Pistol Bench Rest?

[jolly1]

Need an advice.

Which pistol bench rest can be recommended?
The purpose is to sight in micro metric sights on 6 inch target 9 mm pistol.

And preferably to be possible to order by internet?

Many thanks!

[DaleA]

Not sure if this is what you mean but the Ransom Rest is the 'gold' standard for mechanical pistol shooting devices.

It's expensive and you need inserts for your gun to fit your gun onto the rest. Ransom has a *large* number of inserts for different guns.

To me, the Ransom Rest is something a shooting club should buy to be used by the club members as IMhO it's too expensive for an individual. How often as an individual would you use it anyway?

Most of my friends use a sandbag or bag of rice on a table to give them a pretty good supported shooting position.

Ransom Rest page:
http://www.ransomrest.com/

Ransom Rest for sale by Midway:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/252...-shooting-rest

Ransom Rest handgun inserts:
http://www.ransomrest.com/inserts.html

[buck460XVR]

I use one of these or bags.....

[newfrontier45]

I have a Ransom Rest, a number of inserts and use it quite often. It ain't cheap but consider it instead of your next handgun purchase if you really want to know what your guns will do. Most shooters don't bother bench testing their handguns anyway and are satisfied making noise at the range so it's moot for them. It saves me a lot of time that would otherwise be lost due to fatigue and/or eye strain. So I can do a lot of testing in a short period of time without my eyes giving me a fit or developing a flinch. Ransom Rest testing provides a much better baseline than possible with other methods.

The common method I use for bench testing is to settle the revolver into leather sandbags at the junction of barrel and frame. Do not let the butt rest or touch anything. Rest your forearms on the edge of the bench or another pair of bags. This is how the pros do it.

[James K]

Nothing can beat a good mechanical rest for testing the accuracy of a pistol, but a simple sandbag rest and two-hand hold will do quite well. The trick is to hold the gun in the hands and rest the wrists on the sandbags. Letting the butt or the barrel of the pistol touch the sandbags or the bench will be detrimental to accuracy and give inconsistent results.

Jim

[Fire_Moose]

Interesting. I didn't know that. When testing loads ill put the butt of the pistol on the bench and shoot like that.

Wonder what my loads do when tested right!

[darkgael]

Nothing can beat a good mechanical rest for testing the accuracy of a pistol, but a simple sandbag rest and two-hand hold will do quite well. The trick is to hold the gun in the hands and rest the wrists on the sandbags. Letting the butt or the barrel of the pistol touch the sandbags or the bench will be detrimental to accuracy and give inconsistent results.

+1

Pete

[newfrontier45]

It works better to rest the revolver at the frame/barrel junction than have it float. At least, that's how John Taffin and Brian Pearce do it and that's how I do it when I shoot 2" groups at 50yds with the big bores. Or quarter inch groups at 25yds with .22's.

[jolly1]

Gents,
Thank you all for the input!
Very helpful!

[s4s4u]

It works better to rest the revolver at the frame/barrel junction than have it float.

It is better to not rest any part of the gun on anything but your hands. You might shoot a decent group to POA when rested, but then shoot that same load unsupported and that POI will change. Using a rest is fine for load development, but I always check my zero in the same manner that I intend to employ the gun.

[KyJim]

It is better to not rest any part of the gun on anything but your hands. You might shoot a decent group to POA when rested, but then shoot that same load unsupported and that POI will change. Using a rest is fine for load development, but I always check my zero in the same manner that I intend to employ the gun.

But that's apples to oranges isn't it? If you are strictly testing how small a group a gun will shoot, use whatever method will give you the smallest group, even if further from zero. Once you know how a particular gun and load shoots, you can adjust the sights or your aim accordingly.

[s4s4u]

Once you know how a particular gun and load shoots, you can adjust the sights or your aim accordingly.

Correct.

[newfrontier45]

But that's apples to oranges isn't it? If you are strictly testing how small a group a gun will shoot, use whatever method will give you the smallest group, even if further from zero. Once you know how a particular gun and load shoots, you can adjust the sights or your aim accordingly.

Exactly!

That said, I don't see a difference in point of impact between rested and offhand shooting. Where I do see a significant shift in POI is with or without gloves. When it's very hot or very cold outside I use a thin leather shooting glove and POI will change at least a couple inches at 25yds.

[spacecoast]

Letting the butt or the barrel of the pistol touch the sandbags or the bench will be detrimental to accuracy and give inconsistent results.

From the images available of a Ransom Rest, it does not appear that it allows the barrel or butt of the handgun to rest on anything. A local RO advised me to rest my wrists and forearms on bags while holding the gun, but not to rest the gun itself. That said, I'm sure that bags or a rest such as that shown by Buck460XVR would be fine for most shooters.

[newfrontier45]

The Ransom Rest clamps it by the grip frame. Without grip panels present.

[James K]

The reason it is better not to rest the barrel or butt of the gun on the bench is that a gun (any gun) vibrates as it is fired, both from the force of the discharge and from the bullet moving down the barrel. Some have described the movement of a barrel as like a tuning fork.

When the barrel or butt is rested on something, even something fairly soft like sandbags, the vibrations are altered and the gun performs differently than it will when handheld. Even the Ransom rest does not fully mimic hand holding, but its purpose is to test the gun itself, not to sight it in or adjust it for normal hand-held shooting.

Jim

[newfrontier45]

As I've said before, nestling the revolver into sand bags at the junction of barrel and frame works fine and is how most pros do it. If it didn't work, they (and therefore myself) wouldn't do it this way. It is my opinion that 99% of shooters never bench test a handgun and therefore, put very little effort into figuring out how to do it properly.

Resting the butt also works for guns with little recoil. This is how I test .22's and there is nothing inconsistent about the results. Doing this with guns that have significant recoil can cause stringing.

[SgtLumpy]

I've never bench rested a pistol. What matters, in the end, is where my hand held groups are. Whether I off hand shoot a group that's an inch in diameter, or 12 inches in diameter, I still know if and which direction I need to move my sights (or my aim).


Sgt Lumpy

[newfrontier45]

How can you develop accurate loads without bench testing???
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You can't.

[s4s4u]

One of the more critical aspects of handgunning is the grip. Talking about the hand here and not the handle. Some designs are more forgiving than others, but all handguns require consistant tension of the strong hand at the moment of discharge to shoot to the same point. It takes more strength to hold a gun offhand than it does to set it on a pillow, and therefore more grip tension which reduces muzzle flip. Barring a jerk on the trigger, a handgun will generally shoot lower off-hand than from bags because recoil is more controlled with the firmer grip. This is why you must verify zero in the manner in which you will be likely to use the gun, which in most cases will not be from a bench.

[Jammer Six]

I do exactly the opposite-- I make sure the floor of the magazine and the dust cover are in good contact with the sandbag.

If the weapon behaves differently because of that, then all that matters is that you consistently use the same method.

[Erno86]

I use a heavy Hart pedestal rest. If you're
not planning on using just sand or lead bags, buy a pedestal rest that has some weight to it --- like a Hart, Sinclair, Caldwell, etc. Either way, you'll have to protect the sandbags from face of revolver cylinder fire with some rags. I buy "Bag of Rags" at an auto parts store --- and stuff them under my shirt, in front of my shoulder --- when I'm shooting a rifle. With a semi auto pistol...you don't have to worry about barrel pressure on a rest, for 1911 types.

At our range...we have two 3.5 foot high steel pedestal's --- with bolt holes, so we can bolt on a Ransom Rest.