Correct heights for shooting rests

[Guest]

Hey guys,

I need a shooting rest to sight in a rifle. I have plenty of material on hand so I figure instead of buying one at the store I'll make one, save some $, and add a few slots for tools, etc. .

The only thing I need which I have not been able to find online is what are the typical height ranges of the front and back "saddles", and how far apart are they?

To clarify, I'm just building the actual rest that sits on the table and holds the rifle, not the whole "bench" or table, which comes up in most of the google searches I did.

Thanks!

[BJB]

Height of rests depends on you and what is comfortable for you. When we (my son and I) shoot. I like mine about 2 inches higher then my son but we are the same height.

[oldogy]

I built one years ago that worked just fine at about 8 inches at the muzzle end. I used an assortment of wedges in the rear. I do not remember the dimensions I used but it worked on everything I had until I got a black rifle with those terrible high capacity magazines. So, guess I need to modify my work.

oldogy

[Guest pfries]

I built one years ago that worked just fine at about 8 inches at the muzzle end. I used an assortment of wedges in the rear. I do not remember the dimensions I used but it worked on everything I had until I got a black rifle with those terrible high capacity magazines. So, guess I need to modify my work.

oldogy

1. Cut a hole in the table you put it on

2. Dig a hole in the ground if your prone

Sorry lazy moment

[mikegideon]

I don't use high capacity mags from a rest. I always use 20 round mags, which are shorter than the grip on an AR.

[Guest]

Sorry - please allow me to rephrase. Does someone mind looking at theirs and post the minimum and maximum height range that it allows in the adjustable range? I'm going to make this one adjustable as well, just honestly not sure what range to use for min and max. As long as it matches a store-bought model's range of height, I'm sure it'll be fine. Thanks!

[BJB]

Mine will go from 3'' to 7.5''. off the table

[Guest]

Mine will go from 3'' to 7.5''. off the table

Awesome, thanks! And I assume that means there's no back and you add a sandbag under the rear? A lot of the ones I saw had a "saddle" (maybe there's a correct term?) in the front and back.

Thanks again :-)

[BJB]

My front rest is adjustable both up and down along with right to left. I do use a back rest that can be moved forward to raise the mozzel or back to lower the muzzel. This is only used to move the muzzel very little, most movement is off the front rest.

[Handsome Rob]

Hell, I use a 1 gallon paint-can & a sock full of dry sand! I support the heel of the butt on my clenched, left fist.

Been doing it this way for 20+ years & I've yet to find a reason to buy/build something better.

[Mike]

I built one years ago that worked just fine at about 8 inches at the muzzle end. I used an assortment of wedges in the rear. I do not remember the dimensions I used but it worked on everything I had until I got a black rifle with those terrible high capacity magazines. So, guess I need to modify my work.

oldogy

Lay on top of the rifle and use the magazine as the rest.

Mike

[Guest hawkeye10]

I have a cheap store bought rest. Where I shoot the land slopes down from the shooting tables. My cheap rest won't adjust low enough so I can't use it. So the lay of the land will have some bearing on the height of your rest. You might do some experimenting to determine what height will work best for you. Don

[Jonnin]

depends on what sorts of guns --- bolt actions etc could do with a fairly low/small rest, but a long magazine fed gun needs enough room for the mag to not hit the table below it. Adjustable is good, just a bolt up/down is sufficient there, but if you want it to be fixed then a typical AR and 30 round mag is going to need about 8 inches, a typical bolt action could probably get away with 4 or 5 inches...

[Guest]

Ok, here's what I think I'll build. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, as this is just a stab in the dark based on photos of commercially-produced options found online.

This is 3/8" plywood. The distance between the front and rear saddles is 19". Too much or too little? Actually I'll have to go check the 597 to see if this is too big. I was going roughly off the mosin size and it's a lot longer rifle.

The minimum height of the posts I are 5" and each has just under 3" of adjustability, so I think with that much range in the front and back, that should be plenty of elevation adjustment. Keyword think... I may add another inch to the minimum height of the saddles (up to 6") which would also give 4" adjustability. As long as this will zero in the rifles, I don't think I'll use it for actual shooting much.

The tray in the front will hold screwdrivers, rag, whatever. Once I figure out what layout might work for a couple smaller compartments, I can divide it up if needed. It's about 6x6.

Thanks!

Edited November 17, 2011 by Guest