ohihunter2014
New member
anyone use the Caldwell rock rest? looking for something to help steady my 223-45-70 for load development. currently have the dead shot bags but too much wobble.
caldwell rock rest?
- Thread starter ohihunter2014
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Rustydust
Active member
Yes, I have one. Had it for about 12 years now. It works fine. The little bubble level fell off sometime ago but other than that no issues. Not much to it really.
I have the standard front bag as well as the one made for the typical wide varmint stock. Unless I am using one of my bipods this is what I use when I am testing loads at the range.
I have the standard front bag as well as the one made for the typical wide varmint stock. Unless I am using one of my bipods this is what I use when I am testing loads at the range.
I have one which is missing the level, but is a great rest. The elevation screw has a wee bit of slack in threads which can allow slight movement of bag, just remember to tighten the lock screw once you get it adjusted and it is, as its name implies, a rock.
Regards,
hm
Regards,
hm
ninehorses
New member
You get what you pay for. A 63 dollar Cadwell (Midway) rest will do for most shooters, but if you look to RW Hart, or Sinclair, you will have a long lasting good rest that you will love. Bullets.com also has some nice rest. Cast iron and weight is your friend, when you want to shoot bench rest. Spend a little more money and be happy.
A friend has a Caldwell BR rest and cusses it. Too much slop, tighten the fast adjustment screw too tight, and the threaded shaft locks up. Too loose, and the thing will fall. The aluminum sleeve around the threaded shaft compresses. Mariner wheel threads are rough, and he has had to clean the little aluminum chips out to keep it running. The bags that came with it, are not that great, rear bag has started to leak sand from thread wear on the concrete bench.
A friend has a Caldwell BR rest and cusses it. Too much slop, tighten the fast adjustment screw too tight, and the threaded shaft locks up. Too loose, and the thing will fall. The aluminum sleeve around the threaded shaft compresses. Mariner wheel threads are rough, and he has had to clean the little aluminum chips out to keep it running. The bags that came with it, are not that great, rear bag has started to leak sand from thread wear on the concrete bench.
Originally Posted By: ninehorsesYou get what you pay for. A 63 dollar Cadwell (Midway) rest will do for most shooters, but if you look to RW Hart, or Sinclair, you will have a long lasting good rest that you will love. Bullets.com also has some nice rest. Cast iron and weight is your friend, when you want to shoot bench rest. Spend a little more money and be happy.
A friend has a Caldwell BR rest and cusses it. Too much slop, tighten the fast adjustment screw too tight, and the threaded shaft locks up. Too loose, and the thing will fall. The aluminum sleeve around the threaded shaft compresses. Mariner wheel threads are rough, and he has had to clean the little aluminum chips out to keep it running. The bags that came with it, are not that great, rear bag has started to leak sand from thread wear on the concrete bench.
Excellent advice.
Another good quality heavy rest is a Cowan.
I have better luck shooting off a good bipod and a rear bag than I do a cheap front rest.
A friend has a Caldwell BR rest and cusses it. Too much slop, tighten the fast adjustment screw too tight, and the threaded shaft locks up. Too loose, and the thing will fall. The aluminum sleeve around the threaded shaft compresses. Mariner wheel threads are rough, and he has had to clean the little aluminum chips out to keep it running. The bags that came with it, are not that great, rear bag has started to leak sand from thread wear on the concrete bench.
Excellent advice.
Another good quality heavy rest is a Cowan.
I have better luck shooting off a good bipod and a rear bag than I do a cheap front rest.
This evaluation found online does point out one other issue I had forgotten since I revised mine to enable rotating almost 180* long ago.
Quote:Well constructed & sturdy, a good value. I like the large, wide, footprint. Works well for bolt guns but is not good for AR's or any semi with a long magazine. I know why the layout of the rest is the way it is, so it won't rock under recoil. The other reason it has this layout is so that you can set it closer to the front of the bench. This reasoning is logical. However, in my opinion, it is completely backwards & there is no way to reverse the rest if you wanted. You could remove the fore end stop & turn the rest around but then the lock "screw" would be hard to reach. Overall, a good rest for the money. I would give it 5 stars if it could be configured the way the user wanted. This could be done with some minor mods during manufacture.
As manufactured, the rest is positioned with one leg pointed directly toward shooter and can interfere w/the magazine on AR's or similar firearms. The rear leg (bottom in picture) was thus located directly under the rifle and interfered w/AR magazines.
I just rotated entire rest 180* for a while to clear magazines, but then the lock screw was difficult to reach....
....until I drilled and tapped the base approx. 170* to accept the lock screw so that entire rest can be rotated enough to clear magazine, yet place lock screw within reach:
Could not drill 180* as "handle" of lock screw would not clear the leg so positioned.
The new style base may not be conducive such a revision???
Regards,
hm
Quote:Well constructed & sturdy, a good value. I like the large, wide, footprint. Works well for bolt guns but is not good for AR's or any semi with a long magazine. I know why the layout of the rest is the way it is, so it won't rock under recoil. The other reason it has this layout is so that you can set it closer to the front of the bench. This reasoning is logical. However, in my opinion, it is completely backwards & there is no way to reverse the rest if you wanted. You could remove the fore end stop & turn the rest around but then the lock "screw" would be hard to reach. Overall, a good rest for the money. I would give it 5 stars if it could be configured the way the user wanted. This could be done with some minor mods during manufacture.
As manufactured, the rest is positioned with one leg pointed directly toward shooter and can interfere w/the magazine on AR's or similar firearms. The rear leg (bottom in picture) was thus located directly under the rifle and interfered w/AR magazines.
I just rotated entire rest 180* for a while to clear magazines, but then the lock screw was difficult to reach....
....until I drilled and tapped the base approx. 170* to accept the lock screw so that entire rest can be rotated enough to clear magazine, yet place lock screw within reach:
Could not drill 180* as "handle" of lock screw would not clear the leg so positioned.
The new style base may not be conducive such a revision???
Regards,
hm
I have a Rock. It has a special place. On the garage floor. Shortly after I bought it, the top broke and I called Caldwell/Midway USA and they replaced it. Shortly after that it broke again. Its the part for windage adjustment. Said screw it and built one out of 1/2 inch plate. Nice and heavy but still junk IMO. I have a Wichita that came across on the Mayflower that is reliable and works. It goes to the range the Rock stays in the garage.
xphunter
Active member
Originally Posted By: ohihunter2014anyone use the Caldwell rock rest? looking for something to help steady my 223-45-70 for load development. currently have the dead shot bags but too much wobble.
I would take two things into consideration:
#1 Budget?
#2 What do I want to be able to accomplish with this new rest in terms of accuracy?
Depending on the answer to the first question, there may be no need to even consider the second question.
Personally, I would rather spend money on a good used rest, than on a cheap new one.
A good rear bag can also make a difference.
There is a lot of front rests and rear bags out there to choose from. You typically get what you pay for.
I would take two things into consideration:
#1 Budget?
#2 What do I want to be able to accomplish with this new rest in terms of accuracy?
Depending on the answer to the first question, there may be no need to even consider the second question.
Personally, I would rather spend money on a good used rest, than on a cheap new one.
A good rear bag can also make a difference.
There is a lot of front rests and rear bags out there to choose from. You typically get what you pay for.
ohihunter2014
New member
not wanting to break the bank with one. I was very happy with my Caldwell dead shot until it got wet and became a brick.
just need something to sight the guns in with and do some bench shooting with the 223.
just need something to sight the guns in with and do some bench shooting with the 223.
deathwind II
New member
That's weird. Just had my Caldwell rest out yesterday and was beginning to realize just how sloppy and imprecise this thing really is, e.g,: every time I tightened the elevation lock, it raised the crosshairs a half inch or so. Will take it apart and see if it's broken, a design flaw, or just my fault; but it cut my session short, with no good shooting weather in sight.You get what you pay for, I guess.
xphunter
Active member
This is a nice little rest for the price.
http://protektormodel.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=32
Shiraz is great shooter and offers great products
http://www.bullets.com/products/Rest-Triangle-Aluminum/BE1004
http://www.brownells.com/shooting-access...8097-63720.aspx
http://protektormodel.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=32
Shiraz is great shooter and offers great products
http://www.bullets.com/products/Rest-Triangle-Aluminum/BE1004
http://www.brownells.com/shooting-access...8097-63720.aspx
Guess I'm missing something here. If I were shooting benchrest, perhaps I would need windage adjustments and zero play in elevating mechanism. To zero my hunting rifles and check loads for accuracy, I don't.
Once proper elevation is achieved, the lock screw is tightened and, at that point for all practical purposes, the rest might as well be a brick. Minute elevation and windage adjustments are made by rear bag position.
Personally, I place more value on weight and portability of a rest. Mine resides in my hunting vehicle 24/365, as I like to be prepared to check a rifle's zero anywhere I am hunting. Precise fit, becomes unimportant once the lock screw is tightened. But that's just me; the less bells and whistles, the better JMHO.
If your use requires better fit and the extra features, and portability is not an issue, by all means, use the rest that best fits your needs.
Regards,
hm
Once proper elevation is achieved, the lock screw is tightened and, at that point for all practical purposes, the rest might as well be a brick. Minute elevation and windage adjustments are made by rear bag position.
Personally, I place more value on weight and portability of a rest. Mine resides in my hunting vehicle 24/365, as I like to be prepared to check a rifle's zero anywhere I am hunting. Precise fit, becomes unimportant once the lock screw is tightened. But that's just me; the less bells and whistles, the better JMHO.
If your use requires better fit and the extra features, and portability is not an issue, by all means, use the rest that best fits your needs.
Regards,
hm
Varminterror
New member
I have a Caldwell Rock BR, an Eagle Slingshot, and a Sinclair bench rest Y base (not plate). I wouldn't buy the Caldwell again, so I can't recommend it. The others I do recommend, even though they are a lot more expensive. Grizzly sells the Eagle for $200.
As others have mentioned, the play in the Caldwell makes it useless for precision adjustment. It works about like its name implies, like a rock. If you screw a front bag to a rock, you'd be more stable, and basically just as adjustable. All of the windage and elevation has to be done in the tail bag. The bags which come with the Rock are useless, I used Protektor and Edgewood bags on mine, which helped. The surface on the eared bag from Caldwell is grippy, which defeats the purpose of a front rest.
The difference for me has been measurable - on a Harris bipod, I can shoot consistently smaller groups with the same rifle than I can from the Caldwell Rock BR, and with the Eagle or Sinclair, I can shoot consistently smaller than the Harris bipod. If a heavy rest won't shrink groups better than a bipod, it's not a good rest. Period.
As others have mentioned, the play in the Caldwell makes it useless for precision adjustment. It works about like its name implies, like a rock. If you screw a front bag to a rock, you'd be more stable, and basically just as adjustable. All of the windage and elevation has to be done in the tail bag. The bags which come with the Rock are useless, I used Protektor and Edgewood bags on mine, which helped. The surface on the eared bag from Caldwell is grippy, which defeats the purpose of a front rest.
The difference for me has been measurable - on a Harris bipod, I can shoot consistently smaller groups with the same rifle than I can from the Caldwell Rock BR, and with the Eagle or Sinclair, I can shoot consistently smaller than the Harris bipod. If a heavy rest won't shrink groups better than a bipod, it's not a good rest. Period.