We f-class types aren’t like the TR folks who actually hand hold their rifles with a sling which gets attached to their shooting jacket and the jacket attaches to the shooter. Heck most folks shooting f-class don’t even wear jackets. I mean all that constriction, the sweating in a leather jacket or even a jacket made out of some other type of material or fabric that they say breathes but you know that’s not going to happen, right?. The decisions about the colours in the jacket, having to decide on going with buckles, snaps or Velcro. What size to get and will it fit you after you’ve been on several eating binges. A size 42 can only stretch so far as some no doubt some have found out but we’ll be leaving out naming names! The cost of the jacket alone is enough to flip some people right out. There are exceptions to the rule. I wear one and I happen to shoot f-class so does that make me some kind of geek, just plain weird or what? I’m not going to get into a discussion on why I do other than it makes me feel good.
So what have you decided?
There’s only two setups in common usage that I’m familiar with. The first is a bipod. There’s a number of bipods in the marketplace. Actually there’s a whole pile of them. I own one and only one. I started with one, btw mine’s a Harris because I when I first got back into the game I was shooting a bunch of service rifle matches with a match AR-15. You know the black rifle, the one everybody who doesn’t target shoot, the non-firearm types who have no idea of what we do, couldn’t take the time to find out but are quick to pass judgment and gets their knickers into a twist over. Services rifles matches and maybe even precision type matches don’t really lend themselves to using rests by the design of the course of fire. I don’t see them changing the course of fire any time soon either. Seems some though have plenty of time to criticize what other folks on the dark side shoot on top of. The word operational seems to be the buzz word in these disciplines. They got not time to be hauling heavy rests to the line. A bipod is cheap when compared to some types of rests especially the one I’m using or talking about let’s just leave it at that. There’s a bunch of bipod types that shoot open f-class in many of the matches I’m in. I know these guys and that’s exactly what they do concentrate on the shooting part!
If you think you’re going to end up shooting off a rest well great then maybe I can give you a few things to think about. I had plenty of reasons for getting the Farley some of the reasons are outlined below and don’t forget this one. I got it because I needed something that would work and I didn’t have time to screw around making a pile of decisions over whether it was going to work or not, it works! I got enough decisions right now on the loading bench. I didn’t need to be adding to them. Also I had funds put away for this area. We can do that sometimes you know. Especially if there’s no wife lurking in the background. Hah. Buy that one?
There are probably more different types of shooting rests in the marketplace than there are different bipods. That’s the nature of our society we want choice! Great so you still have to make a decision on what you’re going to ultimately get and I knew you’d like this point! The whole idea of putting your rifle on a rest is to make it stable, rock solid stable otherwise you might as well shoot it TR style. Hoppes and stability are simply two words that should not coexist in the same sentence. Oh I know you frugal types are just itching to jump right in here with the “why not”! Just hold onto that thought a minute.
Weight and stability on the other hand can be used in the same sentence. In fact they should be! If you’re looking for a rest the lighter it is the less stable it’s going to be. I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house down? Also the more spread out it is the better the stability.
Okay enough of the Farley… the price point is going to freak-out a bunch of you so it’s time to move onto the other options.
RW Hart makes a rest, a bunch of them actually, don’t know anyone using it so I don’t know what kind of retro is involved.
Now we come to the Sinclair line of rests. I suppose the cream de la cream of what’s seen on the line, as in more of them than anything else. Price point might have a lot to do with the numbers but I will say, it’s a pretty stable rest and that’s exactly what you want. It has three projecting legs so you know it’s going to sit on a firing point well, just like a 3-legged stools sits on a floor. You just need to add the Sinclair f-class feet and you’re good to go.
There are numerous tops for many of the rests. Some are fixed and some have windage adjustments. Fixed would be good for f-class and one less knob to adjust. Most of the ones I’ve seen are fixed and left to right adjustment is done with the rear bag. Hundreds of guys are using them.
All of these rests come directly from short range benchrest, then a lot of them ended up in 1000 yard benchrest rest and they’ve since made a U-turn to f-class. Most any of them will require some type of mods or retros for our discipline limited only by your creativity and the needs of the way you shoot your f-class. Such things as mounting spirit levels on the rest of your choice. On the picture of the Farley you can see a bulls-eye target type spirit level. I positioned mine further out on the left foot and I just didn’t glue it down. I was coming back from spending a pile of money at Camp Perry in Ohio. I was only going there to cheer on... read harass some of the guys I shoot with who were in a competition there. On the way home actually both coming and going I stayed at Tom Maynards place and Tom because he was in an extremely good mood before his accident milled out a depression on the left leg that fitted the diameter of the the circular level and then I glued it in place. Tom really did it because he didn’t want to listen to my bitching about it anymore. Tom did a very nice job so thanks Tom! Hope that knee of yours is back to normal.
You need a rear bag with any rest and rear bags is pretty personal and there’s no end to them. The only recommend I will make is consider Cordura over leather for the ears. It’s easier to track your stock when the rain comes pouring down on you. it’s not a question up here in Canada about if it rain’s it’s only a question when. If you shoot a lot it happens more. I’m sure it rains in the US and other parts of the world. I guess the only place where you might have some immunity is Arizona! Man I would love to shoot some matches there. I read about them all the time but just don’t have the funds right now or mostly the time. Some day... it’s on the list of places though. It’s a given that the bag in the front rest is Cordura too.