Shooting Bench Pics and Suggestions

[mnsharpshooter1984]

I'm looking at several shooting bench designs and was looking for some input and some pics of some of your creations.
I live in the country on my farm and I built a 100 yd range in my back yard. So far I've been getting by with my lead sled and a cheap card table but I want something solid. I will definitely build it out of green treat so it will last. I also want to build a second bench overlooking my back 100 acres where I have steel set up at 500yds. I've been busy on the mill/lathe/welder working on the ultimate shooting rest to replace the cheap lead sled and I will post pics soon. I'm an excellent engineer and fabricator when it's made out of metal but I'm not the best designer when it comes to carpentry. Really looking at layout and suggested height.

Thanks guys

[aarolar]

I think my next bench will be made from concrete, the last one I made from wood is going on six years old but is on its last leg.

[Artful]

Jealous yours is going to be permenant - these portable designs might help
http://www.guncustomizing.com/shootbenchplans.jpg


Material list


1 sheet of 3/4 inch plywood(used for table top)


1 section of 2 x 4 x 8 foot (for wedges)


assorted length screws (for mounting wedge blocks to bottom of table)


3 sections of black iron threaded pipe , 1 inch to 1 1/4 inch in size (used for legs)


3 floor mount threaded pipe flanges (to fit pipe size used)


12 heavy duty screws (for mounting the pipe flanges to plywood that is supported by wedges)


1 Quart of paint (use for finishing plywood top and legs) your choice of color


1 small bottle of woodworkers glue (used for gluing wedge blocks)





Tools Required


Circular Saw (used for cutting straight edges of table)


Jig Saw (used for rounding table edges)


Drill with screwdriver bits (used for installing screws)


orbital or belt sander (used to ease all edges and smooth surface of table)


appropriate drill bit sizes (used for screw pilot holes)


straight edge and pencil (for marking purposes)


paint brush if using brush on type of paint





When building the table , there are several steps to be aware of


get the sections of pipe longer than needed(approx. 4 foot lengths) then after the table is complete you can saw them to length to get the proper height


you can also weld small feet onto the bottoms of the legs to help prevent them from sinking into the ground
(automotive freeze plugs work very well for this)


it is best to use 3 wedges under each mounting block
(1 under each edge and one in the center makes the table more stable)


to achieve a stronger table , you can also double the plywood top if desired


this bench can also be built from 5 quarter boards but you must use cross sections of boards (utilized to hold the boards together) these cross sections are also utilized to attach the leg flanges


the table can be built for either left or right hand shooters simply by flipping it over to have the cutout section on the left or the right to suit the shooter(must be decided before attaching wedge blocks for legs)


all corners on the table are rounded but can be left square if desired
http://www.guncustomizing.com/shootingbench.htm


http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv39/VonGruff/001-12.jpg
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv39/VonGruff/002-6.jpg


http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2013/08/free-shooting-bench-plans-fourteen-do-it-yourself-designs/


http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c124/huntsman22/guns/HPIM3736.jpg
adds storage and rigidity - hand holds for carrying
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c124/huntsman22/guns/IMG_0051.jpg




Now this is my portable folding lightweight shooting table.
{click pic for larger image}
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/Maricopa%20Shoots/th_P1030981.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rowdyfisk/media/Maricopa%20Shoots/P1030981.jpg.html)
folded it fits into any car/suv/truck I have tried


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/Maricopa%20Shoots/th_P1030982.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rowdyfisk/media/Maricopa%20Shoots/P1030982.jpg.html)
takes but a few min to set up


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/Maricopa%20Shoots/th_P1030983.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rowdyfisk/media/Maricopa%20Shoots/P1030983.jpg.html)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/Maricopa%20Shoots/th_P1030985.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rowdyfisk/media/Maricopa%20Shoots/P1030985.jpg.html)


It was made from an 8 foot long folding table from Sam's/Costco/Staple's - half was discarded and the leg set
from that half was moved to this half but at more of an angle to help stability - the top was covered in a cheap
automotive carpet and part was cut away for my fat belly. You have to provide you own seat/stool/bucket
works well in rocky conditions.


The advantage of seperate seating is you can have a seat for you and a higher one for your young shooting buddy.
Cut down kitchen/bar stools work well and generally can be found cheap at the second hand store.
A chunk of plywood/flake board can be put down to help seating if the legs dig in.

If I was building for solid I would go with
http://accurateshooter.net/Blog/bench1404.jpg

[mnsharpshooter1984]

Thanks Artful, that portable rig looks like a must have on my next prairie dog hunt.

I've seen some like your last pic and I've seen some permanent bencches thatwrap around the shooter in almost a horseshoe. Just wondering why. If I'm going to do it I want to do it right.

[Artful]

Well, it's two approaches to the problem of fitting
left or right handed shooters.

Either way you need to either move the gun from left to right (horseshoe) Design

or

move the shooter from one side of the gun to the other
- "T" style

On mine I shoot right shoulder as that was how I was taught
so that's the reason my folder is cut out for only right handers.

My first was a wooden horse shoe design with single folding
leg out front and twin legs in the back with seat between
It was sturdy and stable but heavy and you had to step
over the bench seat that was non-adjustable.

Over the years I have learned
- 3 legs are better on rough ground
- it's better to have the seat separate from the bench
- better a carpeted or other non slip surface on benchtop
- Sand Bags are your friend

[C.F.Plinker]

The gun club I belong to has the U shaped benches. If you are just sighting in or bench shooting the side the rifle is on and the part in front of you is more than adequate. But the extra space is essential if you are chronographing you loads. You use up real estate fast by the time you get the front and rear rest, ammo box, spotting scope, chronograph, note paper, printer, and all the other stuff you "need" spread out and organized.

[alamogunr]

I made mine like the "blue" illustrations in Artful's post. Works fine but the darn thing's heavy for a portable bench. The only difficult part is the leg brackets. I got a welder at work(before I retired) to make mine. Did a better job than if I had paid a regular welding shop.

[Dan Cash]

Cast a concrete top and set it on some pressure treat 5x6 or old railroad ties sunk in the ground 3 or 4 feet. 3 posts are best as mentioned earlier, 2 in front and 1 in back. T shape seems to work best over all but dont make the leg of the T too long. It is very nice to brace your chest against the front and ribs against the side. If you shoot BP rifles, bench has to be long enough to support a muzzle rest from your seated position. Concrete. Concrete. Did I mention CONCRETE?

[altheating]

I made one of the portable ones as in post #3. Great for taking it with ya and making a day of it at the location of your choice. But for permanent shooting go with something more solid. I have two that Vopie and I made. One at my house for a 150 yard range and one at my shop for the 200 yard range. I put one of those picnic table umbrellas on it for shade. Vopie has a third that we made for his range. Some of the best benches we have ever shot from. We have been using them since I was a kid on the family farm. Wow, that's starting to be a long time! I'll have to wait to get the plans posted till after I get unpacked in SC.

[firebrick43]

I vote for concrete as well. However instead of using 3 sono tubes get a large diameter on 16" and a smaller diameter one 12". Place the smaller one inside the large one centered. Pour the space in between. Now you have one large diameter post that is easy to mow around instead of having to weed eat in between the three(or pouring a pad).

[BigEyeBob]

This is my portable bench I used a Triton jaws portable vice ,bench top is made from a solid core door .Takes less than a minute to set up and break down. It's heavy and doesn't move once it locked up.

[jmorris]

This is one of mine. Made from 1.5" angle iron and various sizes of box tube. The seat is adjustable for height and in and out for different shooters. Have a few south paw friends so I cut the center out and folks can use what ever side they want.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/target/bench/bench.jpg

[lancem]

These are the plans I used. Once the feet are buried in the ground it is solid as a rock. Built mine mostly from left over stock and did deviate from the plan some.
134811

[jmorris]

This is one a friend of mine made that is like some of the other portable benches above except he made a plywood mold and had the female threaded portions inside then "cast" them into concrete.

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/IMG_20150323_095333_294_zpsqgpzow2u.jpg

[Artful]

Need the fork lift to load it?

[jmorris]

The big one in #12 is a two guy job (without forklift) but the one in #14 is not that bad for a few feet. If I do more that just ate it out the back door of the shop I do use a two wheel dolly but it's solid.

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/IMG_20140119_140638_057_zpsa1a1ad54.jpg