For you Range Shooters

[Zonie]

I do most of my shooting at shooting ranges and I've noticed that the shooting benches leave a lot to be desired at some of them.


The wooden ones often "age" badly with splinters waiting to poke a unsuspecting elbow and some of the concrete ones seem like they were poorly finished so they resemble sand paper.

One way to greatly improve these is to take a shooting pad with you to cover the top of the bench.

I suppose these could be made from many things but, if you have a carpet dealer or carpet store around you I suggest you pay them a visit.

Often these places will have "carpet samples" which they use to show people the various carpets they have for sale.
When the carpet these samples is no longer available or carried by that store, the samples are of no further value to them and they can be bought very cheaply.
Just go to the store and ask the owner if he has any old "carpet samples" he no longer needs and would he be willing to sell some of them?

If he has any, I would suggest that you look them all over. Some of them will be as rough on your elbows as the rough concrete but many of them make very comfortable pads to rest your elbows and to lay your rifle/pistol on.

While your buying one of these, why not get several? Having two pads will often allow you to cover the entire top of the shooting bench so you can lay your gun on it without scratching it up.
Putting one of these pads on the seat can keep splinters out of your rear and they also work great as a pad to rest the butt of your rifle on while you load it and doing so will keep the ground/concrete from marring the butt plate on your gun.

 

[deanscamaro]

What ranges do you shoot at, Zonie. I just joined the Wickenburg Sportsman's Club and have access to their range at any time and I have found it is open most of the time.

 

[sparsons]

I have been leaving my rifle in the case when I go to check a target or take a rest. I have a fluffy towel I use to rest the barrel on while loading. The butt end rests in a mat from the auto dept. But now I am thinking carpet for the bench or at least a throw rug of some sort. Thanks for finding another way to spend my money. I hope you are aware that I now have to make a trip into town and search for suitable carpet or a rug. :haha:

 

[roundball]

From the last household move we made, while tipping the movers I talked them out of a few of those big 6' x 6' high quality, thick padded quilts.

I use two of them doubled in half for a total of 4 layers (about 3-4" thick) of padded quilting as a bench cover...and they are long enough to hang over the front and rear ends of the bench, giving a nice padded area to lean the muzzleloader against while wiping, reloading, etc.

Then I also lay a 3" thick 18" square padded rubber & carpet mat on the concrete floor for the butt to stand on.

 

[arquebus]

My local range has those rough splintery wooden benches Zonie was talking about. However they thoughtful enough to also have an ample supply of carpet pads on hand. These are also used as 'anti-slip' pads for the butts of rifles standing up against benches.

 

[huntman58]

Zonie your so right on with this. they were the first things I was told to add after all the shooting needs by the same old man that got me into black and I have been doing it for years . he told me this as he help pull a sliver out of my elbow. just wish he would have told me the week before that