Elkman's Portable Shooting Rest

[Richard]

From Elkman's post he saw there was some interest in the portable varmint rest he builds. We have been talking about stuff in general and he asked me if I would post the pictures and description of his rest.......so here it is in his words:

I use a heavy duty tripod with two locking legs. You need to machine a plug and a step for the large hole that's in the top.

The rest is made from 1/4 thick 2"x4" aluminum rect. box channel

The hand wheel and hub is machined from 6061 aluminum The handles are plastic.

The front rest has a long rod made from" all thread. Mine is longer than normal the front hub is bored so you get a close fit. It also uses a needle bearing and thrust washer system

The rear rest can be raised about 8" in case you have to shoot down hill. The rear rest also has side to side adjustment. It equals about 20 feet of travel at 200 yards.

The whole top is really a unit. You lock the top down with the large black knob we leave the knob a little loose the top will rotate 360 degree's.

A lot of R/D went into this. This was the first proto type I made . I have since made some minor changes.

Also pictured is another top that is cheaper to make and works really well for guys with varmint rifles.

[rambler]

That's really a cool set up!!

[jhm]

That is sweet.

[jims]

That is a solid looking platform.

[Deleted]

very nice indeed!

[dannoboone]

That is really a great setup.

Did the teddy bear help out?

[cuda]

Where did you find the tripod? I have a little different idea for the top. But I can not find a heavy tripod like that. I am disabled and I can not hold the gun up with out a bipod or some thing. I was looking around for some thing like this but I do not like how the bought one are made. I want to swivel every thing so it will move fast to get a shot.

[rambler]

The brand looks to be King if that helps.

[rambler]

Found it:

www.fltgeosystems.com/tripods-bipods/flt-brand-heavy-duty-dual-clamp-aluminum-tripod-kinkp21013/?gclid=CLDEhbybucICFUpp7Aod-DcAPA


It's temporarily out of stock but gets you in the right direction to search around, I think anyway

[elkman1310]

Let me share a little more info about my shooting bench. I did buy this tripod from King products. It is a dual locking tripod . I would not trust a single quick lock design. Its really not the weight of the gun that is a concern its the extra body weight of the shooter that is placed onto the tripod. Single locking clamps will slip.

I also installed heavy duty safety chains, mounting bolts and S hooks. This tripod and most other don't have safety chains. The chains prevent the legs from spreading out to far. These tripods have pointed spikes on each leg and are meant to be forced into the ground so they don't slip. The chains will prevent any chance of the legs spreading out to far.

The top of this bench rotates 360 degree's. You can lock the top down with the large black plastic knob.
Or you can leave it a little loose!

We leave the plastic knob a little loose so we can swivel the top quickly. This shooting bench was not made to shot at running game! This is a very stable portable shooting bench for guy's that are shooting long range. It does come a part. The tripod folds up and you can strap the legs together. Everything on the top can stay together and can easily be carried in one piece. It really doesn't get much better than this shooting bench. There is a lot of machine time to make the hub and hand wheel and rear wind age setup. I'll never get rich selling these things. Its just something I offer.

I have made some design changes since I made this first one. I installed a nice bubble level into the large black locking knob. This way when you first set the tripod up. You can level the tripod first without the extra weight of the top. It helps preventing pinched fingers that way. After the legs are level then you can install the top it works better this way. I also don't use rear side plates. I came up with a cleaner way of doing things. The other stuff is the same.

I hope this info helps.

[schunter]

What is the weight of the complete unit?

[elkman1310]

I have officially weighed it. The tripod weighs 8.5lbs. My top weighs another 15 plus pounds. So I would say 25lbs or less.

You can get the weight down a few pounds. I used heavy wall rectangular box channel this is 1/4" thick you really don't want to go to 1/8." Using 1/8" will cause problems. You will get more flex. And you get a vibration in the rest. When the gun is on the rest if you tap on the recoil pad the gun will move a little bit with the heavy 1/4" box channel when you use 1/8" it will vibrate like a tuning fork.

I have chased this problem around for quite some time till I went with the heavier wall channel.

areas that can be lighten up are the size of the front hub and hand wheel can be made with a plastic wheel. and you can get by with a different rear rest .

If you go to cheap it defeats the whole purpose of having a solid portable shooting rest. No portable rest is 100% solid. I have shot off of many benches at different rifle ranges that had way more movement than my rest.

You can always buy a Caldwell or something cheap.

[rambler]

Ok, here's the 64K question....what do you charge for this bad boy?? PM me if you feel better about quoting a price.

[elkman1310]

Here is the deal. For the guy's on this board I would sell a complete setup with all the bells and whistles for $900.00. plus shipping. It would need to be shipped in two boxes. Tripod in one and the top in another box. I have not shipped any. The one's I sold were to local shooters who picked theirs up at the 1000 yards range. So I would need to find a box large enough for the top.

I can also get these tripods in black instead of orange. There both the same price. I did several with the black and silver tripods they look sharp.

The finish on the box channel is simply a brushed finish with a scotch brite pad on a air grinder. The box channel always has some scratches and other minor marks on it so I try to buff them out. Its aluminum and it will scratch and show marks. I do have a source to have this piece powder coated but that's extra money.

In Jan I have to get started on building some custom heavy gun rests I have orders for. So if someone wanted one of these shooting tripods it would be a few months out.

$900.00 may sound like a lot for some but Protektor couldn't get any machine shop to even begin to build one for a $1,000.00 I am retired and have a small machine shop at my house I don't have the over head so I can make a few bucks.

I sent Richard pictures of a few of my large competition rests.

[cuda]

Thanks Rammbler for the link. I did not like how the Caldwell looked either it looked to flimsy to me for the price. I do not shoot at running game I hunt between two timbers and I do not know witch one they will come out of. Or where they will walk out and nothing over 200yds make it easy to move the gun to line up the shot.

[elkman1310]

Hi Cuda! You mentioned that your disabled. What type of disability do you have? You also mention that your only shooting about 200 yards. I could make you a lighter version of this shooting bench and scale down the front hub. You don't need a front elevation rod nearly as long as the one I use. My bench is setup to elevate the gun up to the top of these steep mountains we shoot on.

The front hand wheel can be made with spokes or a 8" plastic wheel which might be easier for you to use. I would be glad to work with you on a shooting bench. We can get the price down some without sacrificing the stability of the bench. Also this shooting bench can be used two ways. My pictures shows the legs of the tripod extended. We like shooting from a standing position. But the legs can be lowered and spread out more so you can use a shooting stool.

Don't waist your money on a Caldwell there junk.

[cuda]

I had a spinal cord injury 10 years a go they fused a section of my neck. I would make it a little different then the Caldwell. I was thinking of a ball type swivel with a fixed front and rear holders for the gun to be strapped on. I would make it so it fit under the recoil lug and under the hand swell. The way I do it now the gun is balanced below the recoil lug on my bipod. But it can tip forward and back under the stock at times and almost fall off the bipod. That is why I like the tripod better and I have a small lathe I can make parts on. I was working in a machine shop when I laid my Harley down in the parking lot. I hit some gravel and did not want to lay it down and I got it back up but to fast and I went face first off the other side. My body folded over and if I had a helmet on it would have pulled my neck apart. I had no feeling or movement from my neck down. Now I can drive and get around but can not walk far my balance is bad I still fish and deer hunt and shoot a lone. I can not handle the heat or real cold. My right side is like I had a stroke and is weak. So when I hunt I am never more than 20 or 30 feet from the truck and I have my cell phone in my pocket. Before I got the bipod I would use the mirrors on the truck. I have one spot I shoot off of a gate and chair the others I stand that is where I need the help holding the gun up. And I am 60 so I zero my gun at 200yds and practice at 200yds. I can not track a deer if I had to so I want to high shoulder them or spine and drop them where they stand. That is why no shots over 200yds plus most spots where I hunt from it is 200yds to the fence lines. That way I know that and I can put them on the ground fast any where in between. With no tracking and a fast kill.

[elkman1310]

Hi Cuda!

I am sorry for your accident. I had a lower back operations years ago and lost half my vertebra. I now have three bugled disc above that area and two in my neck which they what to fuse. I can get around better than you but I can feel your pain.

Cuda have you ever looked at the McFadden rifle rest. This just might work for you! Its made on a wooden tripod with different length legs. The rest part swivels and rotates. The gun rests are just made out of oak. But I have seen some of these they are a lot cheaper than mine. But they should be there is really no machine time in making them.. Take a look at these they are better than a Caldwell or some other cheap rest. You could contact them and tell them how you need to shot off it and they might be able to fix you with a go rig. The only problem for you might be the weight of the wooden tripod.

[cuda]

If you do let them fuse you neck it will really be hard to look in to a scope. I had to use high rings and cut 1" off of stock to and a limb saver pad. And to keep a drivers license it helps to be able to turn your head to see traffic. I still can pick up my grand kids. So I can lift a tripod and set it up and get the gun onto it. I just can not hold the gun up long and steady enough to shoot well. That is why I need the rest to shoot and with the rest I can get 1" 3 shot groups at 100yds. I will look at that other rest and see how it is set up. Thanks!