by ArmsVault
The market for rifle rests has seen an increase in manufacturer offerings in recent years. A quick perusal of shooting enthusiast catalogs such as those from Midway, Cabela's, Gander Mountain, etc… shows many models from established manufacturers, as well as entirely new offerings from manufacturers entering this segment of the market. Additionally, a stroll up and down the aisles of shooting sports retailers such as Cabela's, Gander Mountain or Sportsman's Warehouse offers many fine examples of the different types of rifle rests available to the shooter.
For shooting applications, rifle rests typically come in three basic varieties:
1. Traditional sand-filled forearm and buttstock leather bags.
2. Individual precision rests for both forearm and buttstock support, of the type commonly used by benchrest and other precision shooters. These incorporate very fine adjustment mechanisms, and are often used in conjunction with the appropriate leather bags which cradle the rifle stock.
3. One piece cradle-type rests with independently adjustable mechanisms for adjusting the height of both the forearm and buttstock. Some of the high end cradle-type rests have very fine adjustment mechanisms fore and aft. Some also offer the shooter a reduction in felt recoil by providing for the addition of weight, in the form of bags of shot, to the frame which “soak up” part of the recoil. How much recoil is reduced depends on the caliber being fired, the design of the rest, and the amount of weight/shot added to the rest.
Shooters now have several choices when selecting an appropriate rifle rest for precision shooting, scope sighting-in and, depending on design and features, a handy vise for use in cleaning or working on one's rifle.
For the purposes of this review we are going focus on one of the newer cradle-type rifle rests which when combined with an optional vise assembly allows it to double as a rifle vise for scope mounting, cleaning or general maintenance. The particular rifle rest and vise are two of the latest product offerings from CTK Precision of Marion Wisconsin. CTK Precision is recognized as a leader in the shooting accessories industry with their innovative product designs for rifle rests and vises, rifle buttstock monopods and collapsible foregrip monopods for use with Picatinny rails on AR-type rifles. All of CTK Precision's products are proudly made in the U.S.A.
The rest is their “P3 Ultimate Shooting Rest” model, and it came with the optional “P3 Ultimate Gun Vise” assembly which allowed it to pull double duty as both a shooting rest at the range and a handy vise back at the workbench.
Assembly and First Impressions:
The first thing I noticed when I opened the box containing the disassembled rest, was that the frame component pieces appeared to be well made of thick gauge squared tubular metal and finished nicely. The pieces had no sharp edges, with most being slightly radiused. Weld seams were ground smooth and all were painted in a nice, even gloss black color. Overall the construction and finish of the frame pieces gave the impression of the manufacturer's use of quality materials and construction methods.
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