Farley Rest Problem:

Pete Wass

Pete Wass

Well-known member
I noticed while shooting in an IR 50/50 match recently using my Farley rest that if I elevated the rifle much more than I will call "Half Way Up" I would throw shots. I have noticed it in the past when cranking the rest "up in the corner" with my CF rifles so avoid that now.

This rest is an older one and has been "Upgraded" once several years ago. Is there a solution for this situation? Do others have the same problems as I do?

Thanks,

Pete
 
Pete,

It might be interesting to see what the footprint of the forend is on the front bag in both the acceptable range of adjustment & when it is tossing shots.
 
I've sort of, kind of, noticed this too. And I believe it got worse when I got an Edgewood bag for the Farley,

Could be that the more *precisely* our bags fit our rifles, the more we need a pan-head rest. Tough to do with a rear bag . . .

I've also been noticing, I think, that "good tracking bag setup" is a compromise, you're more apt to throw shots unless you're always shooting at the same target. Well, that's OK for group you might say. Sure, if you never use the sighter.
 
Pete,

I presume you've done the "Ratigan mods" to your Farley...especially removing the boot on the stick for this problem?

Jim
 
Joel Kendrick has modified several Farleys. The first thing to do is disassemble the rest top thoroughly and clean. Put teflon or UHMW tape on the front of the front sliding plate. The front sliding plate bears or rubs on the main rest housing. I like synthetic racing bicycle wheel bearing grease. Apply the grease to the front sliding plate. The older Farley's had 2 square .250 keys that worked between the 2 sliding plates. Replace the keys with 2 round .250 pins. Be sure to lube the pins. Replace the tension screws with the Shadetree Engineering screws. Lube the buttons with the above mentioned grease. You need to also lube the adjustable plate that bolts to the bottom of the res top that slides in the back sliding plate. I don't remove the boot but I do take the screws out and let it float. The easiest way to adjust the tension screws for me is to set a 10lbs. weight on the bag plate and vigorously operate the stick slowly tightening the tension screws. When the screws are tight enough to hold the 10lbs. weight it will then easily hold a 17lbs rifle. You need to shoot without having your fingers in contact with the handle.
Butch
 
Thanks Butch, I do have the Shadetree screws and have had them for several years but have never had the top apart. I will do that in the near future. I have several front bags and two rear bags and have been trying to find the right combination but am sure I haven't found it yet. I have wondered if perhaps a rest with an adjustable pedistle so that when one went from one targer column to the other one could let the pedistle float to the correct position that would not pinch the front bage ears. The other side of this is I have seen a couple of shooters use a 3" bag in front and simply cock the rest and or rest top a bit to let a 2.25" forend fit it and win matches with this setup. this leads one to wonder how they are able to disregard the front bag issue, doesn't it? Does for me anyway.

Years ago I had some ribbed bags made for my Farley and used them until someone told me they would cause vertical. I stopped using them but have dug them out again and can't seem to see that they cause anything adverse to happen. I figured when I read that one should try to get their forend to just touch the rear edge of the front bag a rib in the center couldn't hurt anything :). We endeavor to percevere.
 
Pete, I suspect the way to track this down is to build an illegal rest set up, for testing only. Use a pedestal for the rear too, so you can adjust it more easily.

Things to try include the old Bald Eagle bag with the rib you mentioned -- I have one too, & can't remember why I stopped using it. Early days.

I suspect that a rounded contact surface on the front bag will prove better than a flat one like the Edgewood bag for the Farley, simply because the attitude of the rifle is almost never perfectly parallel to the bag. Or figure out a way to mount a pan-head top with that flatish bag. But of course, I don't know.

The rear bag could also be the culprit, even if the problem showed up at the same time you got a Farley The tow interact, I think.

If you want to track it down, the first step is likely to build a rest to do testing.
 
Charles and Pete. I failed to mention changing the bag top to be able to use a standard type front bag and move your stop pin to the bag top.
Butch
 
Butch, we talked earlier today about the modifications to the Farley. I failed to ask you about the thickness of the teflon tape, would the standard stock tape work? I was thinking that too thick of tape would cause binding.

Thanks
Dan Honert
 
Farley Rest Problem:

Pete and Butch: (and others) I assume you guys are using "regular sand" in the front bags?
 
I have, lately, had the problem going from the sighter to the #5, and the #4. Usually disappears from #4 to #3.

I've changed from using pure Zircon to using a mix of Zircon and "coarse sand" in the front bag. Also have a patch of velcro (the smooth side) on the bottom.

Maybe I'll try the mods and shooting "hands off" and see what happens.

Greg J.
 
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