[Harold P. Carpenter]

Howdy,

For sighting in, I'm looking at rifle rests. Any recommendations? I prefer something solid and consistent, so that I only have to adjust the sights and not worry about variations due to human error. Cabelas offers several models. Your input is welcome on what makes a good rest.

Thanks!

 

[Poonie]

Rest

I was going to suggest what I use but you said you want something solid. At any rate, I use sandbags made from the sewn up bottoms of old jeans. When the jeans degrade to the point where they become cut off shorts, don't throw the pant legs away. They make great sandbags. My wife sewed them up for me on her sewing machine. I've been using the same bags for about 15 years now. They're not a mechanical rest, but about as solid as you're going to find otherwise, and cheaper than dirt.

 

[The Expert]

I use old shot bags done up the same way.

I thought I might pass along one tip that someone once told me that really has worked well in preventing sand leakage:

Line the bag with an plastic bread bag (i.e. off of a loaf of Wonder). Fill the plastic bag with sand, then seal the plastic bag with plastic packing tape and tuck all the plastic bag parts into the cloth bag/pant leg. Close the bag/pant leg with a sewing machine, and you have a nice leak free sandbag that will not fill your range bag or gun safe full of abrasive sand.

Regards.

 

[zachary78]

If you want to spend money and get something fancy, check out Midway USA. They have all kinds of sandbags, rifle rests, front rests, etc. Your wallet and your imagination are the only limitations there. Other than that I have been well served by rolled up T-shirts, wadded up winter coats, or whatever I had at the time. Get a roll of duct tape and a bundle of rags and you can make any rifle rest you need. Just one more thing... shooting a rifle off of a rest doesn't improve your marksmanship skills much if any. Use field positions and practice until you get it right.

 

[ab4ka]

I use an MTM "Predator", which I really like. It's easy to adjust for height and length, plus you can remove the rear part if you just want to use the front part for a rifle or pistol. I ordered it from Bass Pro Shop.