I have a shooting table already. But this was for sale as a combo. Really good deal so I could not pass up. The table is solid. Breaks down simply and is a nice little package once collapsed.
The lead sled is an older basic model.

I know some here don't like them. I have always kind of wanted one. Playing with it some some since acquiring, I think it will be useful. You can really hold on target. I mainly shoot bolt action hunting rifles. Suppressed mostly. Most are dialed in for my needs. But this will make things a bit more precise possibly. Any thoughts.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: old rugged cross,

Sounds cool. A lead sled would come in handy for me. I suck at rifle shooting, even from a bipod. I never know if my crappy groups are my crappy ammo or my crappy shooting.

Something to keep in mind about a shooting aid like the lead sled is how it may affect the recoil characteristics of a rifle and therefore affect point of bullet impact.

Although at least one top shooter has evidently demonstrated that shooting from different positions doesn’t have to affect point of impact, that alone has been a struggle for me to the point that with some guns I check point of impact from bench, prone, and kneeling supported. If just going from prone to kneeling can affect POI, I’ve read more than one commentator who says a lead sled that pretty much stops all rearward and muzzle rise recoil movement can definitely have an effect. And from my own perspective, I believe that the harder the rifle/cartridge combination recoils normally, the more damping it down to near nothing, the more it will affect the POI.

If I were checking the precision of my 450 Rigby handloads, I’d no doubt love a lead sled, but I’d certainly fire a few shots normally to ensure that I knew where they hit when fired like that before heading off to use it to take a Cape buffalo.

But just my thoughts.

^^^^^^
Pretty much that. I've never really had a yen for one, but it could be useful for load testing. Or maybe for long range rockchucking or some such.

Thanks guys. All my rifles are sighted in off of a bench with bags. I do not plan on loading the sled with a bunch of weight. I never worry about recoil. Even with .30 caliber mag.
It it will just be to to hold steady pretty much as I do now with bags to compare. It makes for a good rest.
It is an older model but the price for the combo was to good to pass up

The Lead Sled and about 40lbs of shot bags is your friend when you're trying to dial in the super light .338mag rifles and even the .375's. I do usually finish up with one or two rounds just off a pack to confirm but that weighted sled has made the overall experience much more enjoyable.

great to hear. Where would I get 40lbs of shot bags?

I could see using a lead sled for milder recoiling rifles, but, for a heavy recoiling rifle I would worry that not allowing the rifle to recoil and reducing the pressure spike on the rifles butt stock, might be causing damage to the stock or other weaker components through out the rifle, especially on a wood stocked or cheaper quality synthetic stocked gun.
My heaviest recoiling rifle is my 375 Weatherby Magnum. It will fire 375 H&H magnum or 375 Weatherby Magnum. The 375 H&H rounds are not too bad as far as recoil, the 375 Weatherby rounds are brutal due to a fast,violent recoil pulse.
After my first trip to the range with this rifle it got packed up and sent off to Randy Selby for a brake.I have yet to shoot it again but will soon.
I will use a front rest,and a bag of shotgun shot against my shoulder when I do shoot it to sight in the scope.
After that if I can't shoot it without something to tame it besides the brake I will sell the rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Something to keep in mind about a shooting aid like the lead sled is how it may affect the recoil characteristics of a rifle and therefore affect point of bullet impact.

Although at least one top shooter has evidently demonstrated that shooting from different positions doesn’t have to affect point of impact, that alone has been a struggle for me to the point that with some guns I check point of impact from bench, prone, and kneeling supported. If just going from prone to kneeling can affect POI, I’ve read more than one commentator who says a lead sled that pretty much stops all rearward and muzzle rise recoil movement can definitely have an effect. And from my own perspective, I believe that the harder the rifle/cartridge combination recoils normally, the more damping it down to near nothing, the more it will affect the POI.

A rifle that is properly sighted in for XXX yards is done so when the recoil impulse moves the rifle straight back and the sights stay on target during the entire fire/recoil cycle. Lead sleds help with zeroing and accuracy, as they eliminate the variability that we humans impart by touching a rifle. In benchrest shooting competition, the heavy/unlimited categories eliminate almost all the human-to-gun interface, and thus the smallest groups occur in such categories.

Prime questions for lead sled use include:
- Does point of impact with the sled equal POI without the sled?
- Does the sled manage recoil in a manner that is consistent with a competent shooter? In other words, do the sights stay on target throughout the recoil cycle? If the barrel jumps and the sights go off POA, the lead sled isn't mated well to that rifle.
- If shooters consistently use a sled, will their shooting fundamentals stagnate, possibly resulting in reduced accuracy and changing POIs in the field without the sled?

I've never used a lead sled. I don't know of any buddies or PRS-type competitors who use one. I've only seen a few in use at public ranges.

I can guarantee that competent PRS/NRL/steel match shooters have the same POI regardless of shooting position. And we see a boatload of shooting positions and barrier supports in such matches. I recall only one instance of a top shooter using a different POI/POA for different positions. IIRC that was Terry Cross, who stated that he changes his zero by 1/2 to 3/4 MOA in the slung standing portion of high power (across the course) competition. Given the amount of sling tension used in high power competition, I wonder if this tension is the reason. I've seen Terry Cross shoot in a couple of PRS-type matches, and if he makes POI/POA adjustments for various barrier positions, he doesn't appear to be doing it with turret adjustments.

*****
If a sled helps a shooter, that's great. I know there are some days that sleds would help me shoot with better down range results -- the days where I can't hit the broad side of a barn, from inside the barn. But ultimately, sled use isn't where I'm headed. My goal is to become more competent in shooting from increasing less stable positions, which is where the PRS/NRL/steel matches have been going for some time now.

I mostly agree fritz. Thanks