Equipment recommendation for bench rest

[Chris387]

I'm wanting to get started in benchrest shooting this year, but not sure where to start. I mostly shoot standing at short distances, so benchrest and trying to shoot as tight of groups as possible at longer distances is a whole new thing for me.

Anyone have any recommendations as to caliber and scope to get me started?
Thanks

 

[SSE]

6mm br seems to be pretty popular with that crowd and I think most use 24x and up. Check out Accurate Shooter .com, lots of benchresters over there.

 

[jrh84]

I'm wanting to get started in benchrest shooting this year, but not sure where to start. I mostly shoot standing at short distances, so benchrest and trying to shoot as tight of groups as possible at longer distances is a whole new thing for me.

Anyone have any recommendations as to caliber and scope to get me started?
Thanks

Not benchrest, exactly, but we shoot F-class from 300-1000 yards at Camp Atterbury 4 days per month between March and October. It's often called "belly benchrest"...lots of overlap between the two disciplines. See a post I made down below for details.

6 BR, 6 BRA, 6 Dasher and similar rounds are popular for midrange (300, 500, 600 yards), while .284 Winchester and variants or .300 WSM are the go-to for long range these days (800, 900, 1000 yards). That's not at all to say other calibers won't do fine, they just aren't the flavor of the week.

 

[patience0830]

First, get a bench. . . . . .

 

[Chris387]

How far will an off-the-shelf rifle, and factory ammo get me? Until I decide I'm into it enough to buy a real BR rifle?

 

[jrh84]

How far will an off-the-shelf rifle, and factory ammo get me? Until I decide I'm into it enough to buy a real BR rifle?

I'll give the F-class perspective...I would assume it's similar for actual BR.

Although the majority of your score will be from your ability to point the rifle and adjust for wind, there is a mechanical accuracy component to F-class that cant be ignored. The top guys we shoot with can shoot AND they have top notch equipment to go along with it. You're going to have to have both to hang with them.

That being said, you can get well into the 190's out of 200 with a factory rifle shooting factory ammo. The couple of matches I dabbled in F-class, I was in the 180-190 range with a factory stock Savage 10 HS Precision shooting Federal Gold Medal Match .308 175 smk's. The points I lost were due to my lack of wind reading ability and shooting skill, but that setup was not a consistently X-ring capable setup.

A factory rifle and good handloads using better bullets than you'd find in factory ammo might be worth a few points over fa trying, although there are some great fa trying rounds out there now (Federal GMM, Hornady ELD Match, etc).

There is one exception....we've had an F-TR shooter win a few matches with a semi-custom rifle and ABM ammo, although most wouldn't consider ABM ammo true factory ammo.

For a factory rifle, unless it's a semi-custom like a GA Precision, etc, Savage Model 12 F-class rifles in .308 or 6 BR are probably the way to go. The barrels aren't great, but the action and stock is generally good to go. Plan on replacing the barrel after a season, if not sooner. The factory barrels are generally accurate, but are tough to clean and hard to keep consistent.

We're starting the "F-Practical" as a way to let more factory rifles compete in a more level playing field. I dont thi k a quality factory rifle would be way outgunned in that class.

Hope this helps.

 

[drm-hp]

The other thing to remember is that Benchrest matches are typically shot at 100 and 200 yards.
Also you want as little recoil as you can possibly get as most shoot free recoil. You will not want a boomer in br.

 

[sloughfoot]

The most important consderation is finding a place to shoot benchrest. My club spent many thousands of dollars on concrete benchrest range then Sinclair moved to Iowa. The range is totally unused since there is no interest. I think Norm Merideth still lives in the area building guns, but I'm not sure. I have not seen him at a club meeting in 10 years, maybe more.

Pics here...www.fwrrclub.org

BTW, Benchrest is like no other rifle discipline. In any way....Just for starters, you do not hold the rifle.

 

[Gabriel]

First, get a bench. . . . . .

I just came here to say this. Carry on.

 

[JUGGERSEVENSIXTWO]

chris go over to Accurate shooter .com.There is a mountain of imformation on the subject.Everyone will answer your questions.
I shoot what we call tacticla bench rest 230 yards out to 1000 yards.I started 4 years ago and I am still learning.if you like a challlenge you will like this.

 

[DRob]

chris go over to Accurate shooter .com.There is a mountain of imformation on the subject.Everyone will answer your questions.................................

This!

 

[DMTJAGER]

X10 with going to www.accurateshooter.com
There is no shooting question you can think to ask or can be asked that will not be answered there thuthfully.

 

[Hohn]

X10 with going to www.accurateshooter.com
There is no shooting question you can think to ask or can be asked that will not be answered there thuthfully.

or...with a little bit of wit.

BR is a .22 and 6mm game.Either PPC or BR. Pick one of those cases and one of those calibers and you're in the game. Lightweight bullets (52-53gr for .22; 68gr for 6mm) are what most people shoot.

If you are taking about BR, learn to love case prep and sorting and being pretty exacting in what you are shooting.