What is a good Competition Front Rest

[scarecrow]

I am looking for a good quality competition front rest around the $300 - $400 mark. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

[catnthehat]

The caldwell rock seems to be aright, not sure of the cost.
I cannot remember how much my Hart/Bald Eagle set up was , bit it is a top of the line set up.
Cat

[scarecrow]

Thanks Cat, I think the bald eagle is a little out of my price range. The Rock BR rests are about $250 but before I bought one I just wanted to get some opinions.

[catnthehat]

Thanks Cat, I think the bald eagle is a little out of my price range. The Rock BR rests are about $250 but before I bought one I just wanted to get some opinions.

I've sen a few of them, and to be hoenst, they arre as good as most on the market.
there are little bells and whistles on some rests, but for the most part they go un-used, and unless a person is into serious competition, a rest costing three times what the rock does, is a waste of moneyIMO.
Cat

[double gun]

First off, I dont shoot competitively nor do I know what it costs - but a friend of mine in the US makes and sells his own rest, that I hear is very good.(not just from him :) ) He uses one himself and has won a great deal of shoots. They are called "viperbench-rest".

[Findal]

A fellow named Joe Cowan in the US makes a fantastic rest as part of a trade school course.
It takes some time to get as you have to wait for the production, but it is a great value.

Search out Cowan Rest and you should turn up details. For about the same price as the rock, it makes the rock look like a rock.

[Bushrat]

It depends on how serious you are. A simple rest like the rock or the rock BR will suffice for most informal shooting. If your thinking about geting into competitive benchrest shooting you will want something that is heavy and does not move on the bench with easy/fast consistent and stable quick finger adjustment for windage and elevation. Basic heavy rests like the Bald eagle, Hart, Sinclair with windage and elevation adjustable tops will get you into the game on up to rests like the Seb, Farley, and many other custom made machined rests, the sky's the limit. The Cowan rest mentioned by another poster is a very good rest for the guy who wants to dabble in benchrest and also use it for general purpose rifle sighting in and shooting. They are excellent value for the money. The only downfall is they are quite light weight and the adjustments have a nominal amount of play but should suffice nicely for everything unless your going to the Nationals or Supershoot. They are far superior to the windage adjustable Caldwell Rock BR which are functional but the windage top is poorly made cast pot metal with plastic adjusting components, not very smooth. The caldwell rock with the joy stick elevation and windage adjustment lever is okay for a while but the plastic ball and socket internals wear fast and becomes loose and sloppy if you use it extensively. Also remember that the rest you use is only as stable and solid as the bench it is sitting on.

The Cowan is pictured on the bottom right with a couple Caldwells in the background. The other rest I been tinkering with lately is from RFD Rifles.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j98/markdriscoll/Model70stainless270win013.jpg