Caldwell deadshot

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509ajl

Member
Feb 28, 2016
91
1
California, United States
Hi everyone, I'm wanting information on the Caldwel deadshot because I use a tripod with a ball head and a plywood top with a sandbag tied to it. The problem I have is holding the but end on my shoulder either sitting or standing it improves my accuracy but I still have a little body movement and the longer shots are greatly affected. I want to not touch the rifle as much as possible so my heartbeat or gitters doesn't affect my long shots. Will this let me draw down on a target and hold that spot while I remove my hands from the rifle until I put a finger on the trigger. 
Your comments will influence me greatly.
Thank You
 
I've got one. I wanted to use it in the same way as you. It's not the same as a bench with a quality rest. One of the interesting things i discovered and in particular, my Galahad, POI and accuracy was not the same when I shot off of bags on a bench or off of a bench rest. 
You want to be real careful when leaving your gun in it. Because you can adjust the CG of the gun over the tripod, it can tip over and dump your gun onto the ground or worse, the concrete floor of your shop. 
It also isn't fluid as you would hope. Making very small, minute adjustments will cause you to over correct and now you are wrestling the gun and the pod. 

Now it's a great tool for working on a gun. I can set it up and put a gun in it while sitting on my rolling office chair and navigate around or stand and work on the gun without having to pick it up and move it around. Kinda like having a separate bench. And the thing is very compact. Folds up into a very small easy to carry (if you have the need) package. Even comes with a shoulder sling. 
On a scale of 1- 10 with 10 being the best, I'd have to give it a 4 to 5 for what you are wanting to do with it. If it wasn't so handy to service a gun I'd probably sell it. 
If you are needing a bench that is super portable and easy to carry, transport and store have a look at one of these. I got one and I'm very pleased with it. For the money, I'd have to give this bench a 10. 

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200700133_200700133
 
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Thank you for your informative answers and after reading Dave's take on the deadshot it is probably not what I need. I need something portable to carry around the dairy and pop the squirrels in the head so they don't suffer and putting the pellet on the mark is important to me. Doing that up to 60 yards is common for me but if I've been walking enough to get my heart rate up it becomes harder to hit my mark because the rifle on my shoulder is moving to my heart beat and breathing. One of the symptoms of becoming a 70 year old man. A lot of the shots are farther out than I can shoot unless I can put it on a table with my gun rest or sand bags. I need to figure this out as I get older because I still want to be a dead eye in the field. Shooting paper targers off the bench is respectable but in the field I need a better solution than what I'm doing or just not shoot farther than my ability, but then a lot of those pesty squirrels are going to bug me.
 
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I have a dead shot and NO it is not what you are looking for … very flimsy and not to be relied upon even to simply place your rifle on without fear of it dumping it on the ground or floor. It will steady your shot a little more than you can manage without it … but not by much.

Know what you mean by the 70 year old gitters … but it beats the alternative LOL
 
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@509
OK you and I are about the same age. I use a pair of BogPod sticks for the same type of shooting you are doing sans the dairy. The model that I have they no longer offer. It looks like their current selection is a bit better. What I like about mine is, it has a "U" shaped yoke that helps reduce cant. Mine were around $50 if I recall. But any quality shooting sticks should be fine.
The key I found, is to lean the sticks back toward you when shooting. It helps steady the shot. Think of how a quality bipod sets when shooting off a bench. 

Good luck and all the best!!
 
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I also had the dead shot and had problems with it. Then I got the Caldwell Magnum Deadshot. The Magnum is steady as a rock. I use it to shoot ground squirrels and I use it to shoot standing. The legs are adjustable so you can use it shooting anywhere from prone to standing. I'm 6'4" and have no problems using it while standing. `The pan and tilt is adjustable and very smooth. The legs have metal spikes on the bottom to keep it steady. It comes with a carry strap and easily folds when you want to move it. Three of my friends bought this after using mine

https://www.opticsplanet.com/caldwell-magnum-deadshot-fieldpod-shooting-rest.html
 
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Calbarry, I looked at some videos on the Magnum Deadshot and it does look heavier duty and twice the price. I don't mind spending $ if it really works well. Any body else have one of these and how would you rate it on a one to ten scale. Calbarry can you honestly say it's easy to move and lock on to a target without fighting this way and that way as you tighten up the swivel to shoot. This really looks like a serious shooting platform.
Thank You 
 
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If you had a chance to use one, you would buy one. I leave the pan and tilt just loose enough so I can swivel the head easily but it's still firm without locking it up. I use it for ground squirrel shooting most of the time and sometimes you don't have enough time to lock the head before taking the shot. With the spikes on the bottom of the legs, this thing is really solid. It makes shooting in the field easy. I think you would be happy with one. Hope this helps
 
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I own the Caldwell Deadshot, a bench like the Caldwell bench, and the MTM Hi Low shooting table.
The Caldwell Deadshot is lightweight, easy to transport, and will hold your rifle or bull pup, it will tilt up and down, pan left or right.

The shooting table is sturdy. It will also rotate. For benching a gun, the table is hard to beat.

The MTM Caseguard Hi Low shooting table. Is a fantastic piece of equipment. It can be used to bench, wonderful for long range shots, and if one hunts, it can be used in hunting situations.
I like the portability of the Caldwell Deadshot, but the MTM is a more stable platform. Raise or lower the MTM CG to your liking. It gets used more and more. My longest shot to date was using the MTM CG.
 
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Hotbrass, thanks for your input. I looked at the MTM hi low shooting table and although it looks like a great portable table and something I'll add to my gear in the future, right now the fluid motion of a rifle rest is what I need. I don't know if I would have come across MTM products or not as I have been searching for a while and Google didn't send me that way yet. Thanks for all your help.
 
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Ok, I have my deadshot magnum and used it this morning and after only one use I really like. I was a photographer back when film was the medium and my tripod had several detent points as you moved the legs out so getting all three legs at the same distance was easy. The Deadshot has legs with no detente so looking at the bubble level as you open it up is cumbersome to me. Also if there was some degrees of cant built into it setting up level wouldn't be as criticle but that would create more design issues. Well all in all I can live with it the way it is. I hit two squirrels today 70 and 101 yards. The 70 yard was a head shot and the 101 was a kill but not as clean. That 100 yard shot would not have been possible without me resting my rifle on something so that says a lot for the Deadshot Magnum. Also it is a little heavy but the weight is needed to make it as steady as it is. My opinion on this is positive and yes I believe there will be less squirrels on the dairy now.
Calbarry, you were right about me neneedling this to help my hold still to hit my targets, I thank you for your suggestion.
I'll try loading a photo, don't know how yet, trying !
 
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I think I got it !
1529776478_10332029025b2e895e5962d8.78533702_20180623_082606.jpg
1529776513_11630643435b2e8981cc89c9.14935930_20180623_082114.jpg
 
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