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I would say this is some really good shooting and a skill that most don't have. However, reloading and the accuracy part of reloading is very much like lab testing. Meaning that eliminating variables is key. By shooting off hand, most people are going to introduce a plethora of variables and mistakes that might render the load development useless.
This is the most inexpensive rest I would consider. Cast iron base, and both elevation and windage adjustments. You will also need to acquire the appropriate bag to fit the width of the forearm of the rifle that you will be shooting.
I hear this a lot, really like to know why, seriously , how does the gun know if it's in a sled or on a heavy guys arm? We've used a lead sled for years and never had a issue with either gun or scope, but we don't use lead bags in it, only use it for support, but also now I've moved to a long range shooting stand with only my shoulder for recoil, and that's a issue as have 3 of 4 tendons torn in my shoulder and unrepairable. Thanks for any help you can offer.
You're absolutely right. It's very important to check things out. My most accurate rifle I have shoots most groups prone in the .2-.3 range. I found if zeroing off my bipod prone with rear bag and then shooting off my tripod with the same rear bag the groups would be about 1/4" lower at 100 yards very predictably. Not enough of a shift to matter for the purpose of that rifle but still pretty interesting when you start playing with things.
Once upon a time I had a Lead Sled. Note that the key words here are once upon a time. What is in the manufacturer's brochure and what happens in real life are two entirely different things, The lead sled is supposed to hold the rifle so there is no rearward movement. Now after learning the hard way that Newton's law of motion will not be denied. I was attempting to sight in a 30-06 Remington 742 for a friend. The first shot seemed OK, but the second shot broke the stock at the grip. Without give in the Lead Sled the motion of the suppressed recoil had to go somewhere. In this case it broke the stock during the suppressed recoil. Not only did it break the stock but bent the stock mounting bolt too. Another issue is that when you put the rear of the stock into the cradle it is now impossible to get a good sight picture since the extra space added at the rear between the lead sled and your shoulder screws up your eye relief so sighting becomes an issue with parallax problems. Got a used stock and bolt from Numrich Arms and repaired the rifle and the lead sled went down the road. I have been using Carlson front and rear bags since. A bit harder on the shoulder but doesn't damage the rifle or scope.
I am a NO on the Lead Sled, but…..it can be beneficial sometimes. For instance when zeroing a scope. Shoot the first round not with the lead sled, set the rifle in the lead sled, affix it where it can't move and then adjust reticle from bullseye to POI. Minimum shots required to zero.
