Building a shooting table/bench

[snowwolfe]

Sometime in September after it starts to cool down I plan on building a table/bench to shoot from. It has to be able to accommodate both left and right handed shooters.
Any good tips? Plan on using pressure treated wood because it will be exposed to the elements 24/7.

[country gent]

Does it need to be portable semi portable or once set in plce it lives there forever? Will it be on concrete gravel or dirt? Under a cover or completely in the open. All of these make a diffrence in materials and or construction of the bench. Another thing is to consider is skills and available tools for the project. I have shot off the true concrete benches. A tee laid up of footer blocks on edge and a 4" thick concrete top and they are very solid and stable, better if on a concrete pad due to weight. Heavy wood benches can be decent also and may be better if on gravel or dirt due to lighter weightnot sinking as fast. Light wood benches can be moved easily but arnt as stable or solid. Steel frames is desighned good are solid and stable but require the original paint job to stop rust.

[winelover]

CBRick and I, built this last Winter. T- shaped table accommodates both RH & LH shooters. Pressure treated lumber and cinder block column legs.

172781

Since this picture was taken, four cement 18" x 18" blocks were place on each side to level the site for portable seating and gravel spread to keep the vegetation in check.

Winelover

[762 shooter]

Snowwolfe,

I'll be back home this afternoon. I have a heavy duty bench plan that I have built several of.

Last one I built out of leftovers. Ambidextrous.

I'll post later.

762

[toallmy]

[smilie=s:My wife wants her picnic table back in the spring , so I shoot handguns in the summer .

[snowwolfe]

The bench will stay in place and not be covered. I do plan on using a three leg design and digging holes under each leg and filling the holes with redimix.

[winelover]

Here's what the finished bench looks like.




172792



Winelover

[SSGOldfart]

my local Range uses the same design,but there top is also poured out of concrete,which I really don't like because they are rough surfaces,but it well be there many years after I'm gone. I made my bench out of treated 2x6" not cheap but it only took a few hours to build and I can move it if necessary by pulling with a lawnmower or ATV:razz:

[buckwheatpaul]

I took a 1-1/4 piece of scrap plywood....put a curve on one end and ran a piece of 2x2 down the middle of the bottom. I stained the plywood and then blued and screwed the 2x2 down the long part of the plywood in the center line. I then clamp the 2x2 in vise portion of a black and decker portable workmate.....the curve allows your belly to fit and the plywood extends about 6" in the front and back of the workmate....incredible stable and easy to move.....Paul

[MarkP]

I use wooden cable spools I get free from work. I shoot right handed and when using the spools I shoot from about the 7 / 7:30 position, left handed shooters could shoot from 4:30 / 5:00 position. The axis of the rifle is parallel to a line between 12:00 & 6:00 cheated to the right. What is nice about the spools is you can roll to a different location fairly easily. The mice really chew the lower portions of wood.

The design above (winelover's) would be better than the above mentioned spool in terms of fit and comfort.

[Smoke4320]

Here's what the finished bench looks like.




172792



Winelover

Did on similar out of concrete.
Poured a slab
used blocks just like yours then poured a top in a simple 1/4" plywood form and 2x4s from the slab form
3 people picked it up and set it on the blocks .. Been there for about 10 years now and still looks like new ..
Cost was less than $150.00 total

[JSH]

Good job on the bench. Especially for not mounting the seat to the bench.

[BigEyeBob]

172818172819

this my portable bench top is made from a solid core door and a portable vice jaws.
Its very stable and makes a solid platform for shooting from

[jmorris]

I built mine for right/left hand shooters and the seat is adjustable for height and in and out feet are on skids so it won't sink in the ground and everything except the top is steel so when the wood rots you just drop more in. We now have a cover over it so might be awhile before it needs new decking but next time will be with composite deck boards, so that will be the last time.

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20160723_165132_673_zpsmgbyodkb.jpg

[Tonto]

Send me a message and I will email you a PDFs plan of a bench I built that can easily be modified to serve both right and left handed shooter....

[762 shooter]

172907

This bench is very stable. You can use nails or deck screws for the top.

172906



762

[Drm50]

I will take a picture of mine and post it. Have a buddy who has auto repair business. We formed
up tubular frame on his exhaust pipe bender. Top and seat made from Trex, decking material.
Tubular frame spray painted with engine paint. Trex fastened to tubular frame with tapered head
spanner bolts & nuts that are used for mechanical splices in heavy conveyor belts. Two guys can
lift into pick up, so semi portable. Has been sitting out in weather in Ohio for 10yrs. We made second one, all the same except we used 5/4" pressure treated deck boards in place of Trex.

[jmorris]

This is one a friend gave to me. He made a plywood form and put in female fittings with the wire and then filled the form with concrete. I keep it at the house because it doesn't take up much space once you unthread the legs and easy to move with a regular dolly.

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

[Von Gruff]

This was the pattern I built mine on although I just made it single sided for right handed shooters
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv39/VonGruff/001-12.jpg (http://s667.photobucket.com/user/VonGruff/media/001-12.jpg.html)
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv39/VonGruff/002-6.jpg (http://s667.photobucket.com/user/VonGruff/media/002-6.jpg.html)

[rondog]

172907

This bench is very stable. You can use nails or deck screws for the top.

172906



762

My gun club uses very similar benches. I place high value on shooting benches with a lot of real estate on the top! Lots of space comes in mighty handy. They're a mother to move around though. Wish I had building skillz, we need a couple dozen new ones.

[RP]

For a portable table think of using some fold up table legs. Keep a eye out for the legs since the tops of the press boards models fail as soon as it gets wet. And a pipe flange mount which you can screw a piece of pipe into. I used 3/4 pipe top is the same T shape shown in the post above.

[flyingrhino]

173216One sheet of plywood. 5 pieces that just slide together. Ambidextrous. Found plans online. Just slip it apart and it fits flat in the trunk of my small car with the back seats folded down. Very sturdy and light.

[RP]

173216One sheet of plywood. 5 pieces that just slide together. Ambidextrous. Found plans online. Just slip it apart and it fits flat in the trunk of my small car with the back seats folded down. Very sturdy and light.


I looked and looked for those plans never could find them would be nice if you would post a link or copy paste the plans here. Btw table looks great and I am sure a lot of folks here would love to build one.

[toallmy]

Yes please . My wife made me bring the picnic table back from the farm that I shoot at , and I have put together a sort of bench , but unstable is not just a mental thing .

[jmorris]

Looks to be a number of them out there.

This is one of them.

http://www.realitysurvival.com/survival-resources/free-shooting-bench-design-plans/

[alamogunr]

This was the pattern I built mine on although I just made it single sided for right handed shooters
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv39/VonGruff/001-12.jpg (http://s667.photobucket.com/user/VonGruff/media/001-12.jpg.html)
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv39/VonGruff/002-6.jpg (http://s667.photobucket.com/user/VonGruff/media/002-6.jpg.html)

I built this one a few years ago. With two pcs of 3/4" plywood it isn't much lighter than the 3 legged bench with the concrete top. It is very stable. I wish I had only cut it for a right handed shooter(me) though. I usually shoot alone.

[toallmy]

Well done and appreciated gentlemen , I have used a piece of dock that floated down the Chesapeake bay a few years ago after a hurricane , with some 4/6 legs but rickety doesn't really describe what happens when in use .

[OS OK]

I like it, I like people who consider us leftie shooters...I like the gusseting...you know how to build a stable table...think I'm coming up with something along these lines that is towable with the lawn tractor or the ATV. That adjustable seat is the game changer...

good job morris

[jmorris]

Thanks, the adjustable seat really does help a lot at our farm. No feet to skink into the sand and can accommodate any shooter. Here is a closer view.

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20160723_165121_628_zpsfork7csl.jpg

[sparky45]

I looked and looked for those plans never could find them would be nice if you would post a link or copy paste the plans here. Btw table looks great and I am sure a lot of folks here would love to build one.

A quick Google search got me here: http://www.realitysurvival.com/survival-resources/free-shooting-bench-design-plans/

[country gent]

The bench top we poured from concrete were3' wide and 4' long with the back edge inset on both sides for lft or right handed shooters.Theywere 4" thick and weighed close to 600 lbs. set on the tee of footer blocks they didnt move wiggle or shimmy at all. I dont think a person kickingthem could shift them LOL. There is no substitute for solid joints and weight to make something stable and solid

[RP]

Looks to be a number of them out there.

This is one of them.

http://www.realitysurvival.com/survival-resources/free-shooting-bench-design-plans/


I see the link and that is what I am looking but down loading to their site with my PC is not a great thing to do lol. Anyone have the downloaded specs or blueprints they care to share that has downloaded them ?

[alamogunr]

If I had a permanent(private) place to shoot, this would be the one I would build, since I'm not a mason or concrete expert:

http://www.horstguns.com/services/shooting-bench

The only change I would make would be to use plywood or untreated 2X's for the top. I don't like to have my bare skin in contact with the treated lumber.

[flyingrhino]

Here are the plans for the bench I built. I wish I could give credit to the author but I don't know who it was. I just found these when surfing the net. Makes a really sturdy and portable bench. I added some aluminum channel from Lowes on the feet to protect the wood from wear.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ivk37vn5imzt768/AABShDdn2WF0ZIoj_2E-FBGwa?dl=0

[flyingrhino]

JMORRIS found it! That's the one I built.

[Frank46]

Sounds stupid I know. But get the pressure treated wood that has not had the time to really dry out. I built a picnic table once and after finishing used Thompson's water sealer to stain it. Sealed so well the moving guys couldn't pick it up. Had to take it apart when I moved. It's been about 20 some odd years and still very heavy. Never really dried out and still strong as the day I built it. Used 3" galvanized screws to hold it together. Frank