"bench" shooting rifle from pistol range table?

Z

zimm

New member
My local 22 yard indoor range is mostly a stand up in the stall with a handgun type place. The backstops got upgraded to handle up to .30-06 so now I can shoot most my long guns. To sight in a rifle, they offered me a cheap folding metal chair to use. The "bench" is just the fold down pistol table thing going actross the stall. I had a bipod, but it was too high and the but of the gun is floating back off the bench with my shoulder. Not very stable. What is a good way to shoot from a narrow bench?
 
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We have several different benchrests available for free if you need to use one. The benches are steel,weigh about 50 lbs.and have to be removed by hand,they do not fold down and the chairs aren't cheap.:D

If we are slow,we would also be glad to remove the bench & let you shoot prone if you prefer. We have been a "small arms range" for 27 years and do our best to accomodate everyone. At 22.5 yards it is not the ideal long gun range but it is the best we can do for now.
 
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Purely personal opinion: That distance is too short for a centerfire rifle to do more than ensure that you're on the paper at the usual rifle distances. You can achieve that with a relatively "primitive" setup.

For scoped bolt-actions, dead on at 25 yards is commonly within two or three inches of center at 100 yards. Two to three inches high is commonplace. Two or three inches to either side is not at all unusual.
 
At that range, the bullet prints on the target on its upward path, where it crosses the line of sight on its way up. There is no real way to know (without either a test or some pretty esoteric math) where the bullet will strike on its downward arc. A rifle sighted in at 22 yards could also be sighted in at 100 yards, or 150 yards, or some other range, and I sure can't tell you where.

Jim
 
Thanks mc1911, sounds like you work there. I've never seen anyone shoot prone there, didn't know you could do that. Hope it doesn't sound like I'm complaining, I'm very happy to have a place to shoot high powered rifle 10 mins from my house.

I guess what I'm looking for is maybe a bench vise or cradle thing that fits on the bench and holds rifle securely. I like having my own stuff.

As for sighting in, 22 yards works enough for me to get on paper. I print targets with the proper offset for where the bullets should hit. For example, .223 is 1.5" low at 22 yards.
 
I do work there. Were you in today by chance? We have several different types of rests but no vice types. They are free to use if they would work for you!!

We have done alot in upgrades & hopefully in the future we will be able to offer longer ranges for the rifles. It will take a while but those are the plans!!
 
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