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Building a kickless rifle rest.
I’ve been looking in the gun catalogs at various rifle rests for a long time. I have a set of the lyman rests with a somewhat adjustable front and a bag in back with ears to hold the buttstock. I really like the idea of the “Lead Sled” that cradled the buttstock in such a way it made the heavy rest part of the rifle weight thus cutting recoil a bunch. I just didn’t like the $100.00 price tag.
Being that I had a new workshop and a brand new mig welder I decided that with some metal scraps I had hanging around and the bags from my Lyman rest I might be able to build one.
Cabela’s had an interesting rest that looked like it used a scissors car jack to make front elevation adjustments easy. I happened to have an old one lying around.
I have no blue prints or plans for this project. The support tubing could be made from 2X2 square tubing or any sized you have handy. Just remember that weight will be a factor.
With some 1X2 inch tubing and a few flat plates and some half inch bolts welded together I ended up with a pretty nice rifle rest. I used some 1/8 inch by ¾ inch strap to form a U shaped piece that I planned to slip the buttstock holder and the piece that wrapped around the back of the stock to transfer the recoil to the rifle rest rather than the shooter.
My wife sewed the pieces I needed from some old seat belt I had lying around. I used some clear caulking to make sure they would not fall off when handled and riding around in the back of the pickup.
This is by no means a bench rest competition rifle rest, but it is sturdy enough to be put in the back of a pickup with a portable bench for sighting in or clearing the squirrels out of a big field.
It also functions well by reducing recoil to comfortable levels, especially when you add 25 pounds of shot to it. I have shot my unported 8mm mag and a 375 H&H and both gave a felt recoil of a 222. This makes it really nice when your introducing children or wives to shooting big bore rifles.
I used ½ inch bolts for the level adjustment screws. I welded nuts on some ¼ inch tabs to thread them thru. Using the top of a spray can I marked out knobs and cut them out with a torch for the adjustment knobs and just welded them to the head of the bolts.
I used a bent piece of ¼ inch rod welded to the jack handle crank and bent to shape to adjust the front forend support up and down.
So far the only problem I have found, that I will correct, is a windage adjustment that is easy and simple to use. Right now you have to scoot the back right or left to get on target.
OK guys, I don’t want you to laugh at my terrible welds. I’m new at the mig stuff and I did not get the gas adjusted correctly. I am doing much better now.
I’ve been looking in the gun catalogs at various rifle rests for a long time. I have a set of the lyman rests with a somewhat adjustable front and a bag in back with ears to hold the buttstock. I really like the idea of the “Lead Sled” that cradled the buttstock in such a way it made the heavy rest part of the rifle weight thus cutting recoil a bunch. I just didn’t like the $100.00 price tag.
Being that I had a new workshop and a brand new mig welder I decided that with some metal scraps I had hanging around and the bags from my Lyman rest I might be able to build one.
Cabela’s had an interesting rest that looked like it used a scissors car jack to make front elevation adjustments easy. I happened to have an old one lying around.
I have no blue prints or plans for this project. The support tubing could be made from 2X2 square tubing or any sized you have handy. Just remember that weight will be a factor.
With some 1X2 inch tubing and a few flat plates and some half inch bolts welded together I ended up with a pretty nice rifle rest. I used some 1/8 inch by ¾ inch strap to form a U shaped piece that I planned to slip the buttstock holder and the piece that wrapped around the back of the stock to transfer the recoil to the rifle rest rather than the shooter.
My wife sewed the pieces I needed from some old seat belt I had lying around. I used some clear caulking to make sure they would not fall off when handled and riding around in the back of the pickup.
This is by no means a bench rest competition rifle rest, but it is sturdy enough to be put in the back of a pickup with a portable bench for sighting in or clearing the squirrels out of a big field.
It also functions well by reducing recoil to comfortable levels, especially when you add 25 pounds of shot to it. I have shot my unported 8mm mag and a 375 H&H and both gave a felt recoil of a 222. This makes it really nice when your introducing children or wives to shooting big bore rifles.
I used ½ inch bolts for the level adjustment screws. I welded nuts on some ¼ inch tabs to thread them thru. Using the top of a spray can I marked out knobs and cut them out with a torch for the adjustment knobs and just welded them to the head of the bolts.
I used a bent piece of ¼ inch rod welded to the jack handle crank and bent to shape to adjust the front forend support up and down.
So far the only problem I have found, that I will correct, is a windage adjustment that is easy and simple to use. Right now you have to scoot the back right or left to get on target.
OK guys, I don’t want you to laugh at my terrible welds. I’m new at the mig stuff and I did not get the gas adjusted correctly. I am doing much better now.
