Ransom Rest

[Jammer Six]

Has anyone bought or used a Ransom Rest?

I'm seriously considering buying one, and I'm curious about their use.

Are they large? Heavy? Hard to set up? Hard to use?

What benefit did you get from using one?

[subsonic]

I have seen them in use. If I shot a lot of smaller caliber stuff, I might get one. There is a recoil limit where they stop working right.

Some people say they can outshoot them. I can't say.

You definitely get NO practice shooting your gun when using a machine rest, and most people that want machine rests want them because they feel that they are poor shots. They don't trust their own shooting.

You can't hardly get deer to walk in front of them once mounted.

[biscot]

Jammer Six,
I've never had access to one, but I've lusted after one - if they work as advertised it seems like it would eliminate the human factor from accuracy testing.
They look easy enough to use, but having a good solid bench to clamp them to is obviously important. (And a well-trained deer, of course). ;)
I'd be interested in your impressions if you do get one.

Bill

[bobthenailer]

I had one for about 15 years and after you work up loads in your guns you hardly use it . in the last 15 years or so optical sights are alot more readly avalible to fit almost any gun and I now use them for accuracy testing, and sold my RR about 7 years ago .
There are idosincres with the use of ransom rest ,selleting shots , tightness of the wing nuts on the grip inserts, useing a heaver recoil spring in semi autos because the RR holds the gun tighter than you can with your hand. plus a few more
You will have to make your owen mounting base . and the big problem finding a bench thats solid enough [no movement when you push sideways on it] to mount it on , i belonged to 3 gun clubs at the time and none were solid enough , they etiher shook or if not anchored to the ground or cement you could walk the bench when shooting with the RR.
The final soultion for me was to make my own with 8 inch round steel pipe with a platform welded for the top and buried 6 feet in the ground and concrete use to fill in the hole in the ground .
I now belong to a club that has cement block benches with the whole top being made from a concrete slab 3 inches thick and it is solid enough to use the RR on.
IMO because the avaliblty of mounting optics on most guns ! I would not buy a ransom rest and the grip insets are in most cases make & model specficec and expensive.

[44man]

All of us will out shoot the things from sandbags.
I would never try to put one of the large calibers in the thing.
I hate and I mean HATE to set up the chrono so I know what a Ransom would need. You need a bench made of concrete on a 4' footer! A toolbox to set it up, etc. :bigsmyl2:

[Frank]

44man:

All of us will out shoot the things from sandbags.
I would never try to put one of the large calibers in the thing.
I hate and I mean HATE to set up the chrono so I know what a Ransom would need. You need a bench made of concrete on a 4' footer! A toolbox to set it up, etc.
Exactly. The first thing I think about is all the trouble. And what do you get? I can shoot small groups without one. Maybe what they should be buying is a gun that can shoot or some shooting lessons. [smilie=l:

[fecmech]

Like Bobthenailer I had one years ago. Poured my own concrete base behind the house on my range. I still have a couple of the guns that were shot in the Ransom that are now mounted with dot sights to help my 68 yr old eyes. With the same loads today off bags with the dots I can shoot groups as good or better than the Ransom did. If you're young and like to use the irons just mount the dot or scope for load development and then take it off for use. With a dot or scope off bags IMO there is no need for a Ransom.

[biscot]

OK, now I'm convinced.
I have some questions about sandbagging - I'll start a new thread rather than hijack this one.

[Jammer Six]

How heavy are they?

[Blammer]

ransom rest's are about 10lbs is my guess how much mine wt's. That includes the board it's attached to.

The trick with a ransom rest is getting it secured properly.

It's great for finding the potential of a load for a particular gun.

I tested my Kimber 1911 with match target ammo at 50 yds and got a horrible group. 6" wide 3" tall. Shot some of my ammo I loaded up and tested earlier with it and got a really nice 2" by 2" group. Nice to know my loads were quite accurate even though I could not shoot that accurate with it, off hand or on a rest. :)

They do have their place if you are looking to eliminate a few variables, like the shooter. :)

[Old Caster]

I use the Ransom Rest for quite a few guns and they are invaluable for testing loads. One of the best parts of it is when you operate it correctly it makes no mistakes. Sometimes when I can't get inserts I will use a scope but the time and concentration level necessary to not make a mistake will weigh on you and when testing a lot of loads and bullets in one day you will start to mess up and then you have to know when you messed up and that it wasn't the gun or the testing is wasted. We have a RR that the members can use at our club but the inserts get messed up quickly and 9 out of 10 people that decide to try using it complain that it doesn't work properly and they can shoot better than the rest. The two reasons for this is they don't want to admit how croocked their guns shoot and or the rest is set up improperly or they are using it improperly. I have stood and watched many times as the person will push the gun down for the next shot with the barrel instead of the spot on the rest that is made for that. I will mention to them that it will skew their test and they will say OH!!! and quit doing that for 3 to 4 shots and then go back to their same habit. The reason the inserts get messed up is because people aren't careful about how they put the gun frame into it and it will chew it up. The worst is the 1911 because there are so many variations that are just slightly different and it is hard to put the gun into it perfectly. The inserts have to be tightened according to the instructions also and people won't read them. I finally bought my own rest and my own inserts because what is the point of using one if you don't use it right or it is messed up. One club has an iron plate to install the rest on and people put the rest right on it and have metal to metal contact. If you read the instructions you will find out that this doesn't work. I kept printing up instructions on how to install the rest properly and made a wood insert to use in between the metal. I finally gave up after making several wood inserts and numerous printings of the instructions and people throwing them away. Generally it sets in the club for months without being used. If you decide to get one, read the instructions, follow them exactly and mount it properly. If you are the kind of person that thinks he knows more and don't need the instructions, don't buy one. The concrete rifle benches will work properly but you will need to make a wood base that will fit it and it is a pain to change wood bases if you shoot it off other bases that are made specifically for the RR. -- Bill --

[fivegunner]

I have one , I use it most for testing ammo , I used it alot when I was building 1911`s . yes when I was younger I could shoot small groups off the bags , but not all day or every time. and I have used it with heavy loads from Rugers and Freedom arms, works great ! if Jammer 6 lived close to me I would let him use it so he could make up his own mind about the Ramson rest . PS. I have most of the insert`s:D

[BarryinIN]

I have one. I haven't used it much in the past few years because of how the benches are made at my current gun club. They are solid, but lack a lip that I can C-clamp my base to. I can re-do the base to another arrangent but have simply been too lazy.

I like it for when I want to test a lot of ammo. I might be shooting OK when I start, but decline as I go on and might even get better, but the Ransom stays the same. Yes, the gun recoils differently in the Ransom than in our hands, so it won't always shoot the same as you will, but it still gives a standard. From what I've seen, loads that do poorly from the Ransom do poorly from my hands too, and the good ones do well in both also.

[Stork]

I've had one for nearly 10 years and have tested hundreds of loads with it, primarily 45 ACP and different 22 ammo.

As has been mentioned, there is definitely a technique to setting them up. A badly set up Ransom rest will tell you nothing about your load and probably lead you in the wrong direction.

What you need to remember is the Ransom rest will not tell you the best the gun can shoot. I have seen shooters (better marksman than I) outshoot the rest.

What it will do is give you an indication of how well the load shoots, and will do it consistently over dozens if not hundreds of combinations. That is the issue with shooting them by hand. Most of us can focus and shoot one or two good consistent groups by hand, but if we want to try a dozen or more fatigue sets in. The rest never gets tired. Once the gun is settled into the grip adapters (5-10 rounds) it just gives you consistent comparative feedback on your loads.

If I had never owned or had the use of one I would have stuck with proven loads and ammo choices for my 45's and 22's. I would not have ammo as accurate as I do now, but most would have been within 1" @ 50 yards of my proven loads. It has also enabled me to test a lot of bulk types of 22 ammo as well as ammo that was accepted as being match grade. I have seen some expensive domestic 22 ammo that wouldn't group 6" @ 50 yards where some of the cheap 22 bulk ammo shot within 1 1/2" @ 50 yards. 22 ammo especially will vary from lot to lot. When I'm running low I will buy a test carton and rest it to see how it shoots. If acceptable I stock up on it and use it for practice.

FWIW

[brettb75]

I UsE mine extensively while working up loads for ruger Blackhawks and Smith's and it has been a tremendous help. I need inserts for a cz75 as I've got a couple loads to work up for it. If anyone has inserts for a cz75 for sale or rent or trade I would be very very interested

[lotech]

I had one with the windage base about thirty years ago and eventually sold it. As mentioned, it takes a while to get everything set up right. Many of us are not skillful in shooting a handgun from a conventional rest. For those who practice in improving such skills and are successful, a Ransom Rest is probably of dubious worth. For others who choose not to perfect there own skills, or may be unable to do so because of physical or visual limitations, a Ransom Rest can be of great benefit.

However, as also previously mentioned, the Ransom Rest never suffers fatigue; endurance of human shooters is limited.

[leftiye]

I've always thought a machine rest with a gun equipped with a scope would be the way to go. Screw adjustments to place the sight picture perfect for each shot, and a remote trigger pullering thingie. Trusting the rest to place each shot exactly on top of the last one doesn't sound like a high probability option.

[contender1]

Many years ago,, as I was testing a lot of things,,, I wanted a Ransom Rest. I couldn't afford one,,, & I borrowed one. ALL the comments above about them are true. Not necessary unless testing stuff while eliminating human errors & fatigue. Must be solidly anchored to work as they can. Must follow instructions directly or errors occur.
They are tools that when used as designed,,, they have their place.
Now, I later bought the less expensive Caldwell machine rest. It uses the same inserts as the Random. Same rules apply.
Once I got my testing done,,, it has gathered dust. But,,, I have a few more guns that I'd like to do detailed work on,,, so it will come back out when I have the time to do so.

[str8wal]

I used to have a Ransom Rest. I quickly tired of the time it took to set it up and resorted to the bags as I can shoot well enough from them for my purposes.

[dverna]

I used a buddies rest for testing target loads in a .22, Clarks, and S&W model 52. We use 50 shot groups. Hard to concentrate for 50 shots off sandbags but easy to shoot 50 with the RR.

Ours was was bolted to a concrete pier. We got 1" groups with target .22 ammo and 2 1/2" groups with the .38 --- this for 50 shots.

Cannot comment on shooting hunting loads with stiffer recoil.

Unless someone really needs the ultimate testing platform, I would think shooting a scoped pistol off a rest will suffice for most.

[Artful]

Wish LEE still made
https://www.shootersforum.com/attachments/handloading-equipment/1302d1092450039-lee-custom-mequon-pistol-rest-pistol-rest.jpg

[fecmech]

I copied Lee's design and made one many years ago, it wasn't really much better than a bench and sand bags.

[Preacher Jim]

I have used a ransom rest on all the handguns I build to test accuracy of the new barrels. I give a target with minimum of 10 round group to the friend I help build his gun to remind him what he can do if he does his part. Yes they take time to set up but even a sand bag or hand rest can shift or you can move slightly in the bag the rest eliminates human error.

[BigMagShooter]

good info