About portable shooting benchs?

S

savagelover

New member
I have been thinking about getting one of those portable benchs for target and or shooting crows way out there..I have looked at several of them on line.Have never seen one for real...Got to wondering if any of you on this site have one or know of someone who has one and would be willing to share some info. on it..I am 6-2 and I worry it might not be very comfortable if made for smaller people..I have a table I made which is nice..but am looking into something more compact and portabel to use...Thanks:)
 
My portable bench for out in the desert.
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If you are worried about comfort, make your own. Look at how the commercial versions are put together, then design one to fit you, the way you want.

There are two ways to go, breakdown, or folding. Breakdown is easiest to make, folding is easiest to move. Legs and frame out of 1/2 square AL tubing, seat and top can be anything from plywood to a recycled (to another use) plastic table top and anything in between.

Portable benches are great for shooting gophers and coydogs.
 
A drummer's stool is a good seat because it is adjustable to whatever height the ranges have their booths set to.

You can get them online or at most music stores
 
I talked my father into buying the Cabela's Pivoting Bench, a few years ago. He loves it, even if he does complain about the weight, occasionally (45 lbs). I liked it as well, of course; since I'm the one that talked him into it. ;)

I've used it a few times in mud, sand, snow, rocks, gravel, and other unsatisfactory conditions. Generally, the tripod leg configuration isn't an issue; and remains quite stable. When it does try to sink a leg, a little bracing goes far (rocks, sticks, mud flap, whatever).

When you compare it to ANY folding table and ANY chair I have ever used, or tried to use, while shooting; the bench wins.

It should be large enough, strong enough, and stable enough for you.
Cabela's shows the bench as sold out right now, but it'll be back. ;)
 
I chose the caldwell stable table, but any of this design I would think to be great. It gets a showing in these two movies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnWR5ETxpHc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_KLxiDTTmQ

3 legs will always sit steady whereas 4 fixed legs will not on uneven ground. Also the seat design allows you to quickly get on and off it by straddling it, I bought it with my dad in mind who has 2 knee replacements. I'm 6' and have no problems with this table. It is heavy though so transporatation and setup would be much easier with a typical folding table but in place I think you'll be more then happy with one of these designs. It has an adjustable leg so will always sit stable and level no matter what its on, adjustable seat height and pivots 360. Putting weight on the seat is what tightens everything up.
 
Don't forget, you can't shoot crows with lead anymore====never heard that befor..When hit they aint gonna know what they got hit with anyway....

Thanks for all the replies----I have looked at some of the one's you mention..I thought the bable's looked pretty short....But maybe not...I appreciate your comments...I have always thought it would be great to have a portable bench....John
 
Two folding saw horses and a piece of heavy plywood. Set your support over one of the saw horses for maximum support. Works very well. Cheap, and it all folds up almost flat. Some 2x6's fastened under the plywood would give extra support and raise the bench higher. Folding stool. I’m more comfortable on my knees. Perfect height. The other half has a small folding foot stool she sits on. Support is jeans pants legs filled with sand from the beach. Not something to impress your friends with, but it does work.

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Wingspar ----------- Excellant idea..I love it...If you don't mind I am gonna use your idea....And I too have shot the same way befor..On my knees...And the sand bags are also good..I have done that befor,but I like to use dry saw dust..Makes for easier carry...Thanks again....John
 
savagelover said:
Wingspar ----------- Excellant idea..I love it...If you don't mind I am gonna use your idea....And I too have shot the same way befor..On my knees...And the sand bags are also good..I have done that befor,but I like to use dry saw dust..Makes for easier carry...Thanks again....John
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Glad you like it. I’ve posted my setup several times in several threads on this subject, and I can’t remember anyone ever acknowledging my post at all before. As long as you set your support up over the sawhorses, you’ll be good to go. Set up in the middle between the sawhorses, and the table will just bounce around.

The sand bags are heavy, but I pack them in a heavy canvas bag, and use them to weight stuff down in the back of the pickup if there is something that needs weighing down. You can also fill them with dried beans. Not as heavy as sand.
 
Shooting Bench

I have used this idea of a sheet of plywood with sawhorses. One thing I added were two lengths of 2"x2" runners under the long edges of the plywood which reduced the bowing. Also used blue jean legs filled with cat litter for support.
 
gstone------your right cat litter is great for a sand bag...I have a bull bag I wish I had filled withthe litter..it would be a lot lighter I KNOW..
 
I can't post any pictures because the homemade table my dad made went away many years ago.

The basic table was made to have a rough L shape, similar to that of the Caldwell table in the link posted above, so that there was support that came back under the the butt of a rifle allowing use of either a supporting shooting arm or rear sandbag. It was made out of two pieces of 3/4 inch plywood glued together with 2 inch diameter pipe that screwed into 3 fittings mounted to the bottom. The legs would unscrew for transport and had caps to keep from digging down into the dirt an bringing it home. We had discussed filling the pipe with a sand/glue mixture to add weight to reduce movement under recoil but never did. Seat was a metal folding chair.

I've tried sitting at a variety of the commercial benches but the seats/table distances always feel that there is insufficient support or I am leaning to far forward.
 
I have tried several portable shooting benches at gun shows and that people have brought to my range. I cannot say that any of the benches designed as portable shooting benches are sturdy. For example, the Shooter's Ridge Deluxe Shooting Bench toques/flexes quite a bit with shifts of weight on the seat and on the table top. It is stable so long as the shooter remains completely still.

Part of the problem with many such designs is that to increase convenience, they benches are design with a built in seat. In order for the setup to be portable and include both a bench and a seat, they have to be of more lightweight construction.

What makes improvised setups like the folding picnic tables and plywood on sawhorses work much better is the fact that the seat is NOT part of the bench. So a tremendous amount of the weight that can upset the stability of the bench isn't resting on the bench. Also nice is that such improvised setups are inherently cheaper than the dedicated portable shooting benches and have functional uses outside of just shooting. You aren't going to realistically throw a table cloth over the Shooter's Ridge Deluxe Shooting Bench and use it to accomodate more family at Thanksgiving, use it as a work table for painting the house, a craft table for the kids, etc.

As far as the foldup picnic tables go, I really like the 2 feet by 4 feet versions. They seem sturdier and have less flex than the full size versions and are easier to handle, cheaper to buy, and will fit easily into even small cars.
 
You're gonna laugh,,,

But a friend of mine saw a picture on the internet,,,
He went to a Goodwill store and bought an old ironing board for $2.00.

He bolted a piece of plywood on it,,,
And a piece of 2x4 to each leg to make them wider,,,
Now he has a very nice and easily portable shooting bench.

I said you'd laugh. :D

Aarond
 
You know,after reading the above post,I do remember seeing a bench made from an ironing board once..Of course the older modles would be a lot better made...
I found an old black and decker work mate at a guys house.Asked if he was gonna do anything with it.He said take if you want it...It works great for shooting out back the house....
 
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