Shooting rests

[Tools2Die4]

I'm fairly new to long distance shooting (100+ yards). The other day as a guest at a real range with real shooting benches, someone mentioned a portable shooting rest called the "X-Rest" to me. Has anybody heard of it? I'm looking something light weight that is easy to store and doesn't cost a fortune. My offhand shooting and hunters shooting stick just don't cut it when I shoot against guys nailing bulls-eyes at long distances from a bench. None of the guys I'm shooting with are "pros", so I will pass your advice along to all of them.

[kevindsingleton]

I'm fairly new to long distance shooting (100+ yards). The other day as a guest at a real range with real shooting benches, someone mentioned a portable shooting rest called the "X-Rest" to me. Has anybody heard of it? I'm looking something light weight that is easy to store and doesn't cost a fortune. My offhand shooting and hunters shooting stick just don't cut it when I shoot against guys nailing bulls-eyes at long distances from a bench. None of the guys I'm shooting with are "pros", so I will pass your advice along to all of them.

There's a guy at my shooting club that uses a scissors jack with a sandbag on top! He's shooting a blackpowder cartridge rifle that's very heavy.

I have a Caldwell, and it's ok.

Take a look at Sinclair www.sinclairintl.com for some really nice rests.

The Xrest is very simple, and doesn't allow for much in the way of adjustment. You have to compensate for bench and stool height by altering your shooting form. That doesn't help you develop consistency, but it's more stable than shooting offhand. I think it's too expensive, for what it is (aluminum shooting sticks with a third leg), but there is a lot of R&D involved, and a limited market to recoup the costs. I do not like the take-down pin idea. It's designed to get worn and sloppy, and it's the aluminum device, not the steel pin, that will take all the wear. With no way to compensate for the eventual wear, the device will soon become a floppy assembly of bar stock, which may, or may not, continue to provide the service for which it was intended. Maybe if you drill through the pin, tap it, and install a thumb screw, you could compensate for wear over time. Otherwise, it's going to loosen up, and move around.

[montie]

Morning Kevin,

Honest feedback is a great thing. It is nice to hear what customers are thinking.

A couple of factors drive the X-Rest cost:

- made in America (right here in NC)
- waterjet cut from 5052 aluminum and powder coated for long life
- all hardware is stainless steel

We haven't seen any issues with the pin wearing the hole in the units we have out as rental units at the range. Even a fairly large amount of wear wouldn't cause an issue. However, the pin is intentionally oversized to allow for easy entry and minimize wear.

We have a Testing & Evaluation program for those interested in participating.

More information on the X-Rest is available at:

http://www.montie.com/modules/info/shooting_rest.html

Contact me directly for information on the T&E program.

Cheers,
Montie
montie@montie.com

[kevindsingleton]

Morning Kevin,

Honest feedback is a great thing. It is nice to hear what customers are thinking.

A couple of factors drive the X-Rest cost:

- made in America (right here in NC)
- waterjet cut from 5052 aluminum and powder coated for long life
- all hardware is stainless steel

We haven't seen any issues with the pin wearing the hole in the units we have out as rental units at the range. Even a fairly large amount of wear wouldn't cause an issue. However, the pin is intentionally oversized to allow for easy entry and minimize wear.

We have a Testing & Evaluation program for those interested in participating.

More information on the X-Rest is available at:

http://www.montie.com/modules/info/shooting_rest.html

Contact me directly for information on the T&E program.

Cheers,
Montie
montie@montie.com

There you go: an opportunity for free advertising, and a direct response from the manufacturer.

Thanks for the offer, Montie.

I do wonder, though, how this works: "However, the pin is intentionally oversized to allow for easy entry and minimize wear."

If the pin is oversized, how does that allow for "easy entry"? Wouldn't an oversized pin result in very difficult (if not impossible) entry into a machined hole? How does making the pin oversized "minimize wear"?

Perhaps I'm not seeing the genius behind the manufacture of the product, but it appears to me that the pin is a stressed component which holds the rear leg to the two crossed legs via a protrusion which contains a machined hole through which the pin is inserted. I don't see any spring, or other mechanism, that would allow the user to adjust the tension, or take up any slack that might result from wear. Since the pin is much harder than the material into which it is inserted, there is no possible way that the aluminum that makes up the hole is not going to (eventually) wear, especially given the shock forces it will endure when a firearm is shot from the rest.

[Nullifidian]

I have a great shooting rest.

It's a rolled up chunk of carpet tied with a couple pieces of twine. I see absolutely no need for anything more sophisticated at this point in time. Nor do I understand why anyone shooting at 100, 200, or even 300 yards would need anything more.


Maybe if I had a lot of money to burn I'd buy a shooting rest that collapses into a smaller space than my rolled up chunk of carpet. But my carpet is lightweight, durable, and I don't have to worry about it damaging anything or getting damaged if it bumps around against something in the trunk of my car.

[montie]

Kevin,

The pin is bigger than it structurally needs to be. hence the "oversized" terminology. The 1/4 diameter pin helps to spread out any forces. What makes the X-Rest work so well is that when you put weight on the rest it tightens up the assembly (where the protrusion passes through the slots in the legs). This configuration means that the pin being tight in the hole through the protrusion is not a requirement for a stable rest. The weight of the rifle (or handgun)

I hope that helps explain the design.

Cheers,
Montie

[YBNORMAL]

Bi-pod and rear sandbag. What else is there?

[Triggerh4ppy]

I always sit on top of the shooting bench and sit Indian style and shoot. You can always use the sandbags provided at the range.I get alot of stares when i shoot prone and what not but I don't give a damn.

(prone with a mosin and improper butt stock placement =bad news lol)

[Triggerh4ppy]

Or use a gear bag.If its good enough for snipers its good enough for me.

[montie]

I agree. There is no perfect rest.

I originally designed the X-Rest as a way to lighten the load of equipment that I needed to carry to the range when I was teaching my family to shoot. So it works great as a lightweight, stable and compact shooting rest.

The sand bag works greats but it is heavy. The X-Rest is compact and lightweight, but it isn't adjustable. At the end of the day, there is no perfect rest, just some really great (and often creative) solutions.

Montie