New to Benchrest and have a couple questions

J

Jerry S

New member
I have enjoyed shooting and reloading for many years but have only competed in tactical style matches to this point. Back surgery earlier this year brought that to an abrupt end and I decided to get started in Benchrest. I have a new range opening about 15 min from my front door (Dead Zero). It looks like they will be starting UBR matches in March and I’d like to give it a shot.:)
I purchased a newly built 6ppc rifle from a member on AccurateShooter. It has a panda action, Mcmillan Edge stock, and a Shillen barrel. Barrel specs are .262 neck and 14 twist.
I spent a couple hours on the phone Boyd Allen this morning, and he gave me more info than I could have ever hoped for (thank you sir). On his advise I ordered enough reloading components today to get me started with load work ups as well as a few other goodies.
I guess the main questions I have left for now are concerning my setup. I currently have a Bald Eagle front rest and a Protektor standard rear bag. So, question 1 would be: Will this front rest be adequate to get me started? And question 2 would be: What rear bag works with the Mcmillan Edge stock? It has a .5” flat on the bottom.
Thank you in advance for your time and insight.
Jerry
 
From one Newbie to another, I started with the Bald Eagle rest. Only suggestion is , if you have the flex arm with the windage adjustment, remove it, reverse the top of the rest and install the knob directly on the top and eliminate the flex arm. Since then I have added a SEB NEO (after a 7 month wait to get it).

I owe a lot to Mr. Allen also, who lent me equipment to get started with neck turning, fire forming cases etc. I too have a .262 neck 6ppc.

Where are you located/ Bob White of The Shooter's Corner and Harley Baker put on a Short Range Bench Rest seminar and clinic each Spring in Northern New Jersey. Super educational and super cheap.

Bob
 
Near perfect spot

Jerry S said:
I have enjoyed shooting and reloading for many years but have only competed in tactical style matches to this point. Back surgery earlier this year brought that to an abrupt end and I decided to get started in Benchrest. I have a new range opening about 15 min from my front door (Dead Zero). It looks like they will be starting UBR matches in March and I’d like to give it a shot.:)
I purchased a newly built 6ppc rifle from a member on AccurateShooter. It has a panda action, Mcmillan Edge stock, and a Shillen barrel. Barrel specs are .262 neck and 14 twist.
I spent a couple hours on the phone Boyd Allen this morning, and he gave me more info than I could have ever hoped for (thank you sir). On his advise I ordered enough reloading components today to get me started with load work ups as well as a few other goodies.
I guess the main questions I have left for now are concerning my setup. I currently have a Bald Eagle front rest and a Protektor standard rear bag. So, question 1 would be: Will this front rest be adequate to get me started? And question 2 would be: What rear bag works with the Mcmillan Edge stock? It has a .5” flat on the bottom.
Thank you in advance for your time and insight.
Jerry
Click to expand...

You live in a very rich with knowledge neighborhood, and close to several really good gunsmiths. There are some really great folks to mentor you too. I'll be surprised if you don't really enjoy the UBR game.

I've got a couple of McMillan Edge stocks. Just my experience I really enjoy the Farley or SEB type front rests, and I have gone to the Edgewood rear bag. I called them up told them what I had in the way of stocks and have been very happy with it. JME. WD
 
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Jerry S said:
I have enjoyed shooting and reloading for many years but have only competed in tactical style matches to this point. Back surgery earlier this year brought that to an abrupt end and I decided to get started in Benchrest. I have a new range opening about 15 min from my front door (Dead Zero). It looks like they will be starting UBR matches in March and I’d like to give it a shot.:)
I purchased a newly built 6ppc rifle from a member on AccurateShooter. It has a panda action, Mcmillan Edge stock, and a Shillen barrel. Barrel specs are .262 neck and 14 twist.
I spent a couple hours on the phone Boyd Allen this morning, and he gave me more info than I could have ever hoped for (thank you sir). On his advise I ordered enough reloading components today to get me started with load work ups as well as a few other goodies.
I guess the main questions I have left for now are concerning my setup. I currently have a Bald Eagle front rest and a Protektor standard rear bag. So, question 1 would be: Will this front rest be adequate to get me started? And question 2 would be: What rear bag works with the Mcmillan Edge stock? It has a .5” flat on the bottom.
Thank you in advance for your time and insight.
Jerry
Click to expand...


Hi Jerry. Being a new shooter (picked up my first BR rifle in February of this year.... a Panda 6ppc .262nk as well) I share your enthusiasm. I've spent quite some time on the phone with Boyd and he could've wrote a novel with all the pms we've exchanged. I can't thank him enough.

You'll find that much of the benchrest community is the same. Always willing to share what they know.

As far as rests go, I lucked into a good deal on a SEB and I love it. If you can meet up with someone that has a Farley, SEB or even a Shadetree, I'd suggest you try it out. You might like the joystick style rests. That being said, I see a lot of non-joystick front rests on the line like the Sinclair, Hart and others and many shooters have great success with them.

My best advice with both improving your skills and deciding on what equipment works best, is to try to get out to the matches or to the range with an experienced shooter or "mentor". There's a steep learning curve but time on the range is worth much more than time on the forums. Get you some flags or find someone that has some and don't shoot without them. No matter what the conditions seem to be.

You've already received some really good advice on AS and on here. I doubt I have much more to offer you but feel free to pm me if you have any questions. No matter what you do have fun with it! You'll love how accurate the 6PPC can be.

Brian
 
rkittine said:
From one Newbie to another, I started with the Bald Eagle rest. Only suggestion is , if you have the flex arm with the windage adjustment, remove it, reverse the top of the rest and install the knob directly on the top and eliminate the flex arm.
Click to expand...
+1 on this. The cast iron Bald Eagle is perfectly adequate to start.

Be sure to get some wind flags. Bench rest shooters are quite willing to share with others, especially new shooters. However, there are a LOT of varying opinions...it can be confusing. Try to shoot in matches and find a few shooters who do well and are willing to mentor you informally. Tony Boyer's book is also quite useful; he explains everything in clear and plain terms. Don't buy too many things in the beginning; rather spend more time shooting. There is a learning curve and it is tempting to try to shortcut through "better" equipment. It sounds like your rifle and bench equipment is fine.

Co-axial front rests (SEB, Farley etc) help you shoot faster (plus they are beautifully made...especially the SEB), but that is usually not the limiting factor for new shooters. Learning good basic bench technique and reading conditions is much more important in the beginning. Good luck.
 
feffer said:
+1 on this. The cast iron Bald Eagle is perfectly adequate to start.

Be sure to get some wind flags. Bench rest shooters are quite willing to share with others, especially new shooters. However, there are a LOT of varying opinions...it can be confusing. Try to shoot in matches and find a few shooters who do well and are willing to mentor you informally. Tony Boyer's book is also quite useful; he explains everything in clear and plain terms. Don't buy too many things in the beginning; rather spend more time shooting. There is a learning curve and it is tempting to try to shortcut through "better" equipment. It sounds like your rifle and bench equipment is fine.

Co-axial front rests (SEB, Farley etc) help you shoot faster (plus they are beautifully made...especially the SEB), but that is usually not the limiting factor for new shooters. Learning good basic bench technique and reading conditions is much more important in the beginning. Good luck.
Click to expand...

+1

Rick
 
If you like the base on your Bald Eagle front rest, you might consider getting one of Butch Lambert's Shadetree Engineering joystick tops for it. It is a popular option and less expensive than some others. I have no complaints about mine.

Edgewood bags are beautifully made and you can't go wrong with one. I elected to have Protektor make me a custom version of their Doctor model bag with a handle. It is filled with heavy sand and weighs 22 pounds, so the handle comes in handy for schlepping it around. I also specified custom spacing for the ears to suit my stocks. I have the cordura ears and like them.

Welcome to the sport. I'm sure you'll like it.
 
Forgot to mention wind flags. There are some really nice ones out there and you can spend some serious money. I elected to make six from a pattern featured in Precision Shooting magazine a few years ago. They work fine for me. I am not an early riser, so I frequently come to a shoot and find so many flags already set that adding mine would be overkill. I do use mine for practice however.
 
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