Changed
my Bench Rest to Ground Rest
It seems like I
have finally thrown the towel in on trying to shoot with the
bi-pod. After trying for slightly over two years with the bi-pod
and only just starting to feel some control after I got the rifle
weighting 29lb-4oz. My first shooting sessions at 600 yards were
with my shooting coat and sling. Gun shot great and everything
felt normal complete with nub left hand. Only issue was the left
side bolt release on my AR-15 Match Rifle. However the right
hand release I added the single shot magazine fixed that. The
weather
got hotter so I tried the bipod and I have never looked back to the
coat and sling. Shooting the no recoil AR using the bi-pod is
flat out fun. However I never had that warm fuzzy feeling that I
was in control. The rifle movements through recoil seem to vary
too much and were all over the place. I tried boards under the
front feet, I added weights to the front feet, I replaced the hand stop
with 3 and 6 pound weights, tried rear sand bag rest, made an
attachment for rifle stock to ride parallel on the rear sand bag rest,
and I even made a solid adjustable rear rest.
(groundrest1.jpg)
I did manage get
the under control at times so it would hold the 10-Ring through recoil
but I could not figure out how to do it 100% of the time. Rifle
always seem to be wobbling and before going back to sling and coat I
decided to try my bench rest. So I finely tried my bench rest at
ground level and started to see the control I was looking for once
again. However the heights and height adjustment on the bench rest set
up needed some refinement for this type of ground shooting. So
here is how I converted my bench rest into a ground rest.
(groundrest2.jpg)
Since the ground
shooting position will only be flat and in line with the target by
accident, the ground rest needs more adjustment then the bench
rest. Also the ground rest feet must be suitable for ground use,
i.e. large enough not to settle into the ground deeper after each shot
and small enough to obtain a good steady position on the ground.
The pointed feet on bench rest stand are 3/8 rods threaded with 24
threads per inch and would provide no support on the ground. My
first attempt at shooting with the bench rest at ground level was to
mount it on a large board to give it support on the ground and some
elevation. After a couple of shooting sessions using the bench
rest at ground level I decided to convert my bench rest into a ground
rest by replacing the pointed feet with larger feet and more elevation
adjustment.
(groundrest3.jpg)
First I looked
for some long 3/8 bolts with 24 threads per inch but could not find any
long enough ones which were fully threaded. So I when to my
Production Tool Supply Catalog and found a three foot thread rod and
some knurled knobs that I could thread for to fit the threaded
rod. The large ground feet need for the end were first planned to
be made from grease cups from a trailer axle. However I notice
the fence post caps on my fence were exactly what I had in mind and
cheap. So $1.35 for the threaded rod, $.89 for each of the post
caps, and $4.35 each of the knobs I converted my bench rest into a
ground rest.
(groundrest4.jpg)
I decided to
cast the threaded rod into the post end caps using molten lead.
Little extra weight can hurt anything. So I made a little fixture
to hold the rod the straight and in the center of the end cap while
pouring the lead and while the lead hardens. Only problem the
lead would not stick to the end cap so I mark the lead and cup, removed
the cap and mixed up about 30 grains of epoxy in the cap and glued the
lead onto the fence post cap while the lead was still warm. I had
a notion that the cap may be a mould. I decided on six inch rods
to start. They should be plenty long enough and always may be
shorten.
(groundrest5.jpg)
No matter how
much elevation adjustment you have it would be enough someplace and
there are limitations to what you may add to a bench rest without
interfering with the rifle. As it turns out I have slightly over
three degrees down before adding stuff under the rear bag and about 6.5
degrees up. I can easily get an extra 1.5 degrees by put a couple
pieces of an old mouse pad under the rear bag. The new ground
rest feet normally fit over a 2.5 inch pipe so they are slightly larger
than that in diameter. The fence post cap has an almost round top
on it. This shape on the cap should provide a good ground foot on
the rest which will not dig into the ground after each shot and provide
good solid support. The following pictures show the process I use
to convert my bench rest into a ground rest.
(groundrest6.jpg)
The new feet run
2 pounds – 12 ounces each and complete ground rest now weights in at 19
pounds – 14 ounces. So my bench rest gained 8 pounds – 4 ounces
going to a ground rest with the larger feet. Now my range bag
with the ground rest, rear bag, couple boxes of ammo, Plotting book,
and miscellaneous stuff is now weighting in at 43 pounds – 8
ounces. Good thing my Starlight Gun Case has the “Off
Road
Wheels”.
(groundrest7.jpg)
Larry Medler
anyrange@comcast.net
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Released -
November 1, 2004
Revised - November 1, 2004
