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Bill>>
I'm no competitive shooter, but I do shoot often. I'm into
reloading for my rifles, my dad's rifles, and, not uncommonly,
for friends' rifles [who are interested in a more accurate
load].
I've tried a number of different rests, including the ones that
cradle the whole rifle. For me, nothing beats a good,
solid, tripod, metal-based front rest topped with a sand
bag, combined with a rabbit-eared rear sand bag rest.
With the front rest, it is easy to crank an adjustment for
elevation. With the rabbit ears, gently squeezed by my
non-shooting hand, it's easy to fine-tune the rifle position
to bring those cross-hairs right on target.
That said, there are less-expensive front rests available.
Midway offers one made of aluminum, from Caldwell, for
$75 (without bag). Hoppe's also makes one, which you
can also get through Midway, for $52. I've used both,
but I prefer the Caldwell. Since neither are iron, they
are significantly lighter, and therefore, probably a little
less stable than the more expensive rests. They are
probably more fragile, too, but I've not yet dropped one,
and hope not to, so I don't know how they'd hold up.
To offset the lighter weight, I add #9 lead shot to the
front sand bag and to the base of the rear sand bag,
(probably illegal for competitive shooting, but a non-issue
for me).
I've practiced with Harris bipods as well, which I'd strongly
recommend. I use these regularly when hunting, so I
like to be comfortable while shooting with them. But,
I don't use them when fine-tuning a load because I
don't believe that a bipod is as stable or repeatable
a platform as the afore-mentioned rests.
Anyhow, that's my take on the subject.
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