Shooting Handguns from the Bench...How Best to Do It?

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  • Last Post 22 March 2013
JosephG posted this 13 March 2013

While I am not new to shooting (and reloading for) longarms, I am quit new to shooting handguns. In fact tese handguns (both auto pistols and revolvers) seem to be consuming the majority of my shooting time. Casting bullets and reloading are now coming into the picture. This in turn will require testing these loads for accuracy. When dealing with rifles I have the equipment and know the techniques for shooting benchrest style (I used to compete in benchrest game). But my question for y'all is: What is the best way/technique to shoot a handgun off the bench for testing the accuracy of handloads? I have read that the best results (for group size and point of impact close to when shooting without a rest) come with only supporting the underside of the hands or the wrists. So one thought that comes to mind is to rig my front adjustable tripod style rest (from my benchrest rifle days) with “pillow” shaped sandbag on a flat plate. ThenI could rest my hands (holding the handgun) or my wrists on this sandbag. Does this make sense to anybody? Can you give me alternative ideas? I would really appreciate your inputs on this. Thank you. Joe

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RicinYakima posted this 13 March 2013

I only shoot handguns at 25/50 for testing, from a bench, so I have used a cheap, Midway, plastic front. I shoot with the Weaver stance, so just rest my left edge of hand on the bag. It is not the steadiest, but has the same POA and POI as offhand. And it shows the same errors with faulty grip or trigger habits. So that is what I use.

FWIW, Ric

p.s. It doesn't work with Contenders, or oversized grips either.

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Brodie posted this 13 March 2013

Just rest your hands and or wrists on the bag when testing loads.  That is the way I do it.  I learned this method because our range master was tired of replacing bags that were  burnt and cut from the cylinder barrel gap flash. Brodie

B.E.Brickey

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R Dupraz posted this 13 March 2013

All depends,

Don't do too much with handguns anymore but when I do --

Belly guns or them dinky little autos - Two handed* on top of bags or a rest so that I can get it on target.

Anything longer, the same. Or If I really want to get serious, still two handed* with butt resting in palm of off hand on the bench and barrel over a rest or bags.

*Two handed combat grip.

Pretty much whatever works.

RD

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delmarskid1 posted this 14 March 2013

We used to put scraps cut from welding leathers over the sand bags to keep them from getting burnt. Sometimes I put a bag under my hand on the grip and rest the barrel on a bag. I squeeze the rear bag with my off hand to fine tune the elevation. Most of the time I rest both wrists across the bag with the handgun hanging in space. This isn't as accurate but it is closer to regular shooting. The former seems to be good for load work the latter for practice. I hope this helps and enjoy.

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gunarea posted this 14 March 2013

Hey JosephG

   For real accuracy test results a mechanical rest such as Hanson or Bullshooter, will eliminate most human error. Otherwise go to an IHMSA function and check out some of the abominations currently being employed. It is hard to beat, even modified, a Creedmore position for stability.

                                                                                                                   Roy  

Shoot often, Shoot well

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Ed Harris posted this 14 March 2013

Always rest the handgun frame on the bags, not the barrel.

Use a normal two-handed combat grip with the gun butt supported by the non-firing hand, resting on bags high enough to permit shooting with an erect head position. Use another bag under the forearm and elbow of the shooting hand. This avoids eye and neck strain and also reduces distortion used by looking through your glasses at an unnatural angle.

Using a Merit Disk or similar aperture on the shooting glasses is a great help to sharpen sight picture. When choosing an inter-occular lens implant during cataract surgery choose for the shooting eye of intermediate focus so that the sights will be sharp and choose one for best distance vision in the non-aiming eye. Shoot with both eyes open and your brain will sort it out. Works for me!

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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ubetcha posted this 16 March 2013

I shoot from the IHMSA version of the Creedmore because thats how I shoot in competition

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Tom Acheson posted this 16 March 2013

If this is your idea of a handgun, then here is another possible technique. Some have said that the first no-no is to allow the barrel to rest on the front sandbag or rest.

 

Tom

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Mike H posted this 17 March 2013

Tom Acheson wrote: If this is your idea of a handgun, then here is another possible technique. Some have said that the first no-no is to allow the barrel to rest on the front sandbag or rest.

 

Tom

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Tom Acheson posted this 17 March 2013

Yeah....the gunsmith who built it said “it is neither fish nor fowl". Have you seen the “pistols” that the newest CBA bench rest category uses.? Unrestricted Pistol.. Unlimited barrel length and weight. Bizare! The one in the photo above is used in the LRH (Long Range Handgun) category with a weight limit of 7-pounds and barrel length of 15". At one time the weight limit was 5.5-pounds.

Much of this interest in the hand rifles originated with the Remington XP-100 bolt action single shot “pistol", where it got “new life” with the rising interest in handgun metallic silhouette shooting in the early 1980's. The original clambering of .221 Fireball couldn't knock over the 60-pound rams at 200-meters so it was off to the races with wildcat chamberings, after-market stocks, barrels and sights.

I guess everyone's definition of fun is different!

But resting the barrel on the front rest or bag should be avoided

Tom

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Rodfac posted this 19 March 2013

A plus one to Ric's comment in post #2. I've used a seated, back rest position, with the gun pushed forward between my upraised knees for 30 years (Keith's old 'long range position). It gives me a better idea of what the gun/shooter/load combination is capable of. As I've aged, and my eyes have lost their acuity, my groups have opened 1/4” at 25 yds...but still plenty good enough to test my loads and duplicates my POI's from a field position/deer stand or a quickly assumed “Weaver Stance". Rod (Pic below..)

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Mike H posted this 21 March 2013

Tom Acheson wrote: If this is your idea of a handgun, then here is another possible technique. Some have said that the first no-no is to allow the barrel to rest on the front sandbag or rest.

 

Tom I just remembered seeing pistols like that at Bisley last year. Bisley in Britain,there were a couple of people shooting at 1200 yards on the Stickledown range,shooting of a bench. The target frames are eight feet wide and six feet high,they were getting them on the target too.Impressive recoil action when the shot went off,I think they were 7mm magnums of some sort. A .308 rifle shot prone was more to my liking. Mike.

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Tom Acheson posted this 21 March 2013

Mike,

Some of our local guys from here in Minnesota go to Wyoming where they shoot 500 yd, 750 yd. 1000 yd. from the bench and rests. They also participate in an informal IHMSA (handgun metallic silhouette) event shoot is shot at 500 yd., all of the above they shoot at paper targets for group size on all ranges.

And... they have some kind of roving field course that is at unknown ranges from 200 to 600 yd at 10” steel plates but I'm not sure if that is offhand or there is a rest provided to shoot from, probably while standing. Nutz, huh? But probably humbling and a slow learning curve....but still FUN!

Tom

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JosephG posted this 22 March 2013

Howdy all, I am the fellow that started this thread...and...I am really impressed with the great resposne this thread has received. Thank you. The guidance and experiene you shared is exactly what I needed. I found the different approaches interesting and just may try all of them to see what works best for me. I am also grateful for the adice with rspect to using scraps of leather to prevent burning the support bags and the use of a Merit Disk to help with aging eyes. Now about those bolt action handguns...oh my. While I was not originally interested in these “hand cannons", the the idea of these is growing in me. It has me thunking back to the 'experimental” aspect of shooting that originally attracted me into the benchrest game those many years ago. Hmmm. Thanks again to all those that responded and I am always open for more suggestions from y'all. Good shooting and may all you boolits find the “x's” on the targets.

Joe

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 22 March 2013

as long as you are going to play ... ( g ) ... i don't do much with handguns lther than HD type practice ... but have tried with rifles different bench ..resting ...

i usually find that resting the barrel ( rifle ) on a rest ...results in a different point of impact ... but not different group sizes ...

a complication could be changing the ” tune ” of the barrel, but not sure the significance of that in a 6 inch barrel ..

please let us know what happens when resting a pistol ..barrel ... on various rests ...think safety, of course .. ken

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