Naughty but fun gun rest

[Scythe13]

This is a very gun heavy month hu?

This is my fun, but naughty way to make sure I don't wobble when I am sighting up on a bunny, but am in the mood for a standing shot or something like that.

Works best in preplanned positioning, but could be very useful to get a similar system set up for when you're at home looking to pop a couple of shots off into the garden, or something like that. I'm sure you could work out ways to make this system work for you.

Out shooting at the moment...thank goodness for internet connections and smart phones haha...I'm tucked in behind a tree and I was resting my air rifle on this small broken branch nib type bit. I then had flashes of getting a screwdirver and some super long woodscrews and screwing them into certain trees that I like to use for a bit of pigeon or rabbit. Then it occurred to me...that's a damn good idea!

Imagine a fence post with an inch or so of smooth nail sticking out. The screw would be massive and only about 2/3's tapered with screw (this stops massive damage, but you could just wrap a little tape around the end of the screw to stop even more damage). Next thing we know, we have a pre-set height system, stabilised for certain types of shot.

Granted a set of shooting sticks would work just as well, but I just thought it a cool, and VERY CHEAP way to set up solid bases on which to shoot, if all other branches were too high, or something like that.

What do you think?

[BeardyMan]

No need for a screw or nail matey, you control the height, rest the barrel against the support, and no lateral movement.

I caught a couple of the "higher scoring" league shooters (LWS, not prone obviously) doing this on competition cards at my old club. Cheaters!

[Scythe13]

There is always the option to just place your hand against the strut or tree, and then work your thumb up as a rest, or you can use your index finger.

But, as usual, I'm lazy and want an easier option...and one that reduces the possibility of human error from making the shot go wrong. It is kind of cheating, but that's okay. It's like resting the gun against the side of a tree, and on the crux bottom part where a branch meets the tree trunk. However, you've made the branch at the height and in the direction you want it to be in.

[BeardyMan]

That's almost what I was referring too. You don't need a rest to stop the barrel dropping though, you hold it. Just use something vertical to stop the barrel from moving from side to side. Screwing things in is, and this is just my opinion, making things more complicated and therefore less efficient.

If you want to go really easy, then go prone (where possible) or use a shooting / range bag with rest built in

[CharlesHarris]

I have found whenever resting a firearm against a hard surface, that shots go wild,the moreso if the gun is lighter, rather than heavier. The best support other than sandbags, is to rest your hand on the support, and to grasp the gun normally, with your fingers, as you ordinarily would, using a sling or lanyard, if available, to provide a slight isometric tension to dampen any muscle tremors. Old buffalo hunters or safari shooting sticks exploited this principle.

[BeardyMan]

Or you could buy one of those gimpy bondage looking jackets that you tighten up to keep your arm in place. Prone shooters use them all the time.

[Mortblanc]

I seldom shoot without using a rest. About the only time I do not use a rest is when competition rules do not allow it.

The vast majority of my shooting is accuracy based research, which is a test of the gun, not the shooter. That means I will use the best rest possible, a stable table, sand bags, adjustable machine rests if available.

When out and about I usually carry a walking staff and use that as a rest.

Most humans are very unstable shooting platforms and a general waste of good ammunition, unless properly supported.

[Tartar Horde]

Or you could just learn to shoot correctly, assuming the right position for the shot, learning to breath correctly and following through.

[BeardyMan]

(14 April 2014, 22:11)Tartar Horde Wrote: and following through.

I was always taught to avoid following through. Especially when out and about.

[Hex]

instead of putting screws into the tree, why not just jab your knife or screwdriver into the tree?