I have yet to find a good benchrest technique for heavy recoiling handguns and would appreciate suggestions. With the butt of the pistol rested I can't get as much control and If I place a hand under it of course the under hand gets smashed. Is resting just the barrel or Crane of a pistol the best? Thanks for any suggestions.........DJ

I do not know if this would be called the "best" method, but it works for me. I use my benchrest for the foundation and place sandbags in front of it. This gives me a good base in which to place the front of a Contender frame or revolver and keep the grip from touching any part of the rest. I have support from the trigger guard forward and this gives me a steady hold. I use a piece of leather or carpet to protect my sandbags when shooting revolvers. Hope this helps.

I use a 4"x4" about 12" long with a sand bag on top to support the barrel somewhat and another sand bag to help hold the stock in place,right in front of the 4x4. This will give you a steady hold.

I suppose it depends on your purpose, but I have had good luck shooting 44's, 454's and 480's from a tightly folded army blanket. Gives me good support, but gives enough to prevent pinching anything ) ... I typically am shooting only out to 35 yards or so. Could be at longer ranges I wouldn't be satisfied with this.

hunter20ga

Assuming you are talking about revolvers �



Rest your wrists on a sandbag to steady the rear, your hands should be just in front of the bag and not touching anything. Stack 2-3 sandbags in front and place the crane or frame of the handgun on/against the top one, right up in front of the trigger guard. You can rest this part on top of the bag or just kind of lean the front of the frame against it, whichever you prefer or whichever seems steadiest to you. Don�t push it into the bags, just rest it against them, all you�re trying to do is steady the gun. Do not allow the butt of the gun to contact the sandbags and do not rest the barrel on the bags. The main thing is that when the revolver recoils you want it to come back and up and immediately lose contact with the bag.



Place the bags far enough out on the bench that your arms and wrists are almost straight � DO NOT lock your elbows, just keep your arms fairly straight. You might want to place a folded towel under your elbows as they will take some abuse against a rough bench top. Sit comfortably so that you do not have to lean very far forward or lower your head too much to align the sights. You want to try to be looking as straight ahead out of your eyes as possible, that is, not looking out the top of your eye sockets. If it feels uncomfortable then you�re leaning/lowering too much, if comfortable then it�s okay. You might need 2 bags under your wrists and 3 or 4 in front or raise or lower your seat if you can, whatever it takes to sit comfortably. Being comfortable and not contorted is the key to not getting fatigued and also to getting a consistent recoil arc.



Adjust and wiggle everything around so that when you are at rest and comfortable the firearm is aligned on the target as much as possible. This will prevent you from having to steer the gun onto the target which will cause an inconsistent recoil arc.



Concentrate on the front sight and keep it perfectly centered and aligned with the rear sight. Sight picture � front sight on target � is important but perfect sight alignment is even more important.



Hold the gun firmly but NOT with a death grip. Just enough to keep it from flying out of your hands. Too strong of a grip will cause you to fatigue too quickly. You want that revolver to go ahead and recoil as freely as it wants to just so long as you don't bury the front sight in your face.



RELAX and s-q-u-e-e-z-e. When the gun fires the recoil will move it immediately up and away from the front bag, and the fact that your hands are free means that they will not touch anything as they come up and back with recoil. A CONSISTENT HOLD WITH THE RESULTING CONSISTENT RECOIL ARC IS THE KEY TO ACCURACY.



Practice dry firing to perfect your trigger technique. You should be able to release the hammer and not have those sights move one iota. Sounds difficult but it really isn�t if you practice.



Sorry if I went over Shooting 101 on some points above when these may be some things you already know, but I figured it wouldn�t hurt to review some of the basics as there are probably other folks reading this who are just getting started in shooting. There are as many techniques as there are shooters but I have used this one for many many years. You can shoot a lot (100 plus rounds per session) of heavy recoiling ammo without fatigue and wring out the best accuracy your eyes can muster.



P.S. Almost forgot - place a piece of old towel or something like that on the front sandbag to protect it, as the gas from the cylinder will blacken and eventually rip through that bag. You will see this happen to the towel - the blast will cut two holes in it fairly quickly so you have to move it around to keep a fresh part in front of the cylinder.

I do it the way Jim does it. The only thing I do differently is to position everything so that my elbows are off the back of the table. When a .454, .45-70, or .50 AK slams you elbows into the table top, even if padded, you quickly learn that this is not something you want to happen again.

Good point. I have to mention that the baddest handguns I've fired off the bench were a 5 1/2" Blackhawk .44 Magnum with hot 300 grain loads and a 4 5/8" .45 Colt BH with similar hot 300 grainers. I tried a .444 Marlin and a .45-70 Contender once each from a prone silhouette position, firearm held one handed resting against my leg, recoil wasn't too bad but not my cup of tea.

Anyway - bottom line in handguns is just like it is in rifle bench rest shooting. You want it to recoil the same way every time with as little interference from the person holding it as possible. With handguns obviously you have to hang onto it more so it requires a bit more care in the consistent hold.

If you mean firing off your back from a reclining position with your knees together and your elbow on the ground with your other arm supporting your head, then the silhouette position is called "Creedmore". Taken from the rifle creedmore position that Buffalo hunters used to use. If you are used to the creedmore, it is as good as a benchrest. Takes some getting used to and stretched out, but very useable in the field where your bench is not!

I tried the Creedmore position once, as in 1 shot. I had a Ruger Super Blackhawk 44 mag that I thought that I might try in Handgun Silhouette. I got down into the same position I'd seen the Silhouette shooters use resting my arm on my upper thigh and the gun on the lower leg of my Jeans.

The fine point of the position that I missed was that they all had heavy leather blast guards on their legs.

One shot created me a new pair of cutoffs. The blast from the loose cylinder gap on my Ruger blew the seam of my Levi's open from the ankle to the knee. I had a foot long 5" wide scar full of blast fragments etc..

Never did end up shooting it in a match........DJ

dj - got your PM and thanks. I tend to be overly wordy but just try to be complete.

As to the Creedmoor position - a friend went to the range and tried that with his 6" Model 17 S&W .22. Rather, he sort of imitated what the silhouette shooters were doing. At the shot he jumped up with an exclaimed "ouch!". Seems he forgot that the muzzle should be IN FRONT of one's leg. He had put two neat .22 caliber holes in a fold of his pants and missed shooting his kneecap by about 1/2". Fortunately all he got was a minor powder burn but we got a good year of ribbing him for it.

I managed to keep the muzzle in front of my pants, but I really need to send the old Ruger to get tightend up, it's probably getting about as dangerous from the side as it is from the front with the loose cylinder gap........DJ

I don't know how you could wear a Ruger to get end play in the cylinder! I have 56,000 HEAVY rounds from mine now and have ZERO end play. The gun is as tight as the day I bought it. Of course I always use STP oil treatment on the pin and ends of the cylinder including the ratchet.

Maybe the STP is why you're getting more mileage out of yours... ......DJ

The Creedmoor position needs to be adjusted depending on your firearm. A blast shield over your leg is necessary to shoot a revolver. Single shots do not require a shield, but you must be sure to put the forearm of your pistol on your leg & not just the barrel. Also, you must be stretched out to assume the position correctly and be able to "relax" in this position. The whole purpose of the creedmoor is to let your body relax so you remove the tense muscles from causing movement. A good silhouette shooter with an accurate single shot can hold MOA groups at 220 yds with open sights! Many hours of practice are required, but the creedmoor can be more accurate than a benched position. Also, letting the pistol free recoil instead of trying to hold it down will result in more consistent groups. Position works in the field as long as the grass/brush is not above your leg once in position. Try it out in your living room to get used to it. The best pistol silhouette shooters in the US can't be wrong when 99% use this position in freestyle.