Shooting Bench

[rpalmer]

Would anyone share their plans or photos of portable shooting benches they have made? I am planning to build one for myself and another for my brother. I have only see the "store Bought" benches. I would prefer to build my own. Thanks.

[45nut]

i'll dig up some pics of my folding design :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/45nut/misc/100_0688.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/45nut/misc/100_0687.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/45nut/misc/100_0686.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/45nut/misc/100_0685.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/45nut/misc/100_0684.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/45nut/misc/100_0682.jpg

just a cheap folding sawhorse with a thick top.. pretty darn stable and very compact when folded.

[markinalpine]

Would anyone share their plans or photos of portable shooting benches they have made? I am planning to build one for myself and another for my brother. I have only see the "store Bought" benches. I would prefer to build my own. Thanks.

Do you want something for bench rest type shooting, or for hunting?

I had a nice little folding stool that I used with cross-sticks for sit-down hunting. Lost the stool during a move. :(

Never needed a bench rest style since our range has nice, solid concrete tables for rifles, and welded steel tables at the handgun range, both with wooden stools you can move around to suit.

Mark :coffeecom

[edsmith]

That is a very clever idea, solid, cheap and portable. thank you.

[montana_charlie]

Portable shooting bench?

I cut out a suitable 'top' from a piece of plywood, and attached (glued and screwed) a length of 2x6 to the bottom...oriented front to back with the 'top', laid flat to the plywood, and centered.

I lay the top on a Black & Decker Workmate (the larger model) and clamp the 2x6 between the table halves.
The Workmate's feet have a wide stance which makes it stable, and it's heavy enough to prevent vibration in wind...within reason.

CM

[elk hunter]

Portable shooting bench?

I cut out a suitable 'top' from a piece of plywood, and attached (glued and screwed) a length of 2x6 to the bottom...oriented front to back with the 'top', laid flat to the plywood, and centered.

I lay the top on a Black & Decker Workmate (the larger model) and clamp the 2x6 between the table halves.
The Workmate's feet have a wide stance which makes it stable, and it's heavy enough to prevent vibration in wind...within reason.

CM

+1 used with a folding chair, Works great, easy to move and store.

[waksupi]

Nice, Ken!

[rpalmer]

The bench shown by 45nut is really a great imaginative idea. The pistol rest is another great idea. I hope to build and use my bench for informal shooting, sighting in, gun cleaning and maybe for ground hog hunting. My brother and I are building a permanent concrete bench at our cabin in the mountains, but we each need to also have something portable for our backyards at our homes.
I am amazed at all of the imaginative and unique ideas shooters come up with.

[dragonrider]

Wow I just realized I have numerous bipods hanging about in my shop, thanks Ken. :mrgreen:

Nice bench too ;)

[Doc Highwall]

45nut, how do you like that Savage pistol, I have one in 22Lr and I hope to bed it this winter and finish the trigger job.

[45nut]

Wow I just realized I have numerous bipods hanging about in my shop, thanks Ken. :mrgreen:

Nice bench too ;)

[smilie=s:

that was a "field expedient solution" LOL

I have since sold off that pistol Doc, but it too was a 22 lr and pretty accurate, no issues at all.

[WILCO]

i'll dig up some pics of my folding design....

That's great!

I'm too fat to shoot prone. :shock:

[Hardcast416taylor]

I made my first bench from plans that were is a Shooting Time`s How to project issue from about 30 years back. People liked my bench and borrowed the magazine for the plans. So far I know of 6 people that have built the bench.Robert

[crabo]

I made my first bench from plans that were is a Shooting Time`s How to project issue from about 30 years back. People liked my bench and borrowed the magazine for the plans. So far I know of 6 people that have built the bench.Robert

Pictures?

[Shooter6br]

i have used two types. First was a 1 in plywood top on foldind long table legs. Second was a complicated table found in The American Rifleman It was nice since the back leg adjusted for un even ground Nice foer long rang chucks.

[Shooter6br]

pic of table on location

[Von Gruff]

I use this bench and it has proved very sucessful. It has a set of threaded sockets welded at about 15 degrees and screwed to the bench pointing in the apropriate directions, that is forward and out for the front one and back for the rear one. The 2 in pipe legs have threaded top and it takes down to a flat pack for transport and is stable in use. The ground end of the legs are plugged so they dont fil up with dirt etc.
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv39/VonGruff/404Jeffery053.jpg

http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv39/VonGruff/404Jeffery078-1.jpg

For a mobile set-up as I can no longer go prone with a bipod because of shoulder issues I made this and it is very good in use and almost as stable as bench.

http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv39/VonGruff/shootingtrolly005.jpg

The wheels are adjustable for width to ensure stability onn broken ground.

http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv39/VonGruff/shootingtrolly006.jpg


By hooking a thumb arround the up-right the stability is very high and and small windage and elevation adjustments are easily made. Because the wheels are off the ground when set fro sheeting quite major windage shifts can easily be made by skewing the base on one of the three feet , and it is easy to move from spot to spot for shooting in another area.
http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv39/VonGruff/shootingtrolly003.jpg

http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv39/VonGruff/shootingtrolly007.jpg

Von Gruff.

[crabo]

Great pictures, the sitting cart is cool.

[AJ Peacock]

We built this shooting bench a couple years ago.

It is based upon a folding sawhorse that has extendable legs. The idea being that you can shoot from the bench up or down an incline. The top is held onto the sawhorse by 2 bolts with wingnuts.

It goes from 32" to 40" height and can slant up/down or be setup side hill, with one side taller than the other.

It's very stable and is easy to make stable on uneven ground.

AJ

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u193/AJPeacock_photos/shootingonaslope.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u193/AJPeacock_photos/40inchheight.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u193/AJPeacock_photos/closeupofpieces.jpg

[Von Gruff]

This where I got my plans for my main bench.

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

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

Von Gruff.

[rpalmer]

I am going to build my bench as shown in the plans offered by Von Gruff. I am going to Home Depot and Lowes for the pipe and fittings.I guess the hardest part will be to cut the pipe couplings at a 15degree angle. I'll search for someone to weld them for me. The table top I can cut out easily from 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood glued together. I think this bench will be perfect. I see an opportunity for someone to make and sell the leg brackets as I am sure the are many like me that would like to make the bench ,but haven't the means o fabricate the leg brackets. Thanks for all the great ideas.

[rpalmer]

I must say that I have visited many shooting, guns and reloading forums over the years, but have only posted here and on Gary Reeder,s forum. I have been overwhelmed with the polite and helpful replies I have received from various posters on each of these boards. I am truly grateful for everyone's help. Thanks again

[Hardcast416taylor]

Crabo, Von Gruf posted the plans and pictures of my bench.Robert

[woodyubet]

WOW ! There are bunch of outstanding benches out there. Thanks for posting guys...Ya got my head swimming........Here is my little bench. I've been useing it for 3 years now and it's always ready to go to the sand pits.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn292/jerrbearr3000/bench014.jpg

It's made out of an old saw table and some plywood..

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn292/jerrbearr3000/bench008.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn292/jerrbearr3000/bench005.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn292/jerrbearr3000/bench009.jpg

[markinalpine]

I am going to build my bench as shown in the plans offered by Von Gruff. I am going to Home Depot and Lowes for the pipe and fittings.I guess the hardest part will be to cut the pipe couplings at a 15degree angle. I'll search for someone to weld them for me. The table top I can cut out easily from 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood glued together. I think this bench will be perfect. I see an opportunity for someone to make and sell the leg brackets as I am sure the are many like me that would like to make the bench ,but haven't the means o fabricate the leg brackets. Thanks for all the great ideas.

Why not just cut 3 wooden wedges with a 15 degree angle to slant the legs? Place them between the table top and ordinary pipe flanges.

Mark :coffeecom

[82nd airborne]

Remington 581...thats a good gun.

[Doc Highwall]

Von Gruff. nice bench! I saw a bench that looked like yours but the person made it so a two legged stool would attach to the rear leg of the bench and could swing side to side for both left and right handed shooters and their weight would add to the stability of the bench. The stool had a piece of pipe 90deg to the two legs and attached like a trailer hitch to allow it to be stable on uneven ground.

[45nut]

here is another one of the benches around here, this is for any rig with a receiver hitch:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/45nut/misc/P1040059.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/45nut/misc/P1040060.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/45nut/misc/P1040061.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/45nut/misc/P1040062.jpg

height and extension adjustable.

[Ben]

If I could offer a suggestion.

If the table has 4 feet, expect it to rock & wobble ..........If it has 3 feet, no rocking - - steady as a rock.

Try to get a milk stool with 3 legs to wobble & rock, it can't be done.

Ben

[94Doug]

I used a plan out of a monthly that used detachable PVC legs. I don't know if I still have the plans.

Doug

[NoZombies]

What's all that weird cold looking stuff?

[crabo]

I'll search for someone to weld them for me. .

What part of the world are you in?

[shooterg]

Worth a look :

http://www.guncustomizing.com/shootingbench.htm

[rpalmer]

Crabo,I live in the land of potholes and taxes - W.PA 50 miles South of Pittsburgh . I am going to give some thought to using some wedges and pipe floor flanges. as shown by Shooterg in his post. This looks like a good possibility for me to avoid having the brackets welded. Again, I am amazed at everyone's creativity.

[alamogunr]

I made my bench from the same plans that Von Gruff used. Fortunately, I was still working then and there was a welder in maintenance that did small jobs on the side. I furnished him with couplings and plate and he did the rest. It is a very stable bench. I wish I had made the legs a little shorter. I have to use a taller stool than I would like. One of these days I will cut the legs down.

John
W.TN

[crabo]

Crabo,I live in the land of potholes and taxes - W.PA 50 miles South of Pittsburgh . I am going to give some thought to using some wedges and pipe floor flanges. as shown by Shooterg in his post. This looks like a good possibility for me to avoid having the brackets welded. Again, I am amazed at everyone's creativity.

If you were a little closer, I'd do it for you

[rpalmer]

Crabo, I truly appreciate the offer. I really think the wedges and floor flanges are a great way to attach the legs to the bench top. I am going to use my radial arm saw to cut the wedges from a piece of 4" X 4" or 6"X 6" that I have left over from a previous project. I thank you for the offer.

[oneokie]

cut the wedges from a piece of 4" X 4" or 6"X 6" that I have left over from a previous project.

End grain wedges? IMO, you will have problems with the wedges splitting.

[dale2242]

I used the plans that shooterg has to build my bench. I used oak to make the wedges for the legs. I pre drilled the holes for the screws to prevent splitting and glued the wedges to the plywood top. 1 1/8" ply was used for the top and 1 1/4" pipe for the legs.
I think that is heavier than necessary. If I were to build another , I would use 3/4" ply for the top and 1" pipe for the legs....dale

[Trey45]

Von Gruff, that rolling stool with bipod is pure genius. I'm going to start working on something like that for myself.

[Von Gruff]

Trey45, apreciate your comment.

It was need that initiated that design and it solved a number of problems that we all often face, over and above my shoulder dissalowing me to shoot from prone, especially when targeting small game and the main three are the need for a bit of height with stability, portability of that solution and the time to assume a shooting position. The one thing I found was not to lean my chest against the uprights as they are slightly flexible and it shows in the sight picture. Being able extend the wheel base is necessary for some of the ground that is not perfectly pasture flat. The off side (opp to rifle carry side) axel is drilled through side of seat and bolted to the back through a over sleave but only an inch into the sleave. The sleave goes just through the rifle side and this allows the axel on that side to extend out nearly the width of the seat box if necessary. In the seat is a good place to carry any rabbits etc that you get, extra ammo, or whatever without the need for a daypack
etc. Binos in case (I made a leather one) screwed in place. MTM type ammo box has the hinge cut and a leather strip sewed in its place so the lid stays open and out of the way although one of the new properly hinged boxes would do with the box being a tight friction fit in the brass angles screwed to the front of the unit, (these spring slightly to remove the ammo box)
Hope yours is as sucessful as mine is.

Von Gruff.

[BruceB]

For those of us without the time or ingenuity to build a field bench, I have an alternative.

I think it would be very difficult to build a decent bench for as little as a hundred bucks ( heavy plywood alone is over $50 per sheet), so....

Cabela's sells a "Big Game Swivel Action Shooting Bench" for $150, and my wimmenfolk gave me one. It is a HECK of a bargain. The entire bench and seat assembly rotate as a unit, like a turret. It's tripod-mounted, so uneven ground is no problem.

It is SOLID, as well as comfortable, with padded top and seat and a rudimentary (but workable) adjustable rifle rest screwed into the top.

I added a pair of rifle loops (2"-wide nylon strapping) under both sides of the top, and with FIVE rifles available and the bench on top of my Suburban, and with hundreds of ground squirrels out front, it was like a miniature quad-.50 mount in a free-fire zone. Looking along five hot-and-cooling barrels is a very neat perspective. (One rifle slung under each side, one on the shooting rest, and two more lying on the bench top). Overheating was NOT a problem...I'd fire ten rounds from one rifle and change to another. 300-400 rounds per day on these squirrels is not at all unusual.

The whole bench weighs 29 pounds and ccomes apart to two pieces very easily.

I can build things, but I honestly could not duplicate the functionality of this rig for three or four times the price....or maybe even more.

[Reg]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, this is one intresting subject but did want to ask. Didn't Rick Jamison also at that time offer plans for some kind of large silencer you could shoot through that would muffle the sound of firing. Many of us have our own shooting ranges out behind our houses but with newer homes being built all the time this concept of muffleing might need to be explored as it might let us shoot on our own range a while longer. If anyone would have these plans would really like to see them.
Thanks

:drinks:

Reg

[dragonrider]

Some really good ideas for portable benches, rolling units, tailgate, knockdown, terrific ingenuity.


About Rick Jaimeson's muffler.
I don't know if he offered plans but he certainly did use such a device and discussed in at least one article with photos. I don't remember what magazine it was in. It was made from two 55 gallon drums welded together with holes on each end and the inside lined with foam something and held in place with wire mesh.

[Reg]

Intresting. Thank you. My nearest neighbor is a quarter of a mile away, the rest are several miles but the sound of gunfire can carry for miles. Will play with this .
Again, I thank you.

Reg

:idea:

[Von Gruff]

Reg, I believe what you are thinking of is a short tunnel of 5 or 6 ft made by fixing tyres together, maybe with a rail on posts and the tyres bolted on top. aparently the cavities in the tyres act as a sound supressor.

Von Gruff.

[Reg]

A friend who lives just outside of town is saving old tractor tires for just such a range. He only wants fifty yards but that has to be a bunch of tires. Must be a better way. Your idea of only 5 or six feet held with a frame of posts sounds much more realistic.
Thanks

Reg

:cbpour:

[NoZombies]

Yup, a 6-8 foot tube of tires will do the trick for taking a lot of the "blast" away from shooting.

I had one that was 10 ft long, and it was a bit more than I needed for most things. You couldn't tell the difference between 8 ft and 10 ft with a 30-06 or 8mm mauser. I didn't try any of the really big stuff, or super magnums or anything. They might benefit from more length. dunno.

Sadly that range has been dismantled now, but it worked for 8 years without any issues other than water collecting in the ends when I first built it. But then I drilled 3/8" holes in the bottoms of the last 2 tires on both ends, and saw no difference in effectiveness, but the water would drain itself.

I coated mine in tar and wrapped it with roofing copper to try and seal it, but noticed no real difference with that.

[Doc Highwall]

At my club they have put 5-6 truck tires wired together and put the muzzle of the M2 Browning in side to help keep the noise down when firing full auto.

[Reg]

What would you say as to how effective it is ?
Thanks
Reg

:cbpour:

[Doc Highwall]

It is pretty effective as long as the muzzle is inside and there is enough tires stacked. I saw some place where the end you fired from had the tires with the larger wheel size at the firing end to allow for recoil and as the stack went out farther the wheel size went down so you ended up with a cone shape.

[HORNET]

If you build one of those mufflers based on tires, make sure you check it regularly for any buildup of unburned powder. Maybe drill holes on the bottoms of all of the tires to let it escape. I did read a report a while back on one going up in flames. That could get... interesting.

[Trey45]

Von Gruff, thanks for the additional details, I'm thinking about something like a telescoping axle loosely based on how some bipods extend, not so much the spring loaded aspect, more-so the push button to unlock and lock aspect.

I especially like how you carved the wooden seat to curve rather than be a straight plank of wood. It's those little attentions to details that seperate the craftsmen from the wood choppers.