Pistol Rest

[AlanF]

Not sure where to ask this question so if I am off base please point me in the right direction.

I would like to purchase a good pistol rest to use when load testing from the bench. What are your recommendations?

Thank you,
Alan

 

[rkittine]

Ransom is the Gold Standard.

 

[elpac3]

Ransom is the gold standard but a rabbet ear bag works well on a budget

 

[H Richard]

An old 25 lb shot bag filled with fine sand about 80% full, and a piece of leather to lay over it to keep revolvers blast from it.

 

[Green Frog]

If you can find one, Lee Custom Engineering (as it was changing to Mequon) made a mechanical pistol rest that was sort of halfway between using a bag rest and a Ransom Rest. It uses an aluminum insert that replaces the grip on revolvers or the magazines in semi-autos. They haven't been made for decades, but they still show up on eBay, a lot cheaper than the Ransom.

Froggie

 

[rockquarry]

I had a Ransom with windage base and sold it years ago. I've been using a Sugar Creek handgun rest with Protektor bags for about thirty-five years; a simple, all steel unit.

The Ransom rest works very well, but develop good consistent technique and, at twenty five yards, you should be able to duplicate what the Ransom will do at fifty yards. The big advantage of the Ransom as opposed to using a good handgun rest is the Ransom doesn't suffer shooter fatigue. When the shooter becomes fatigued, it's time to take a break. Otherwise, fatigue definitely becomes a factor in enlarging group size.

 

[AlanF]

Thanks guys.

 

[Mike0251]

I have this one and it is very nice and made extremely well.
Compact Shooting Rest

 

[glenwolde]

I could never shoot off of a manufactured rest as well as I could off of sandbags. I tried but it just didn't work for me.

I was taught to only rest the frame on the bag. The butt and the barrel should be free. I'd rest the front portion of the frame (forward of the trigger guard and a portion of the trigger guard) on the bag and adjust bags so the butt was just barely off the hand support bag.

Shooting off bags is a developed skill, just like shooting offhand. There is still "shooter error".

The flash from the gap will dirty up your bags, and can tear them eventually. A piece of leather in this area goes a long way.

 

[steelslaver]

I made my own modeled on a ransom rest. Uses a John Deere fan clutch disk and a big spring for tension to handle recoil. It uses ransom rest inserts. I made it so the base pivots and locks for vertical and the rest pivots gun up for horizontal. I use cargo straps to lock it to the benches.

It is actually a bit embarrassing to see how much better that a gun shoots from it than when I hold it.

 

[Muss Muggins]

It is actually a bit embarrassing to see how much better that a gun shoots from it than when I hold it.

All my guns shoot way better than I do . . .

 

[Johnnu2]

An old 25 lb shot bag filled with fine sand about 80% full, and a piece of leather to lay over it to keep revolvers blast from it.

What he said...... been working for me for 60 years so far ))

 

[steelslaver]

I have 2 leather V bags I had filled with bird shot and had made height adjustable mounts for them. Made it for rifles, one for the forearm and the other near the butt. I had my model 53 jet along and decide to fire it off one of them. I quickly blew a hole in the thin leather and I had shot all over the top of the bench. Another life lesson.

 

[H Richard]

That's why I put the piece of leather over the bag rest (post 4). I burned a few holes in bags also.

 

[raljr1]

Yeah, I shot my model 53 off of one of these, resting the frame on the bag...now I have some nice duct tape holding the stuffing in....

Robert

 

[Dale53]

I have used MTM's combination Rifle/Pistol rest with excellent results.

I have access to a Ransom Rest, but tend to find myself using the MTM much more often:

MTM Predator Shooting Rest

FWIW
Dale53

 

[steelslaver]

Here is my homemade machine rest.

The plywood it is mounted on is setup so I can use ratchet straps to firmly attach it to the concrete benches at our range. It is adjustable with the large homemade thumb screws for elevation and horizontal and you can lock the rotation down firmly. I have both K frame and N frame inserts. If I ever do a frame I will probably just use a set of grips for a pattern and mill some from UHMW