

At any shooting session you will find that your groups get smaller the more you shoot. Always take a few sighter shots before getting serious.

I use a Hoppe's bench rest and a smooth bag in the rear. The Hoppe's bench rest has the top thing, the bag holder, held to the big height-adjusting-screw with another screw. The bag holder top thing must, MUST be free to swivel, else as you move from place to place on the target the center of the group will move. I keep the smaller screw loose. This allows the front bag and holder to swivel freely. THIS IS IMPORTANT!

Jim Borton says that he slides the rifle back and forth between shots to assure that it is free to move. I do this when I remember.

The secret to shooting from the bench is to get you and the gun stable and comfortable.

Shooting German Schuetzen Rifles from the bench

Because of the extreme drop in the stock on these rifles it is a bit of a job to set them up for bench shooting. The front rest has to be high, probably higher than the adjustments will get it. Put a board under the front rest, or build a box to put the front rest on, or gin up your own rig. The bottoms of the stocks on these rifles generally have things sticking out, such as sling attachment pivots and/or the lever that releases the trigger assembly. The bag that supports the butt stock should be positioned so that under recoil no protuberance on the bottom of the stock hits the bag. When the front rest and the rear bag are arranged correctly you will find that your seat is too low. Get a higher seat or modify the available seat to the correct height. The proper bench rest set up is extremely comfortable for the shooter and positions the rifle so that it is stable on the rests.

Shooting in wind and mirage

Some bench shooters put up wind flags at various ranges between the bench and the target, for instance at 25, 50, and 75 yards when shooting at 100 yards. Wind flags can be sticks with pieces of ribbon stapled to them, or complex assemblies with propellers and rudders. Shooters watch the wind flags and either shoot when there is no wind, or when the flags indicate the same conditions as the last shot.

Mirage makes the air between rifle and target waver around, and can displace shots by several inches at 100 yards. When there is no wind there is mirage, and there is sometimes mirage when there is a light wind.

I have never been able to read wind flags or to hold off for wind or mirage. When it is sunny I look at the target through the telescopic sight and wait for the wind to stop and the mirage to start. As soon as those waves begin I shoot. When it is cloudy I shoot when the flags are dead, if possible.

Handling Heavy Recoiling Rifles From The Bench

Ken Mollohan

Sooner or later, most shooters find a rifle that is a bit more than they can handle from the bench, even though they are able to shoot it from the shoulder without serious discomfort. I know I have: A Ruger #3 in 45-70 is a lightweight dream for the woods with light loads. But with heavy bullets and hefty powder charges, that dream will be a nightmare after the first shot. A 500 grain bullet at 1800 to 2000 FPS will drop the #3 into the class of “kills at one end and maims at the other” in a hurry. I know of no better way to generate bruised shoulders, half-moon scope cuts, trigger jerks and flinches that to try to shoot anything remotely resembling this combination from the bench in a conventional manner.

Fortunately, it’s possible to tame such outfits to the point that bench-resting them will be - if not exactly a delight - still far more comfortable and pleasant. My first experience with heavy recoil was just as described above, but a friend told me to just place a sandbag between the rifle and my shoulder. This effectively increased the weight of the rifle quite a bit, and perceived recoil was reduced accordingly. But there were problems: The thick sandbag extended the stock, making the fit of the gun poor, and the shooting was awkward. Also, as recoil increased, one sandbag wasn’t quite enough, and two sandbags behind the gun - while possible - was very uncomfortable. It put me so far behind the gun that it was difficult to reach the trigger and see through the scope. I needed something better.

My first effort consisted of a length of 2x4, which was altered by cutting a six inch length off the end and placing it square with the new end, so that they stood atop one another. The center was marked and a 3/8 inch hole was drilled through both of them. Anchoring them together with a 3/8 bolt gave me a sort of lazy Susan than could be rotated at 90 degrees to one another, or to 180 degrees for compactness. This was also done on the other end of the 2x4, except that this time, a recess was drilled so that the bolt head was slightly recessed. The next step was to mount a plumbing flange about two and a half feet back, and on the other side of the 2x4. The flange was threaded for a standard two inch black iron pipe, about six inches long. This pipe was threaded tightly into the flange, and marked to show the ‘forward’ position. The pipe was then removed, and a standard red rubber recoil pad was mounted on it before it was replaced in the flange. Actual lengths are not critical, as the setup is extraordinarily versatile, and can be used with almost any size or weight rifle.

To use, the two rotating sections were set at 90 degrees to the length of the rest, and the front end was set down over the edge of the bench rest top. The other end, with the recessed bold head served to stabilize the setup, and keep it from tipping in use. Sandbags were set to cradle the rifle fore and aft, with the butt of the gun placed snuggly against the pipe-mounted recoil pad. Recoil from the rifle went from the gun to the recoil pad, to the steel pipe, to the 2x4 and thence, to the bench rest table, by virtue of the overhanging lip. All you had to do was be sure the rifle was pulled back firmly to take any play out of the setup.

This was admittedly a bit cumbersome to take down and set up all the time, and it still had the disadvantage of increasing the stock’s pull. But it was no worse than with one sandbag, and it was a hundred percent effective in taming the roughest recoil in the lightest rifle. The most that could be felt was a gentle thump as the recoil was transmitted to the bench. I think most of this ‘thump’ was because the rear board lifted the setup while the front of the board was flat against the bench top. This resulted in a small space below the recoil pad that would allow some flexing.

     I used this arrangement for many years, and had excellent results:

he slight give of the recoil pad apparently simulated the give of a tight pull into the shoulder sufficiently well that point of impact was not affected, and the combination of steady sandbag rest, no recoil and no jerk or flinch permitted very good accuracy testing.

However, in time I began to realize that this could still be improved on. I had some heavy leather that I used to make a giant pad patterned after an ordinary slingshot pouch. I used some grommets intended for heavy canvas to preclude tearing the pouch, and added two lengths of nylon rope to reach to the front of the bench. The ropes were anchored there by being tied to two pieces of channel iron wide enough to slip over the thickness of the bench rest top. In use, the rifle was again cradled on sandbags fore and aft, with the butt of the gun pulled snuggly into the leather pouch. This was not quite as effective in taming recoil (there appears to be some stretch inherent in the nylon rope, but I didn’t want to scratch up my rifle stock by suing a length of chain.). However, the recoil reduction was still very substantial, and the rifle felt normal because the thickness of the leather didn’t materially affect the pull, while the straps still transferred almost all of the recoil to the bench.

Hindsight, they say, is always 20-20. While I haven’t tried it, It should be possible to replace the leather pouch with canvas, or even eliminate it entirely, leaving only a nylon cord with two bench top attachments. This would be a simple, inexpensive and easily assembled shoulder saver.

Ken Mollohan

BENCH RESTS

I've never had one of the elaborate precision machined windage adjustable bench rests, some of which can cost over $300 today (2006). I sometimes wonder if my groups would be smaller if I had and used one of these.

I've made a number of bench rests, the simplest from several shot bags. Shotgun shooters buy lead shot that comes in twenty-five pound bags, and are always happy to give these bags to anyone who asks. If you fill the bags and tie them closed with a good bit of string, several of these make a nice front rest, and one makes a good rear bag. I don't fill these rest bags with sand, because a cloud of sand blows out at each shot. Instead I've used beans or corn or lentils or peas or rice. Any of these works fine, just make sure you don't get the bags wet, because the grain will rot, and sometimes sprout.

Here's a rest made from PVC pipe and hardware and a piece of plywood and a block of foam. By making a number of different length vertical pieces and the pointed (filed to a point) screws, the rest is as adjustable as you'll ever need.

This is the Hoppes front rest. I've had this rest for many years, and have never been able to tie the top bag onto the rest so it won't slip. I suppose because I was never in the Navy. However, a couple of pieces of double-sided tape and I got rid of the strings and now the bag doesn't slip at all. This rest is adjustable from 8.5" to 10.5" with another .75" up in the screws. The Hoppes rest has done a good job for me over the years. I keep it slippery with baby powder on the front and rear bags. I also keep the top free to rotate on the main shaft; otherwise the point of impact changes as I move from target to target on the paper.

"I found a use for the corncob media. It makes excellent filling for 'sand' bags for shooting off the bench. It's light, cheap, dry, and  'mushes' well." John Bischoff

This is a rest that Don Baker, a shooter at Old Colony, made for me many years back. It adjusts from 5.75" to 8.25", with another 3.25" of up in the screws. This rest was made to use with a muzzle clamp/anti-cant device, or a bag could be double-sided-taped to the top.

It is easier and more stable to shoot a rifle from a flat front rest using a muzzle clamp, sometimes called an anti-cant device and sometimes called a sled. These were made from machined aluminum castings in the past; a muzzle clamp was an integral part of the Pope Machine Rest.

I'm too thrifty (cheap) to spring for one of the modern reproductions, and made my own to my own extraordinarily clever design about ten years ago. Construction requires essentially no mechanical skills (I have none), and the tools used are in most homes or in the homes of friends.

There's quarter-twenty threaded brass rod, washers, nuts and wing nuts and acorn nuts for hardware.

Here's the muzzle clamp with the wood and the aluminum tops. I prefer the aluminum top, used the wood top for years. The bottom is three-quarters inch thick oak by six inches long by one inch high. The wood top is three quarters inch thick by three eighths inch high-oak.

The aluminum top is three sixteenths inch thick by six inches long by as wide as it came from the scrap pile at the local metal shop. Holes are 5/16".

I've tried all kinds of rubber sheet and rubber tape and other stuff, and find that masking tape works best, no damage to the finish of any rifle.

Handgun Rests /The Miraclerest

Testing handguns and loads for accuracy is sometimes done with a Ransom Rest, a machine rest that holds the handgun in the same position for each shot. The Ransom Rest requires a big stable concrete platform to mount it on.

Not having a Ransom Rest, I tried other methods. There was no combination of rest and bags and wrist supports that I could find that allowed me to hold a pistol steady-really steady. I know that some shooters can do it, but I can't.

So I invented and constructed the Miraclerest. Cost is under $10, it takes about 30 minutes to make, and it holds the gun perfectly steady.

The Miraclerest is made out of 3/4" PVC pipe, (measures 1" OD.), about 2' of pipe, 2 "T'"s, 2 end caps, a hacksaw and some cement. The clamp is a "U" bolt and some washers and nuts. The top "T" is sawed with a saber saw to make a "U" shaped cradle for the barrel to rest on. The wedge was made

 by my brother the cabinetmaker, a piece of white cedar shingle works well also, and the glued-on rubber helps. Masking tape everywhere to protect the pistol finish, and it's ready to use.

 A handgun can't be comfortably shot off a normal bench rest while sitting in a normal chair, using either sandbags or the Miraclerest. The problems are that the shooter has to get scroonched way down behind the gun, and the more mature shooters have trouble getting the correct part of the trifocal eyeglass lens into alignment.

 Here's a box my brother the cabinet maker made for me. It is 9" high by 12" wide by 16" long. It's got two handles on the sides and two hinges.

The 9" height is important, other boxes and rests with heights of 8" or 10" were not nearly as comfortable, for me. This box is stable and works just about perfectly as a rest.

The box, the Miraclerest and a Ruger MKII set up for shooting. This is the best rest so far, I can't think of any way to improve it-yet. With this rig I can reliably shoot 10 shot groups at 50 yards under 2", and at 100 yards under 4". This with CCI Standard Velocity or Remington Target ammunition.

The box holds the pistol and scope and Miraclerest and all the other equipment needed