Benchrest 101

[Quarter Horse]

The title pretty much says it all. Bonehead freshman Benchrest for a no-nothing student. For example how to set up your rest on the bench? It would seem that it would be best to have the rest dead square to the target board if using a rear bag and a mechanical rest. Or is close good enough and am I overcomplicating the process?

Another example is where to put the trigger hand. There is a one piece rest has an adjustable platform to rest the trigger hand with nothing more than the pad of the trigger finger contacting the rifle. Is this a revolutionary approach or BS?

With a .22 is free recoil best or some level of shoulder contact? With a windage adjustable rest with the wings on the ends, should the bag be compressed to limit travel of the fore end or should it move freely? I think the point is made that I don't know squat. I know that recently some accomplished BR shooters have joined, and are contributing to, this forum.

I have no expectation that they will answer these questions. What I am hoping is that someone knows of a source that provides such a primer. A video/videos is ok but a printed source would be preferred. Kind of a best practices source. I'm sure every individual will have a mantra that is unique. What I'm trying to do is avoid obvious pitfalls and the creation of bad habits.

Help me out. I'm trying to shorten the journey. QH








w

 

[grauhanen]

Do you have a rifle in mind for this?

 

[gkgeiger]

The title pretty much says it all. Bonehead freshman Benchrest for a no-nothing student. For example how to set up your rest on the bench? It would seem that it would be best to have the rest dead square to the target board if using a rear bag and a mechanical rest. Or is close good enough and am I overcomplicating the process?

Another example is where to put the trigger hand. There is a one piece rest has an adjustable platform to rest the trigger hand with nothing more than the pad of the trigger finger contacting the rifle. Is this a revolutionary approach or BS?

With a .22 is free recoil best or some level of shoulder contact? With a windage adjustable rest with the wings on the ends, should the bag be compressed to limit travel of the fore end or should it move freely? I think the point is made that I don't know squat. I know that recently some accomplished BR shooters have joined, and are contributing to, this forum.

I have no expectation that they will answer these questions. What I am hoping is that someone knows of a source that provides such a primer. A video/videos is ok but a printed source would be preferred. Kind of a best practices source. I'm sure every individual will have a mantra that is unique. What I'm trying to do is avoid obvious pitfalls and the creation of bad habits.

Help me out. I'm trying to shorten the journey. QH








w

What I did, I'm less than a year into this, I went to my local club and observed for one match. Everyone was very helpful. I ordered a custom rifle and started shooting. A couple of the members helped me a lot. As far as your rest question it depends on whether you use a one piece or two piece rest, I have both. With my UL rifle I use the one piece with a leather sand bag under my elbow. I'm thinking of getting some kind of hand rest though. Most UL shooter I know shoot free recoil, just touching the trigger to shoot. As far as front bags go, I'm using a roller top on my one piece and a slick bag on my two piece. Do you have a club that shoots RFBR close to you?

 

[BuckeyePrecision]

I have a little experience with benchrest with my old Winchester 75, but I am by no means an expert. The best advice I can give you is go out and try it and see what works for you. If there is a club you intended on shooting at, go observe, see what people are using, and ask questions. In my experience, benchrest shooters are happy to talk to others about equipment. and techniques (although they will likely keep some secrets). When i started out the guys at my club let me borrow rests and bags, so i got to try several to see what I liked and didint like.

After a few outings I started getting my own stuff together but since I was a poor college kit at the time most of my stuff was home made out of scrap. I had a home made leather front bag that was filled with lead shot (i tried sand, but it moved around too much) mounted on an adjustable base. the rear bag was leather/lead as well, but a little softer so i could work the but of the rifle down into it.

As for free recoil versus pressure, that is going to depend on the trigger somewhat. At first I was using the factory trigger witch would go down to about 2.5 pounds, with that weight I had to control the rifle so pulling the trigger would not move it off target. Later I had the trigger worked on by another competitor that had experience with them. He got it down to about 4 oz. from then on, it was free recoil all the way.

The Accurate Shooter website and Benchrest Forum have a ton of great info including write ups from some of the top competitors in the sport, it is worth a read.

 

[JimTN]

There are numerous articles/discussions/threads on different forums that address a lot more than you initially asked. Look at RFC.com, RF accuracy web site, and google RFBR info/techniques, etc. You'll get several days worth of reading, lot of info to get you headed in the right direction. Always remember tho, what works for me, my gun and rest, may not work exactly how you want it to with your gun/rest/equipment. Think of trying to get multiple women to work together to make you happy. It's a long road of trial and error, your gun & rest combo may like a lot of resistance on the ears/forearm position, another gun may not, hence the trial & error. The exact position of the rest/forearm may make a difference as well, using a bungee cord to control recoil may/may not help or hurt, or the tension of the bungee cord/spring.

Going to local matches and watching other competitors will give you ideas to try, and most of those guys will help you out to shorten the learning curve, but you still have to travel the road of trial & error, unless you were able to buy a complete package ready to compete (the gun/rest/scope/ammo, etc) aka EVERYTHING sitting on the bench for a match.

 

[OREGUN]

Are you sticking with rimfire or considering centerfire? Are you actually in Astoria?

 

[Quarter Horse]

Guys, thanks for the responses. The reasons for my wanting to learn the use of the BR tools and techniques has nothing to do with an expectation of competing in any particular venue or sanctioned pursuit. I simply want to understand the technique so that I can better evaluate what I already have or might acquire. The orientation towards rimfire is driven because I've been reloading for half a century and while I find developing loads for a firearm interesting I find the necessity of continuing to have to do so to shoot a given firearm to be a ...... PITA.

Are you sticking with rimfire or considering centerfire? Are you actually in Astoria?

My interest absolutely includes center fire. Astoria is our ZIP code. We have a small farm in the L&C R. valley. I checked your profile and noted the limited access to your profile. Sounds like you might be a local.

Do you have a rifle in mind for this?

Yes. Both the rifles I already have and something I might acquire. My current inventory in .22 RF includes a 1413 Anshcutz that I bought about ten+ years ago. It was essentially unfired when I got it. This rifle is marked "match" as opposed to "super match". From what I can find it is a "super match" with a three pound trigger for NRA competition. I used it for the original 6X5. After sighting it in I shot a .309" ave. on about the third attempt. I quit at that point not because I thought that was the limit of the rifle but because the single loading of the 1413 was making me crazy. I have physical probs. with my hands that make loading a single shot .22 intolerable. At that point I put the 1413 up and haven't touched it for eight years except to remove the scope. If I can learn this stuff I would pull this out and start over.

Do you have a club that shoots RFBR close to you?

Right now we live on a small farm and I can shoot at fifty and a hundred yards on my driveway. If I go to a pasture I can get to about four hundred yards. The farm goes on the market next month but I have already joined a club in the general area that is our destination. They do shoot BR. Whether I shoot in club matches or sanctioned events remains to be seen.

Thank you guys for the suggestions. If you have any other thoughts, please come back and post them.

 

[grauhanen]

Yes. Both the rifles I already have and something I might acquire. My current inventory in .22 RF includes a 1413 Anshcutz that I bought about ten+ years ago. It was essentially unfired when I got it. This rifle is marked "match" as opposed to "super match". From what I can find it is a "super match" with a three pound trigger for NRA competition. I used it for the original 6X5. After sighting it in I shot a .309" ave. on about the third attempt. I quit at that point not because I thought that was the limit of the rifle but because the single loading of the 1413 was making me crazy. I have physical probs. with my hands that make loading a single shot .22 intolerable. At that point I put the 1413 up and haven't touched it for eight years except to remove the scope. If I can learn this stuff I would pull this out and start over.

Anschutz referred to the heavy barreled Free Rifle versions of the Match 54 that had a thumbhole stock and metal butt hook and an adjustable length of pull as Super Match models. It was designed for men's three position shooting -- standing, kneeling, and prone. These rifles have the same barreled actions as the Model 1411 which is specifically for prone shooting. Both have barrels that are 69cm long and 24mm in diameter. The only difference is the stamping on the barrel itself and there's no reason to think the Super Match was any better.

The Anschutz 1413 is as accurate a factory rifle as was made. This model helped cement Anschutz reputation for accuracy in the 1960s and 1970s. It was produced from the early 1960's, when Anschutz began using the model numbers with which we are familiar today (e.g. 1407/1408, 1411, 1413 etc.), until 1979-1980, when the 18xx series came out. (The 1976-1979/80 rifles, now commonly referred to as the 16xx series with the "X" at the end of the SN, were still called 14xx rifles by Anschutz even though they had new and different bolts, safeties, and triggers.)

The trigger pull on the three pound trigger in the rifle can be reduced to a low of about 16 ounces. See below for the instructions.

 

[Quarter Horse]

@grauhanen, thank you for the info. on the NRA 1413 as I now call it. I wasn't looking for Anschutz at the time but rather another 52C reintro. The 54 jumped up in an auction search and the ad read in an interesting manner. I sent a message to the guy. He said he was probably under describing the rifle. He also provided a phone#. I called him and it was evident he was not a gun guy. He went to estate sales and I'm sure he had expertise in other items. In any case I ended up winning and when I got it in my hands I really felt that I had won. The above described three position NRA match rifle.

It is dated 1967 and has the original Anschutz micro sights, adjustable grip heel rest, and a front rail mounted palm rest (the good one) with a highly figured piece of wood. It did not have the elevation piece for the adjustable butt plate nor the hook. As a '67 it has the dual extractors. I doubt the original owner ever fired it. It was 99++ with only a few minor marks on the stock. The metal was, is, perfect. Found a new butt plate, mounted a scope and shot the aforementioned .309. The 54 probably doesn't have 120 rounds through it. It deserves another chance.

 

[nksmfamjp]

I’m not sure I’m telling you what you want, but Bob White of the Shooters Corner has lots of advice and very accurate used rifles to get you going..

The Shooters Corner | Lake Hopatcong, NJ

theshooterscorner.com

I think you are going to need to do load development if benchrest is on your mind, unless this is purely a rimfire discussion.

im a little new to discuss techniques, but a couple things I see already is you need to get your rifle fairly level and sliding in the bags. Then, I put my shoulder just off of contact with the butt plate. I don’t grasp the gun with my trigger hand, but I do touch it. It helps finding my 1.5oz jewell trigger without setting it off! The nice thing about this trigger is it is a consistent, crisp 1.5oz every time. I also don’t press my cheek into the gun, but my cheek just grazes the stock when looking through the scope.