[quote author=7D696B0F0 link=1416255510/5#5 ]i made an adjustable "bench x-stick" to simulate using the ground x-stick i use for match shoots ...

RFD'

This is way off topic but that's some beautiful country and a nice looking range.  Where is it?

JS

no shortage of good 250 benches down here where it gets warm enough to pour concrete

Canadians do like to vacation where it is warmer and shooting on American ranges has certainly helped out our scores.

QuestionableMaynard8130 wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2014 at 2:58pm:


What are your top scores off the bench?

I have just gotten back to shooting center fires last season, so I don't have much to report on that, yet

My best rimfire to date is a (for me) near miraculous  245-6 in the 200 yd rimfire Schoyen using a German Martini 22rf Schuetzen and a "sled".  It tied the same national match record score previously shot TWICE by Charlie Persons

Bear in mind that my primary interest is in shooting offhand as long as I can.  So far most of my center fire benchrest has been learning and load exploration. 
But even so I have become convinced that, at least with the offhand schuetzen style rifles, the tripod support offered by a sled and bag offers stability advantages over using a front bag. 
   The only actual benchrest match I normally shoot is the 200 yd 22rf "single entry". The record-tie was a bit of a fluke. 
I had shot the single entry and done fairly well, but not all that well with a low 240. On a whim I decided to try a few Schoyens and somehow managed to catch the conditions just right on one.  I fear it was a once in a lifetime event for me.

The seriously dedicated benchrest shooters I've watched, those who do nothing but, tend to use flat-bottomed forends as wide as the rules permit and butt stocks that are wide flat-bottomed also. The bottom flats of the stock and forend are carefully aligned to be parallel with the bore.  The rifles are heavy a few with 2 1/2" (or more) diameter barrels.  Front bags in the rest are heavy with a square opening that fits the forend pretty tightly and the rear bags are also flat topped.  Most are shot "free-recoil" with minimal contact.  The heavy weight and bag setup, combined with relatively light target loads yielding fairly minimal recoil that is straight back. Often the triggers are "pinched-off" between the thumb and forefinger.
Some of the shooters get their rifle set in the bags, loaded and cocked, and the sights carefully aligned. Then they sit "heads-up" carefully monitoring the range conditions until they see a condition they like. When the conditions and timing are just right they can pinch-off the trigger with out having to look back through the rifle scope. 
Among the top shooters, once their equipment and load are dialed in and set, reading conditions correctly seems to me to be the major factor between them.

Bear in mind that I have only shot on the Etna Green range so my experience is limited {And that while we do get shooters from all over the county who come to the Spring and Fall matches} so custom and practice may vary with other groups of shooters

Finally something I can contribute.  At Clarks Rifles in Vancouver WA we shoot off of 3.5" thick concrete top benches, anchored by re-bar into 4" channel iron filled with concrete, in turn re-bared into concrete floor.  No vibrations. 

Several cast bullet records have been shot here, including my modified military 10-round group at 300 yards.  I will be running a 32-20 CPA this spring so a true humbling will arrive with it! 
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     Very nice benches at Mason range.
     High too, at four concrete blocks.  Some folks do not like them that high.  I like 'em.

Are the targets fairly uphill?

andy