This topic comes up from time to time, and when it does I am reminded of the photo of the Holland & Holland guy testing a big double off a "standing rest" in Graeme Wright's book, "Shooting the British Double Rifle." Has anyone actually built one of these? I am tempted to ask the guys at my gun club if we can build a good, stout, permanent offhand benchrest, but would love to see some decent plans.

buy:
1 ten foot long 2x10.
1 square foot of thick berber-style carpet.

Cut the 2-by into a 4' and 6' length.
Cut a shallow vee into one end of the 6' piece.
Take this piece and stand it up vertical.
Measure your rifle height in the notch and trim it to that length minus 2".
Take the short piece you cut off and screw/glue it to the end on the ground.
Take the 4' piece and screw/glue it horizontally to the rest piece. You have an L-shaped contraption that is the correct height for you to rest the rifle in the V-notch and shoot.
Take the carpet pad and cut to fit the V-notch.
That cushions the rifle.
I cut a notch out of the vertical piece about 3" below the bottom of the Vee about 3" in and 12" long. That lets me snug my non-shooting hand in close to where I grasp the fore end. The rifle sets on a pad to protect the finish, it can recoil freely, and I just put my left foot close to the vertical piece to keep the contraption from moving around under recoil.
Optionally, eliminate the notch, and just run the carpet over the top. That will allow you to use a 2x6 if you wish. For easier transport, just screw/glue the short piece to the horizonal piece, and drill two holes thru the upright and the short piece. You can unscrew it for ease of transport.

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

Rich,

How about a picture of this "Idaho engineering"?

Craig Boddington had a picture in an article of the standing rest used by Geoff Miller of Rigby USA. If I remember correctly, it was a carpeted roller, with vertical adjustment to suit the height of the shooter. Does anyone have that article? It seemed very simple yet effective.

I made something much simpler and it works good for me.

I took a 2x4, cut 2 pieces about 16" and 12", cut one piece about 10" long with 45 deg angle on the ends. 16" horizontal, 12" verticle, 10" piece brace
Used 3" deck screws, screw 16" piece ontop of 12" piece. Use screws to secure the 10" angled brace piece.

Use C-clamps to clamp it to an upright at the shooting range. You can drape a piece of carpet or use a sand bag on top.
I set the height so I am lined up just below the target, then lift up slightly to center the sights and shoot.

FWIW

Lar45,
I like the design.

Easy, inexpensive, portable, infinately adjustable.

BMG

quote:

Originally posted by BMG:
Lar45,
I like the design.

Easy, inexpensive, portable, infinately adjustable.

BMG

Yeah, excellent idea.

The simplest one I've seen is two 2x10s bolted together to form sort of an angled cross or "T" formation - then screwed onto a big camera tripod at the crux of the "T" and onto another at the long end of the "T". Surprisingly solid and very portable.

I have A tri stand that has a u At the top to set my gun in
And that works for me.

Our local range has 8"x8" square posts to hold the roof of the covered shooting points. I take a carpenters clamp, the type that uses a length of 3/4" pipe as the bar of the clamp, and clamp it on the post then slip a piece of foam pipe insulation over the pipe that is sticking out to the side. I've considered making some type of clamp-on rest that supports both arms and allows the shooters chest to rest against the edge, but the above works well enough that I haven't gotten around to building anything else.

quote:

Originally posted by elk hunter:
Our local range has 8"x8" square posts to hold the roof of the covered shooting points. I take a carpenters clamp, the type that uses a length of 3/4" pipe as the bar of the clamp, and clamp it on the post then slip a piece of foam pipe insulation over the pipe that is sticking out to the side. I've considered making some type of clamp-on rest that supports both arms and allows the shooters chest to rest against the edge, but the above works well enough that I haven't gotten around to building anything else.

That's a great idea too.

Put longer legs on your regular bench rest or make them adjustable with pipe and holes with a cross bar...pretty easy to do..

On a standing bench you need the same right elbow rest as you do on a regular bench IMO, not just a stick to rest the forend on..

Craig Boddington's book African Experience has a good picture of a standing rest on page 233. Should be pretty easy to make by the look of it.

Posted for Rich:

this is what it is. Take the 10-foot 2x6 and stand it up straight against the garage. Stand next to it and hold the rifle level. Mark that with a pen. Cut it 6" shorter. This is Piece A Make a second cut 16" off of the original piece. This is Piece B. Take B and clamp it even with one end of the Piece A. Make a center line and cross mark it every 3". Drill 1/2" holes on the crossmarks. Then screw that Piece B a foot off of one end of the original piece. It looks like an "L" with a little extra length past the stub. Take Piece B with the four holes in it and figure out which set of holes, upright setting against the horizontal piece, or +3, +6, +9, or +12 fits you best. I measured the bottom set of holes for someone 5'4", which tops it out (at +12) for somebody 6'4". Home Depot Special: $5 for the 2x6, and seventy-four cents a piece for 1/2x4" bolt with two fender washers and a nut. Oh yeah, scrounging a 6"x12" piece of carpet to fold over the top rest...?

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Put longer legs on your regular bench rest or make them adjustable with pipe and holes with a cross bar...pretty easy to do..

On a standing bench you need the same right elbow rest as you do on a regular bench IMO, not just a stick to rest the forend on..

Ray has it right. With your elbow rested and also being able to lean into the standing bench with your chest, you will be nearly as solid as with a regular sitting bench.

JPK

$7.50 and twenty minutes out the door and on to the range. I consider putting leg extensions on the concrete benches at the range too much like work.

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...