How do you bench rest your revolver?

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I support the FRAME right in front of the cylinder. Your HANDS should be free from contact with the bags but the WRISTS can be supported.
Grips must be consistent from shot to shot. This means hand placement AND how hard you grasp the grip.
The revolver must be free to recoil the exact same way shot to shot. If the hands touch the bags during recoil the recoil could be slightly different shot to shot. That will give you vertical dispersion.

I got to a point where I fired a 2” group for 5 shots with a scoped Ruger Super Redhawk in44 mag at 100 yards. It took lots of work to figure out how to hold the gun, how to rest the gun, and how to load ammo.

Ask Rick lots of questions, he did lots of this over the years and knows his stuff.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
I rest my forearms roughly at their mid-point LIGHTLY upon a squarish green Campbell rest that wasn't much good for riflery--but is just the right height for sighting-in handguns while seated behind a folding table. Most of the time, I just sit at that table and hold the handgun free-hand.
 
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RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
I shoot the pistol/revolver from the Weaver Stance off hand. So from the bench I rest my right forearm, behind the wrist, on an old Hoppes's rest and wrap my left hand around the side and front of the rest, wrapped around the grip. The advantage, for me, is that it is the same POA/POI as shooting off hand. While the groups are a little larger, if I rest the gun on the rest, it doesn't shoot to the same point as off hand.
 
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Hawk

North Central Texas
What Brad said. It also works for me with small groups for a scoped S&W 629 (44 Mag) at 100 yards.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Yup, forearms across a bag with wrist joints just past the front, revolver underlug and front of frame nestled into another sand bag. Hold it firmly but don't choke it to death or you'll wear out fast and consistency goes to pieces. Everything the same is the name of the game.

With a 4 MOA red dot and an appropriate target I could manage 3" six-shot groups consistently and often down to 2.5", probably the limit of the plain-based .44 Magnum load. All I did was pay attention to what Rick, John Taffin, and James Miner had to say and sort of put it all together. Trust me, I'm still here only because the three have never been together in the same room ;)
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
What ever happened to 44man (James Miner)?

To add to what brad said, the arms should not be locked but free to just follow the gun up. I don't grip firmly, just firm enough to not allow trigger pull to move the sights. Not only will the tighter the grip mean larger groups but also the tighter the grip the more of the felt recoil you will feel. Completely re-grip the revolver after every shot making certain it is back in your hand exactly as it was on the previous shot. You may not think it's in your hand differently from the recoil of the last shot but it is. Lock time, ignition time and barrel time are very slow in a revolver and anything you do to vary the grip will vary the recoil meaning where the muzzle is before the bullet exits the muzzle. The shot will go where the muzzle was at bullet exit so if you hold a little tighter the shot will be low. Hold a little looser the shot will be high. Hold a little higher on the grip shot will be low, lower on the grip high shot. Hold a little left on the grip, right shot, hold right, left shot. The longer the range your shooting the more profound the effect of any variation in grip.
 
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S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
Slight drift here, has anyone used a shooting stick, ie trigger stick for hunting with a handgun?
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
For hunting practice, handgun or rifle/carbine, I shoot off a camera tripod at 60 yards. I use that same tripod in one of my two portable tent blinds. Bench @ 100 yards is only for load development. Once that is done, it's off the tripod. Irks the hell out of Rick. I'm a firm believer in practicing the way I hunt, at the expected longest distance. Can't argue with the results.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Makes complete sense to me. Might be why so much of my rifle shooting is offhand?
I never did carry a bench into the woods.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Mr. Winelover has a problem understanding the difference between hunting/practicing and load development but hey, as long as he's happy.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
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Found this picture of Rick, shooting his 45 Colt BH, off the bench. Can get an idea of the set up and his form.
 

Rex

Active Member
I've been supporting my forearms just behind the wrists over the back corner of the pickup box, not too scientific but it does take some of the shake of the last 76 years out.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Actually that picture is wrong because I shouldn't have the barrel on the front rest.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Yup, the picture is wrong. :rolleyes: You're actually hovering the barrel about .020" off the bag, right?

I've tried every way I can think of to support the barrel itself and it never worked. Vee-block of pine was the worst, the barrel would lift and track up one side or the other under recoil, never straight up. I also tend to think the barrel bounces off of a rest due to the recoil impulse, as in pressure starts down and then up.
 
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S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
I wondered about that. A time or two I put rested mine right ahead of the cylinder, powder burned the leather.