Everyone,

I use a #4 model rest from National Match Rests. It makes shooting large bore stuff a dream. Virtually no felt recoil. All of his rests are extremely well made and allow you to focus on load testing, not getting beaten up at the bench. National Match Rests can be found at: http://www.nationalmatchriflerests.com/

You won't be sorry.

They would sure work OK.

A few years ago I mastered the bag of lead shot and like it because can use it anywhere. Wish I had been using years ago and I would not havea bad neck now.....Mike

Lefty hunter,
I reviewed the brochure and I think I'll order one tomarrow...I have bursitas from shooting the big 500's and 577's and I have trouble filing in the iron sights these days and that just may be the Berries...I'll call them tomarrow...Thanks, Ray

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

Ray,
If you get one, I would be interested in your opinion of it, as I may just buy one myself if it works.

Lefty hunter,
One question I have is; How does the recoil reduction work? Is it the weight of the unit that dampens the felt recoil? Is there some kind of spring loaded actuator that slows the recoil down? What percentage of recoil reduction can one expect?

It would seem to me that unless the rest is bolted down to the bench, its going to come back at the shooter, albeit maybe a little slower then with just the gun by itself. And what about that steel backplate! Is that what goes up against your shoulder?

Just curious.

Tony

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www.miltsparks.com
holster@ix.netcom.com

Tony and Ray,

It is a very heavy well built unit to begin with. There is a bracket that bolts to the front of the rest and that in turn is clamped to the shooting bench. Then at the butt of the stock there are 3 rubber (neoprene like material) covered brackets that adjust to cradle your stock. In the smaller caliber stuff the rest stays pretty stationary, but in the big bore stuff it moves a little to the left. No problem, though, you just crank the wheel and get back on line.

Ray, I have to think that it would be great for prairie dogs. Just traverse for windage and elevation at squeeze away. Also, it will make shooting your big bores seem like a .222 or less.

The metal bracket does go against your shoulder, but there is no recoil. You will touch off the first shot and say wow that was great and a little strange. Then you can't stop grinning because you just finished 50 rounds of load testing and no bruises and weak knees.

Also, the legs have rubber feet protectors for concrete benches, etc that can be removed to use the spikes that can be sunk in a wooden bench.

Good luck to you both.

[This message has been edited by lefty hunter (edited 07-28-2001).]

Gentlemen,

We have one rest which is very similar to this one made by Lahti, and works in a similar way to reduce the recoil.

We have it mounted on a shooting bench that weighs over a hundred pounds. After firing a half dozen rounds with the 577 T.Rex, the table moves back about a foot!

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

I have left two messages for call backs and have not heard from this guy yet, I don't know maybe he is on vacation, or this is a part time business...

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

Ray,

I spoke with his wife and he has been out of town and will be getting back later this afternoon. I'll make sure he gives you a call.

Update: I just spoke with him. He was at the varmint shoot in Pierre and will give you a call.

[This message has been edited by lefty hunter (edited 07-29-2001).]

There is also another product on the market for bench recoil reduction. I saw it recently in a hunting magazine and then promptly lost the mag. It was a Z shapped piece of metal with a couple of legs for stabilization and some adjustment screws. The front fits over the front of the shooting bench and the back part of the metal you put your rifle butt on. Instant stop for recoil. Has anyone seen that add? It was about 70 usd as opposed to 410. Good shooting. "D"

Lefty,
He called and I ordered one....Thanks again

D Hunter,

That product is called gunbrake. It was reviewed in Guns & Ammo & costs around USD$80.00.

Trouble was the shipping cost to Aust. was around 3 x that.

Forgot the web address but here is the guy's email: David Philips [dphilips6@home.com]

Regards,
JohnT

The National Match rest appears to be a very good one, but unnecessarily complicated and VERY expensive.

I designed and built a rest made on a similar principle which is great for the heavy-recoiling rifles as well as prairie dog applications.

Although I didn't (and don't) intend to go into the manufacturing business, I have made a few for friends who now refuse to shoot from the bench without it

If as many of 10 of you guys want one, which would make the cost of the raw materials reasonable, I'll be glad to build and ship them for $75.00 (within the U.S.) This price would be WITHOUT sand bags (furnish your own to suit yourself).

Now, I'm not a commercial source, and I don't want your money. Just email me and let me know if you want to be on the list. If so, I'll notify you when the rest is ready and you can pay me then (shouldn't take over 4 weeks).

Email me for more information. I can even send you a digital picture of the first crude one I built so you can see what you're getting into. Materials are 5" steel channel iron, a section of 2 3/8 inch oilfield pipe, and some large diameter bolts.
There are only two simple elevation adjustments. There is no horizontal adjustment to fool with -- once you see the design, you'll understand why. I'll also guarantee that you'll never tear this one up!

Can't claim to have fired a .577 Tyranosaur off of it, but a synthetic stocked .375 H & H can be fired all day long without ill effect. (I designed this rest after suffering a slow-healing shoulder injury from extended firing of a super-light .340 WBY. At age 50, my joints just won't take the pounding they used to, and no one has yet come up with Viagra for the shoulder.)

If you email me requesting a reservation, I'll let you know of the expected delivery date. You can put the 300+ bucks you saved into your next big bore.

Oh, yeah. Be sure to mention your favorite color. I will need to paint your rest, so it might as well be the color of your choice; or for a five dollar discount, I'll send it raw and you can make it the color you want.

Happy shooting!

Stonecreek,

I think that it is terrific that you have built your own rest and that it works for you.

I do however differ with your opinion that the National Match rest is both overly complicated and expensive. This is not some roughtly made unit with angle iron, pipes, and large bolts. It is a precision rest that can be used for serious load development and very precise/stable varmint and long range shooting.

Although a H&R single shot rifle and a custom Remington 700 will both technically do the job, the difference is in the details, the level of craftsmanship, and the job for which it is intended.

I have no affiliation with National Match rests other than the fact that I purchased one and swear by the results that I have seen from the rest. I also don't own any production rifles - everything sports a custom barrel, etc. But, then again maybe thats just me.

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Mark Roe

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
--Benjamin Franklin, 1759

Lefty:

As I stated, the National Match rest appears to be a very good one. It does appear to be unnecessarily complicated in that provisions are made for adjustments that are more theoretical than practical (fully variable distance between front and rear rests, multiple leveling fore and aft and side-to-side, ability to compensate for uneven bench surface, etc.) This complexity makes it cost a lot to build and sell. I don't doubt that its price is reasonable considering the costs that go into it.

Once again, if shooters have a need of this type of rest, but don't wish to spend over $400 plus shipping on it, I'll be glad to share my splendily simple and effective rest with them for the nominal price of $75, shipping included, which will just about pay for the materials that go into it and for someone to cut and weld to specs.

My son has a twelve cylinder Jaguar with auto adjusting driver's seat, self-leveling suspension, auto light dimming, multi-disc CD changer, and a host of other features that I can't even begin to remember. It mostly sits in the repair shop waiting on some expensive part for one of its complex components while he drives a Chevy truck. There are instances where you may be willing to pay the price for sophistication, and other times when you may prefer economy and simplicity. You "pay your money and take your choice".

And good luck to National Match; they sell a beautifully made and no doubt useful product which many shooters will want to buy.

This is a theoretical question. Given a rifle of very heavy recoil and a rest that does not give, does not the stock and bolts absorb 100% of the recoil? If so, how much of this can the rifle take before something gives?

Steve

A sage observation, Steve.

The rest must give some in order that no component of a rifle, heavy-recoiling or otherwise, is damaged. The rest I have built slides backward on the bench with each shot, but, in effect, adds about 15 lbs. to the weight of the rifle.

If a rest has a hard upright member against which the rifle's butt rests, and the rest gives too little, or not at all, then the gun WILL be damaged.

I learned this the hard way with an early prototype of the rests I have built: Shooting a Kimber .223 (now there's a hard kicker for you) with a metal butt plate, the angle of repose of the prototype rest was such that the recoil was all transferred through the toe of the stock. The wood under the toe was chipped after only a few shots.

Afterwards, we corrected the angle of the rear upright and added more padding. I've never had a problem with gun stocks with rubber recoil pads, but always caution my friends with plain butt plates, and especially metal butt plates, to make sure adequate padding is in place.

If you go out and place the butt of a .30-06 against a brick wall and touch off a few rounds, you'll have the action crawling back through the tang of the stock in no time.

Any recoil-absorbing rifle rest MUST not be excessively heavy and MUST be free to recoil itself in order to avoid the possibility of damaging the gun. For this reason, rests which actually attach to the bench, unless spring loaded or otherwise providing for "give", are hazardous to the health of your rifle.

The National Match rest has a large spring that compresses some with the recoil and the top frame returns back to the original position. The top frame has white "nylon" plates that allow the rest to give with the recoil. The spring is very stout and my guess is that it compresses enough to take the strain off the stock. At least that is how it looks to me.

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Mark Roe

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
--Benjamin Franklin, 1759