Using Front Rests

[The Gun Pimp]

Ovenpaa,

I've done this on a couple of my rifles to help them 'track' better.

However, some disciplines don't allow it - must be flat - but I don't think it applies to F Open.

The PTFE tape man is jon@hammie.co.uk - I think he charges £10.95 for four pieces - enough for two rifles. It's exactly the same as I used to get from the States for $28 - when shipping and tax is added.

Cheers
Vince

[ovenpaa]

Thanks for the mail addy Vince, I will contact him. Did you notice an improvement in tracking with the modifies fore end?

[The Gun Pimp]

Ovenpaa

To be honest, I can't say I did but it was a case of 'monkey see, monkey do' - I saw that Jason Baney had done it on his 6mmBR 1000 yard benchgun when he won the US Nationals with it a couple of years ago.

Cheers
Vince

[bobped]

Ovenpaa,

One possible reason for your "slumping" as you call it, is that your back bag is settling lower as you fire. This raises the muzzle higher on the target. When you are setting the rifle up to shoot, raise the butt a few times and gently thump it down onto the rear bag. This settles the sand and minimises the business of the rifle muzzle appearing to rise during the shoot. Its often not the front stand changing. Usually the reason for the muzzle being higher or lower on the target during a shoot is some instability with the rear bag. The more stable and immovable you can make the rear bag (within the rules of course) the more consistent your shoot becomes.

As regards the tension on the joystick, this is usually a matter of preference. I tighten the tension so that I can move the joystick easily without having to "force" it, but not so loose that the front bag begins to "sag" under the weight of the rifle if I let the stick go.

Another useful trick is to set the height of your front bag just high enough so that you can rest the hand holding the joystick on the ground while you are on exact aim. This is much more reliable than having your hand 4 - 5 inches above the ground with no support other than your muscles when you are trying to fire a shot.
Cheers
Bobped

[ovenpaa]

No idea how I missed your reply Bob. Thanks for the tips, I do try and keep the joystick low so I can use the ground to support my hand for more precise control, I am tempted to build a new control arm and experiment with some different shapes. One annoying thing with the Farley is the control arm will rotate despite the lock screws being tightened up so I need to look at a more secure means of locking it together.

In fact I am tempted to pull it apart to see how it works, I suspect they are very simple inside and seeing it will give me a far better understanding of the operation