Bench/F Class front rests.

[spud]

heavy is good heavy is reliable , if it doesnt work you can always hit em with it

[ovenpaa]

Heavy, well carrying a 10kg rifle, plus range bag plus 14kg front rest plus 10kg rear bag plus ammunition uphill from the 800 yard point at Stickledown on a rainy day is not an ideal for me, especially when I only have about 5 minutes before I have to shoot at 900, reducing some weight (Not at the risk of impacting stability) has to be a consideration.

As do a few other factors...

[Michael Sproul]

heavy is good heavy is reliable , if it doesnt work you can always hit em with it

"Off a pack of f****** pikies...." :lol:

[Gun Pimp]

This is one for the Bench & F Open shooters.

I shoot an F Open rifle with a Farley Co-Ax II front rest. It weighs around 16Kgs and is a PITA to lug around but I like most F Open shooters use it because, erm that is what other people do and there is not a huge selection (OK some F Open shooters use bipods but they are few and far between) Now I have to admit I dislike such front rests, they are heavy, awkward and for the most poorly designed, oh and hugely expensive as well. I think mine is around USD1000 new and some are approaching USD1400. Now I was lucky as I picked mine up as new for considerably less than this so that was part good but it is STILL TOO HEAVY!.

So why the cost – that is easy, they mostly come from far away prices and are machined to high tolerances for a small market so they are bespoke items.

Why the weight? Well I can only assume they are heavy because they are primarily built for bench rest where they need to be stable sitting on a concrete bench but for F Class they are stuck on the ground so far less chance of moving around, so does this mean they can be lighter? My view is yes, a lot lighter in fact. I sketched out some ideas for the 'perfect front rest' a while ago and talking to 20Series today had me resurrect the idea, plus having used a Farley for the last year or so I have some more ideas, so I guess that will be my next project then I will be able to get rid of the Farley and start carrying something a lot lighter.

Does anyone have any views on this? Anyone want a Farley, or maybe something new and different?

Dave,

I've owned and used several front rests for benchrest and F Class. I've just bought a SEB NEO - OK shooters say they are expensive but they cost about the same as a new chambered barrel.

That represents excellent value to me - a barrel will take a few hours to chamber and may last a year or two - the SEB will last a lifetime! Fantastic value in my opinion.

As for weight, yes, very heavy to carry about but they can't be too heavy for shooting. Most ranges allow you to drive to the firing point anyway - in the F Class League that is.

When I shoot in a 'home' club shoot, I often use a bi-pod -like one of Mik's - they are very sturdy and not too far behind a proper rest.

For the record - quite a few of the better Open F Class shooters make heavier bases for their SEBs and Farleys.

Anyway - I never begrudge lugging a bit of gear around or walking to butts - better than going to a gym!

Vince

[Scotsgun]

Got to admit that i have no real experience of shooting with these rests but 10-16kg seems excessive. Putting my engineer's hat on, the excessive weight is to compensate for the restricted distribution through the base.

I viewed a Farley Co-Axial with Edgewood Pad fitted. There doesn't seem to be any complex machining or casting involved. It does seem bomb proof, but does it need to be so? If looking at modifying, i'd bee looking at alternate materials and increasing the distribution of weight .

Are there rules concerning ground anchors?

PM me if you want to chat, rattle up some CAD drawings or test components on the CAM machines.

[Christel]

I might be shouted at here however is a heavy front rest really that important, is it not better to have a well built and accurate rifle?

[Sandgroper]

I'm not knocking any of you who shoot at that level or invest the time and money to do so, but these sort of threads make me glad that I've decided against this sort of shooting.

All I really want to do is shoot reasonably well at whatever range and not need what seems like truckload of equipment/accessories to do it .
For me, the obession with weights, equipment and reloading to the nth detail takes all the fun out of shooting.

I'll keep reading these threads, with interest (possibly understanding very little ) but thank you for helping me decide what I want to do with my shooting and that is to keep it simple. sign92

Cheers and good luck in your quest.

[Christel]

"Keep it simple"

Isn't that the motto of some defense group?

I totally agree!

[Sandgroper]

"Keep it simple"

Isn't that the motto of some defense group?

I totally agree!

I don't about that, "Hope to Hit" might be more accurate! :shock: :lol:

[Christel]

:lol: :lol: