I have tried both in my search for the most stable/accurate benchrest, but the jury is still out on this.

I also have to factor my shooting technique into the mix, since maybe I am not being consistant myself with grip, cheekweld, trigger pull, and follow through.

! would appreciate any advice that you can give my to help me find a good solid technique that I can build on using sandbags or the ledslead.

Whatdayya Think??

Thanks! Frank

I think the benchresters have already proven the best rest combinations.
The most accurate item is usually a rail gun
followed heavy BR rifles with a heavy metal rest and sandbags.

I've never used a Lead Sled but one thing to think about, if you say you're not the steadiest bench shooter, using a mechanical vice to hold the rifle certainly isn't gonna help you any.

I had my doubts about the lead sled, until I used one. Up to then, I would leave the range with a very bruised and painful shoulder. Use of the device stopped that cold. My objectives at the range were to sight in various rifles with several handloads each. The device was a blessing. One caveat is that it is not comfortable to position myself with a rifle in the sled; some contortion is required. But, the objective has been to reduce cumulative discomfort while shooting several high-powered rifles.....and that has been the happy result.

Is there any POI difference between the sled and sandbag's???

I got a Lead Sled about four or five years ago. I LOVE it! It takes the guess work out of my shooting, pretty much eliminating MY errors from the shooting equation. I have a nice solid shooting table built underneath a window in my garage, then a lane cut through the woods and out to 100 yards.

My Lead Sled sits on a bench specifically built to the proper height to shoot from the Sled. The problem I've found with a Lead Sled is the rifle sits so much higher than it would had the rifle been sand-bagged. So shooting a Sled from a sand bag table puts the rifle up too high and forces the shooter into unnatural contortions.

Once the rifle is at the proper height, then it's just a matter of dialing the elevation to set the cross hairs of the scope on the center of the bullseye and shoot.

I'll then move to a nearby tree stump and shoot from a more natural rest like you'd find out in the field to confirm the zero.

I haven't noticed any change in the point of impact between the Lead Sled and sandbags...

I think the Lead Sled feels rickity and I cannot get comfortable behind it. I love my BR setup and have no intention of fixing what isn't broken for me.

I own a large lead sled. I use it for checking load in my heavy recoil rifles. I don't put sand bags on it. For sighting in a scope, take one shot, reposition the rifle with cross hairs on the bulls eye. The sled will securely hold your rifle and you then move the cross hairs to the bullet impact. Presto! A two shot sight in!

I also have a bunny ear loaf bag and a Caldwell Rock BR Front Shooting Rest.
I really like that set up!

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
I own a large lead sled. I use it for checking load in my heavy recoil rifles. I don't put sand bags on it. For sighting in a scope, take one shot, reposition the rifle with cross hairs on the bulls eye. The sled will securely hold your rifle and you then move the cross hairs to the bullet impact. Presto! A two shot sight in!

Yup, that's what I do too. It really works great, especially when shooting heavy recoiling rifles, those with expensive ammo or when I don't have a lot of time. I like to shoot, but I don't really like the whole sighting in process with a gun that beats on me.

quote:

most stable/accurate benchrest

The lead sled is a recoil absorbing device.

Sand bag rests have proven the most accurate for bench rest.
If you cannot handle the recoil I guess you have to compromise.

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:

quote:

most stable/accurate benchrest

The lead sled is a recoil absorbing device.

Sand bag rests have proven the most accurate for bench rest.
If you cannot handle the recoil I guess you have to compromise.

That might be, but I do know that I appreciate being able to shoot anything from my .17 HMR to my .45/70 loaded with 540 grain hard cast bullets and get the same accuracy....

quote:

Originally posted by Shof:

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:

quote:

most stable/accurate benchrest

The lead sled is a recoil absorbing device.

Sand bag rests have proven the most accurate for bench rest.
If you cannot handle the recoil I guess you have to compromise.

That might be, but I do know that I appreciate being able to shoot anything from my .17 HMR to my .45/70 loaded with 540 grain hard cast bullets and get the same accuracy....

I think you will find softer bullets and 1100 FPS more accurate with a 45-70.

BTW you can guy 45-70s with lead sleads built in. They are called heavy barrels.

quote:

I think you will find softer bullets and 1100 FPS more accurate with a 45-70.

BTW you can guy 45-70s with lead sleads built in. They are called heavy barrels.

I shoot nothing but Garrett ammo in my .45/70, so I'm shooting about the best I can get. Even though I reload, I can't beat the performance of his ammo, so I don't even try.

I don't mind the recoil, even of the 540 grain rounds when I'm in a hunting situation. But when I'm checking a scope for accuracy, I prefer the Lead Sled over sand bags.

And I don't want a .45/70 with a built in lead sled, my 1895 Marlin weighs just right for carrying in the field, not too heavy, not too light, but just right...

quote:

Originally posted by Shof:

quote:

I think you will find softer bullets and 1100 FPS more accurate with a 45-70.

BTW you can guy 45-70s with lead sleads built in. They are called heavy barrels.

I shoot nothing but Garrett ammo in my .45/70, so I'm shooting about the best I can get. Even though I reload, I can't beat the performance of his ammo, so I don't even try.

I don't mind the recoil, even of the 540 grain rounds when I'm in a hunting situation. But when I'm checking a scope for accuracy, I prefer the Lead Sled over sand bags.

And I don't want a .45/70 with a built in lead sled, my 1895 Marlin weighs just right for carrying in the field, not too heavy, not too light, but just right...

Oh not really a reloader? Just a hunter.
A light rifle but you have to have heavy loads.
But you only shoot it for hunting except when checking it off a bench when you have to have a mechanical rest. One box of ammo lasts you 5 years?

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:

Oh not really a reloader? Just a hunter.
A light rifle but you have to have heavy loads.
But you only shoot it for hunting except when checking it off a bench when you have to have a mechanical rest. One box of ammo lasts you 5 years?

Define exactly what a "reloader" really is please?

I found that I cannot beat the performance and consistency of Garrett Ammo for my .45/70, which is why I shoot it rather than reload it. Although I might one of these days. I had read about Garrett ammo and decided to try it. His 420 grain Hammerheads shot so well, I decided to try the 500 grain and 540 grain rounds as well. However, the 420's are my standard hunting load.

I enjoy shooting ALL of my firearms, both at targets and when hunting. And ammo doesn't last me all that long. Which has me thinking that I really need to think about reloading for my handguns. It's getting expensive even buying "cheap" ammo.

And I don't HAVE to have a mechanical rest, but I prefer it. There's very little movement when aligning the sights on the target and the Lead Sled does a fine job of managing the recoil, in my opinion much better than sand bags do, although I'm sure there's other opinions regarding this subject.

Apples and Oranges. The one-piece rest is not legal in Benchrest except as a railgun.

Urban Mythology says the Lead Sled can splinter a wood stocked rifle, since the wood cannot move with recoil. Rumors were prevalent when they were first announced.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Apples and Oranges. The one-piece rest is not legal in Benchrest except as a railgun.

Urban Mythology says the Lead Sled can splinter a wood stocked rifle, since the wood cannot move with recoil. Rumors were prevalent when they were first announced.

And do you have any first hand knowledge of this happening? It's the first I've ever heard of this...

Rumor has been around for quite awhile. I have never seen nor met anyone who actually had it happen. Sounds like a myth started buy a rival company to try and gain some business back. We will probably never know where it started. I would like to see it happen once if it is a significant problem. If someone did have the wrist break on a rifle I bet it would have broken no matter what or how it was mounted. Feel free to prove me wrong with pictures dates and descriptions of the events. I am not involved with Caldwell or the leadsled at all except that I think they are a great product for sighting in a lot of heavy kickers. Sure saves a lot of bruised shoulders after 50 or 60 rounds of testing different loads.

If the Lead Sled is misused on a wood stock gun (more than 25 pounds of shot), yes it can wreck a stock. When I HAD mine I broke the toe off an old sporting 03' in 35 Whelen with 50 pounds of shot.(steel buttplate).
In Rifle or Handloader, they took apart a custom 375 H&H Ruger 77 that was built to be light. Split the stock right down the middle with 100 pounds of shot.

The Lead Sled gets a lot of hype but the Shooters Ridge rest is IME (owned both) superior.
-more like field position
-less stress on rifle
-correct height on benchrest
-you can hold foreend and grip as you would while hunting
-reduces recoil some, but rifle still acts normally
-closest to shooting off just bags
-less expensive

Amazon has them.



As a point of fact, the Brits are way ahead of use when it comes to shooting big boomers. If you have ever been to the H&H schools you can see standing bench rests where you take the recoil but it's far less than planted on your butt in a normal "American" style bench rest.
It also replicates field shooting as most big boomers are shot off your hind legs offhand or on sticks. Shooting a 505 Gibbs prone would probably earn you an eyepatch.

2 Sharps Rifles have broken at the wrist for me ,with 2 bags of shot on ttray.

sand bags only for me,ive tried other gun rest without luck so I stay with the sand bag.

The LedSled has some design flaws and is overpriced, so I use a simple design which I built myself the does a superior job of both recoil absorbing and providing a steady shooting position.

The LedSled most certainly can and will damage the stock of a heavy recoiling rifle if excessive weight is used on the device and because the little "feet" of the device tend to stick to the surface of the bench and add extra resistance in addition to inertia to the recoil. Stocks are especially prone to heel/toe damage if equipped with a steel buttplate, particularly a curved one which allows most of the recoil to be concentrated on a point rather than spread across the wider area of the butt.

That said, I've found the steadiness of a properly designed recoil absorbing rest to virtually match bench-type bags and rests, and it is much easier with which to change positions in order to shoot at a different set of targets.

Extensive shooting with calibers ranging from .22 Hornet through .416 Remington has shown no difference in Point of Impact between shots using the recoil-absorbing rest and shots taken from conventional bags allowing free recoil to the shoulder. I'm actually surprised at this.

The rest (rests -- I have built several of them as the material cost is around $20 if using all-new materials) I use is so handy and steady that both I and my shooting companions use them in the field when shooting prairie dogs (from a portable bench -- not prone). We also use them even when recoil absorption is not needed with small calibers simply because the rests provide such steady aim.

In order to build such a rest you'll need a length of common 5" steel channel about 36" long, a 1" common bolt (soft grade 3 is fine) about 4 inches long, two 1" nuts, a piece of 1/4" flat steel 2" wide by 7" long, and a small amount of foam rubber. And of course, a modicum of Duct Tape (no good do-it-yourself project would be complete without Duct Tape!) A can of spray paint in your choice of colors is optional, but does make the rest a little less homely. You'll also need access to just about any kind of welder (cracker box to heli-arc) to make just two simple welds. Gather up the materials and PM me for simple instructions on how to assemble.

This mechanical rest depends solely on its inertia to absorb recoil, and since it is neither attached to the bench nor artificially weighted with 6X the rifle's weight, it places little or no strain on the stock of the gun.

By the way, I have two shooting buddies who laid out the megabucks for the LedSled, but insist on using my device in preference to it.

I have a friend that has a lead sled and I've compared it with standard bags and didn't see much difference, though I see it as a recoil reduction device, and it does a good job at that.

We've never put weight in the tray as it reduces recoil enough in 35 Whelens and light 300 magnum rifles to shoot as much as you wanted.

Doesn't take long to sight the rifles in. Once I do that I usually practice sitting as well as shots off shooting sticks improve in those areas.

I kinda use the lead sled as a reference, so any variation in shots from different shooting positions is my own, or at least I "trust" it that way.

That said, I think the lead sled is overpriced, but it depends on how many shots it takes you to sight in with sandbags. I've seen some people chase holes to the tune of a box of premium ammo using suspect bench bags and setups that could benefit from an investment in a lead sled.

It could be flinching or shooting technique, but the lead sled takes some of those variables out, or aids, or enables them!

I don't think I'd plink away with the heavy kickers all day using one as it could put undue stress on the stock... but I can't verify that. If a stock's got a weak point it'll show up, but a weighted bench device probably accelerates that.