Resources Bench rest lane set up.

[Iowa Airgunner]

I am happy to announce I am adding a bench rest option to the West Liberty Gun Club airgun range.

Not exactly sure how long it will be. But It will be something like 75 to 100 yards deep and about 10 feet wide.
I only have one bench at this point so it is really a practice and sight in lane.

I plan to set up spinners for field target sight in every 5-10 yards .

I also will be adding a stand at 50 yards with a platform for silhouette animals

And a big swinging target at 75 plus yards.
And I want to make a couple movable target card holders for bench rest. It seems 12 inch X 18 inch will be the standard so any 12x12 or 12x18 targets will fit. . Or is there a specific size target for bench rest? How big are the targets for a 50 shot card at a big event ?

The idea is to introduce airgun bench rest and Silhouette shooting to the range and hopefully get some people interested. Or they can use it for sight in of hunting rifles.

 

[Iowa Airgunner]

I ordered the big spinner set. Currently at my field target range I have a 2x4s painted white with two 1 inch steel strips dangling on each side . I paint the tip yellow and the rest is black. I have these set from 10 yards to 55 yards . This is for sight in and range proofing your dope card or scope checking.
there is a big shooting bench.
Today I am meeting with the club and discussing using equipment to clear about 100 yards of brush to build the bench rest lane. I’m not sure how wide it will be. About ten feet I guess.
I will be adding another shooting bench and then I need to add yard spinners every ten feet from 55-105
Then I want to place flat cement blocks in the ground to make lines for silhouettes to sit on. But low so I don’t hit them with the mower.

So this lane will be used for sight in when shooting field target. Speed silhouette with five rows?

100 yard challenge with hanging targets from 2 inch to 1/4 inch.

What else can I add to a bench rest lane to have fun?

 

[Iowa Airgunner]

I just offered this up for the club.




This is the new challenge at the West Liberty Gun Club airgun range. It’s just for fun and practice.



There is a shooting bench and 150-225 feet away is a set of target range in size from 2 inch down to 1/4 inch . Eight targets in all. The challenge is to go from left to right and shoot all eight targets in a row with an airgun.

Just to get your head in the wrong place . Hehe. The smallest target is 1/4 inch or .25 inch or 6.35mm.

The .177 pellet is 4.5 mm and .22 is 5.5 mm

So after making seven tough shots in the wind, can you put a 4.5 or 5.5 mm pellet on a 6.3 mm target from 150-225 feet away?



Are you feeling lucky??

I made this post directing it toward members of the gun club that have no idea how accurate an airgun can be.

I am trying to stir up interest .

 

[Iowa Airgunner]

Out at the range today playing with my new bench rest target.

I painted the targets black so I could see the strikes. To better judge the next shot. But that made the reticle invisible. First three at fifty yards were no problem. Then the forth one I hit it but not clean. Two more nicks and I said a hit is a hit. And then hit the next one. On seventh target I missed because I could not see the flat black target. So I aimed up to the silver part and the next one hit.
The last one took three shots to hit because I could not see it. So again I just shot the silver part above the target. I I got some paint and painted the targets yellow so I’ll try again tomorrow morning. The object is to shoot all eight in a row. I know it’s possible.

 

[Iowa Airgunner]

Well the gun club that is supporting my airgun activities has once again exceeded my wildest dreams. I asked if they could use a piece of equipment to clear some brush to make a new lane for my benchrest shooting initiative. They went in a made me four big long lanes that go all the way back into the woods. It a perfect benchrest lane. And now I can make a ten lane field target course and a pistol range. I can build tree stands for elevated targets. I still have a ton of work to do but wow!
Next I need to add another bench and a dueling target pole.
Plus a silhouette lane. With blocks in the ground to line up the silhouettes on.
There is even room for a separate pistol range.
I have so much to do. The place has so much potential. I need to just sit back and do some planning.

 

[Iowa Airgunner]

As soon as I can get some help I am moving the whole benchrest set up I have to the wider lane.
This is what I have learned so far.
I need to have the bench on one side of the lane. Then line up the permanent targets with yardage markers and a spinner so you are shooting across the lane. With a narrow lane and everything lined up I can’t see all the targets.
Plus there is not much room setting up the other targets.

 

[rc4fun]

Wow! Good on you. Makes me want to move nearby.

 

[Iowa Airgunner]

Wow! Good on you. Makes me want to move nearby.

Are you from Maryland? I’m from Baltimore. MOVE NOW!!!!

The RC action in eastern Iowa is amazing. I race indoor oval all winter. Plus there is carpet off road and carpet on road with a full blown indoor crawling course at a hobby shop in Cedar Rapids.
All summer there is out door oval on dirt and pavement and outdoor off-road and even land speed trials.
The Iowa city RC Airplane club has a huge rc airport.
And in West Liberty we have the airgun theme park with field target benchrest . Iowa is awesome .

 

[Iowa Airgunner]

This is the modification I made to the benchrest lane . I moved the targets to the left side and angled the targets to face the bench. Before I had them in a line. All the targets are measured from the bench.