Device for Holding Rifle

[wingspar]

Didn’t really know how to title this thread, or exactly where to post it, or even what terms to Google the info, so here goes. I’m interested in a device that will hold a rifle in place, so that I can shoot in the same place consistently without holding onto the rifle. What I want to do is to be able to shoot pop cans and remotely fire a camera at the can at the same time. The camera will be triggered by a radio device that can trigger the camera up to 1,000 feet away, tho it will only be a few feet away in this case. I do not need to fire the gun remotely. I just need a device to hold onto the gun so that I can hit a can placed in the same location consistently.

What would a device like this be called? Where would I find one, and would one be easy to make from scratch?

[woolleyworm]

Shooting rest , shooting sled , also check benchrest this should get you what you're looking for. Also, what caliber rifle? Even a little recoil will still cause most any rest to jump, you'll have to obtain sight alignment on each shot.

[wingspar]

Thank you. Shooting Rest brought up tons of stuff, such as this page of rests from Cabelas.

This one looks nice, but I have to wonder what keeps the gun from jumping out of the rest. For what I want to do, I will have one hand on the trigger, and one hand on the camera remote.

I will either be using a bolt action 22 rifle, or a Marlin Camp 9, a 9mm carbine. Maybe both.

[yellerdawg]

Originally Posted by wingspar

Thank you. Shooting Rest brought up tons of stuff, such as this page of rests from Cabelas.

This one looks nice, but I have to wonder what keeps the gun from jumping out of the rest. For what I want to do, I will have one hand on the trigger, and one hand on the camera remote.

I will either be using a bolt action 22 rifle, or a Marlin Camp 9, a 9mm carbine. Maybe both.

Howdy...on my other forum this question (similiar) just was up, but shooter didint want to spend for a commercial rest...etc..wanted to make sumthin.....

The standard remote firing rig offered commercially is like a hypo pushing fluid for compression , and I have heard takes a lot of maintenance per leaks..etc...

I quickly drew this suggestion for our other guy, who only wanted a secure place to set up his scope for his 22 plinker/varmint rifle....

This will hold rifle secure, but you must squeeze trigger yourself.....also place rifle in stockclamp far enough ahead of trigger to operate..and high enough in to let extraction clear..etc...

- Some scrap or material from home depot...1x 6 , 1 x 4 , screws...3/8 bolts or all thread....wing nuts....carpet or self stick foam weather striping for protection to gun....

[woolleyworm]

with the .22, the recoil will not cause it to jump out of the rest. you'll have to test fire a few with the 9 and get a feel for it, but i highly doubt it would either. I'm assuming that you'll still have it shouldered, you just need your forehand free'd for the camera shot.

There are a variety of rests, some actually clamp the firearm in place, some have spring assists to deal with recoil; others use mass to absorb recoil. The Ransom Rest is a pretty interesting piece of ingeinuity, although it's for pistols, so that doesn't help you much; just think it's cool.
If you're looking to do "non-scientific" testing; I would think that one of the MTM rifle rests would suit you fine. Not very expensive either.

[wingspar]

Originally Posted by yellerdawg

I quickly drew this suggestion for our other guy, who only wanted a secure place to set up his scope for his 22 plinker/varmint rifle....

Thanks. That gives me some ideas, but for the price, there are a couple of rests at Cabelas that look good.

Originally Posted by woolleyworm

with the .22, the recoil will not cause it to jump out of the rest. you'll have to test fire a few with the 9 and get a feel for it, but i highly doubt it would either. I'm assuming that you'll still have it shouldered, you just need your forehand free'd for the camera shot.

There are a variety of rests, some actually clamp the firearm in place, some have spring assists to deal with recoil; others use mass to absorb recoil. The Ransom Rest is a pretty interesting piece of ingeinuity, although it's for pistols, so that doesn't help you much; just think it's cool.
If you're looking to do "non-scientific" testing; I would think that one of the MTM rifle rests would suit you fine. Not very expensive either.

Very non-scientific stuff I’ll be doing. I just want something that I don’t have to hold onto the rifle, just pull the trigger, as I’ll be concentrating on the timing of firing the camera more than I want to be thinking about the rifle, and having it jump out of the rest. There is one MTM rest that looks like it might do the job for about $45.

I’ll probably start off with the 22. It will probably give me the results I’m interested in, and move to the 9mm to see if I can get more dramatic results.

[armedandsafe]

Check for sound triggered switches to adapt to your camera remote.

If you trigger manually, you will find that your timing will be a little off. It will probably take s number of trials to get the timing right. I assume you want a high shutter speed shot of the bullet exploding the can.

Most camera remote triggers are infrared, with a distance rating up to as far as 100 yards. Most fire on just a burst of light, rather than a modulated set of pulses (i.e. tv remotes.) This means you can easily construct a sound activated device with a few parts from Radio Shack or Edmund Scientific.

Pops

[gdmoody]

Originally Posted by wingspar

I have to wonder what keeps the gun from jumping out of the rest. For what I want to do, I will have one hand on the trigger, and one hand on the camera remote.

I will either be using a bolt action 22 rifle, or a Marlin Camp 9, a 9mm carbine. Maybe both.

wingspar, normally your other hand keeps the gun from jumping out. If you are using a .22 there is not enough recoil to cause it to "jump" out if you just lay your camera remote hand on the top of the rifle. I don't really know how much recoil the 9mm might have but I would not think it would be much either.

I have a lead sled and it works pretty well on my .30-06 so I just don't think a .22 would be that much problem. I do have to say that I use 50 pounds of weight added to the "sled".

I think you could find that lead sled a little cheaper than the $120 advertised at Cabelas. Here is one that is a little different but still the same principle of adding weight to the base to steady the shots. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct...tnumber=394466

[pickenup]

Please.
Post the pics here, once you get them.

[wingspar]

Originally Posted by armedandsafe

Check for sound triggered switches to adapt to your camera remote.

If you trigger manually, you will find that your timing will be a little off. It will probably take s number of trials to get the timing right. I assume you want a high shutter speed shot of the bullet exploding the can.

Most camera remote triggers are infrared, with a distance rating up to as far as 100 yards. Most fire on just a burst of light, rather than a modulated set of pulses (i.e. tv remotes.) This means you can easily construct a sound activated device with a few parts from Radio Shack or Edmund Scientific.

Never heard of sound triggered switches for triggering cameras. Do they exist?

I will be using a pair of Pocket Wizards, one connected to the camera, and one in my left hand. It’s a radio controlled device capable of triggering cameras and lights up to 1,000 feet away. Sports photographers also use these to trigger remote cameras and lights in the rafters of major sporting venues. They aren’t cheap, but I’ve had a pair for a few years. Work like a charm.

I expect to have a lot of trial and error. High shutter speeds of the bullet exploding the can is what I want to try to accomplish. Actually capturing what I’m hoping to get will be a little bit of luck with the method I will use. My camera is capable of 8 frames per second, but this whole thing will be over in a fraction of a second, and even at 8 fps, I’m still going to miss the shot a few times... ok, maybe a whole bunch of times.

Originally Posted by gdmoody

wingspar, normally your other hand keeps the gun from jumping out. If you are using a .22 there is not enough recoil to cause it to "jump" out if you just lay your camera remote hand on the top of the rifle. I don't really know how much recoil the 9mm might have but I would not think it would be much either.

I have a lead sled and it works pretty well on my .30-06 so I just don't think a .22 would be that much problem. I do have to say that I use 50 pounds of weight added to the "sled".

I think you could find that lead sled a little cheaper than the $120 advertised at Cabelas. Here is one that is a little different but still the same principle of adding weight to the base to steady the shots. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct...tnumber=394466

I could lay my camera remote hand on top of the rifle. Probably not a need with the 22, but the 9mm has a bit more kick. I have no idea how it would act in a shooting rest, as I have never used a shooting rest before, but I’m reading where people feel almost no recoil with a 30-06 in a shooting rest. Might get me to shoot the 30-06 again. That hasn’t been out of the closet in 20 years or more. If I could figure out a way to fasten the front of the rifle to the rest, then I would have a free hand. I know the barrel has to be free floating, so I can’t just strap something over the barrel. I know from experience of fitting a sporting stock to an old military rifle years ago, that if the barrel isn’t free floating, I’m not going to hit a barrel with it.

There is a wide range of shooting rests at Cabelas, from about $45 to nearly $300. I just picked that one to post. Thanks for that link. One more to look at.

Originally Posted by pickenup

Please.
Post the pics here, once you get them.

Not sure when I’ll actually do this, but I will post some pictures if I’m successful at this. Photography is what I do, and if successful, sharing the photos is what I want to do.

[FTK87]

I use this rest on a regular basis.

http://www.cabelas.com/p-0018772224109a.shtml

I shoot a .223 and a .30-06 and I don't hold the front of the rifle on either, it hops a little, so you have to get back on target each time but it will not come out of the rest.

Don't believe that you will not feel recoil with one of these cheaper rests. without the rest I could stand to shoot the '06 maybe 40 times, with the rest i have shot it 80 times without much soreness, and they will also help on the flinch factor of guns with heavy recoil.


A little, off the subject, but when you do your testing, you should use different ammo types.

for example with the .22 you should get some sub-sonic, standard and high velocity rounds. it will make for some interesting images!

[graehaven]

I don't know......benchrests are a bit tough to lug around in a TEOTWAKI situation. I wouldn't want to get used to shooting it like that.

[Helix_FR]

This set up would be cool to see.

[wingspar]

Originally Posted by FTK87

I use this rest on a regular basis.

http://www.cabelas.com/p-0018772224109a.shtml

I shoot a .223 and a .30-06 and I don't hold the front of the rifle on either, it hops a little, so you have to get back on target each time but it will not come out of the rest.

A little, off the subject, but when you do your testing, you should use different ammo types.

for example with the .22 you should get some sub-sonic, standard and high velocity rounds. it will make for some interesting images!

I saw that when I was looking thru Cabelas yesterday. Doesn’t look like there is anything for the butt of the rifle to sit in, and that looks like it could be a problem for accomplishing what I want to do. I saw this one too.

When you look at the cost of ammo today, even $120 to $150 for a good rest doesn’t seem like all that much, and I could get other use out of it than this photographing a bullet passing thru a pop can idea I have. I never clean guns in the field, so having cleaning stuff with me isn’t important. I will say that my cleaning equipment is in the same variety of odds and ends boxes I’ve used for years, including an old cigar box from my father. I have thought about a tool box, or a fishing tackle box to keep all my cleaning stuff in one place. No matter which rest I decide on, it will double as a good second set of hands to hold rifles while cleaning them.

As for the 22 ammo, my 22 rifle was manufactured in the 1940's I believe, and I would want to do some research before firing anything other than standard rounds. This is another gun that hasn’t been out of the closet for years. I do need to pull it out, and research the serial number and find out what is and what isn’t safe to shoot thru it. It’s a gun my father symbolically gave to me when I was 5 years old, and I was allowed to keep it in my room when I was 14. I could hit a fly at 100 yards, it and I were that accurate. In the late 70's, after getting gun out of storage where it had been for years, I somehow managed to break both the front and rear sights, and I haven’t been able to hit a tin can at 100 feet since, so the rest will help me get that gun back into action. I am considering this model of the Ruger 10/22 to have some fun with.

Originally Posted by graehaven

I don't know......benchrests are a bit tough to lug around in a TEOTWAKI situation. I wouldn't want to get used to shooting it like that.

I had to Google TEOTWAKI, and it’s actually TEOTWAWKI. One more “W”. I don’t worry about stuff like that. Don’t even watch that doomsday stuff that seems to be on TV a lot today. I know you were being facetious, but that stuff puts me to sleep.

Originally Posted by Helix_FR

This set up would be cool to see.

I’ll be taking photos of the entire setup when I do this. A wide angle shot that will include the gun in the rest, camera on tripod, and the can.

[gdmoody]

Use a belt or just tie the rifle down with a piece of cloth. I can tell you that you CAN feel the recoil of a 30-06 fired in a lead sled. I have watched the commercials on them on the sportsman channel and laugh when I see them put a raw egg between the lead sled and their shoulder and the egg comes out in perfect condition -- bull.

[wingspar]

If someone were to tell me I wouldn’t feel any recoil from a 30-06 in shooting rest, I’d have to assume they were feeding me bull, and or have never shot a 30-06. I preferred to wear a padded shooting jacket when shooting the 30-06.

[armedandsafe]

Think "the Clapper" for a sound powered switch. You would have to get into the innards of your transmitter to wire across the contacts of its switch, so the clapper would then close contact for you. Not hard, but dicey if you aren't up on how to fiddle with electrons. Them electrons tend to get a bit feisty with people who don't speak their language.

http://store.cs-sales.net/soacswkreask.html
http://www.electronickits.com/kit/co...lec/ck1607.htm

Pops

[wingspar]

While that might be a neat idea, wiring isn’t something I can do, and I certainly have no intentions of opening up one of my Pocket Wizards. Those things are nearly $200 each.