I had some time this afternoon. So I decided to build myself a rifle rest.
The cheapest adjustable rifle rest of any sort of repute , is the Rocksteady Jnr. Cheapest I have seen it is about $75.
So the goal is to build my own, to a decent standard for less than $75.
First thing I bought was a scissor car jack. Delivered for $19.95
Down to good old Bunnings for some hardware.
Bought a pack of 4 M10 x 80mm bolts with screw inserts.
$4.60
6 M8x40mm bolts with nuts
$1.98
1200mm x595mm Formply
$10.43
4 22mm chairleg rubbers
$2.42
2 wire rope grip
$2.19
4 M10 wingnuts
$5.26
For a total of
$46.90. So under budget, maintaining the point of the whole exercise.
Some things i only needed 3, but had to buy 4, .some needed 1, had to buy 2.
First thing I did was mark out a tripod. Arms were set at 0’, 120’ and 240’. Front leg is 180mm from centre, rear legs are 250mm.
Then I drilled holes in the jack.
Marked out all the holes, then cut out the basic tripod.
Then did a basic test fit.
Then I got the router out and put a nice bevel around the tripod , drilled the rest of the holes and sanded and tidied up the edges.
Also fitted the screw inserts.
Next i made up my adjustable legs, with an M10 bolt, screw insert, chair tip, wingnut and washer. I filled the cavity with no more gaps. Flexible, sticks to anything and added a bit of weight in the feet.
Gave every thing a coat of satin enamel black from a rattle can I had lying around.
Made a top from Formply, bolted directly to the top of the jack.
Made a handle from the handle that came with the jack. No welder available so I attached it with a wire rope grip. Winds up and down smoothly.
And I ended up with this for just under $50
.
Adjustable legs let me square it up perfectly.
Last thing to do is get my dear old mum to sew me up a thin shooting bag I will attach with straps or Velcro.
Thanks for reading