The Clarys review the Caldwell Precision Turret Rifle Shooting Rest.
USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- The Turret was explicitly designed for AR-platform rifles. Conventional shooting rests do not take into account the extended magazines or the pistol grips on AR-rifles. As such, a lot of shooters opted for sandbags, instead of a front rest. They worked…. well, almost; because making precise elevation and windage was problematic.
Caldwell Precision Turret Rifle Shooting Rest
Caldwell has always been at the forefront of engineering designs when it comes to shooting rests. Given their history, it was no surprise that their engineers would design a shooting rest for modern sporting rifles (MSR).
With the Caldwell Turret rest, a thirty-round magazine does not get in the way or impede your shooting. The adjustable foot between the rear legs provides a stable “platform” for the pistol grip. Once the rifle is “locked” into the forend clamp (which is well padded to prevent damage to your rifle), you can utilize the unique tilt and swivel of this rest… very much like what is found on the tripod of an LMG in the field. In short, with this rest, you have a full range of motion to enjoy your shooting time at the range, as well as being able to make precise adjustments in elevation and windage.
Specifications of the Caldwell Precision Turret Rifle Shooting Rest are:
- Length adjustment: 22.4 inches
- Width adjustment: 5.5 inches
- Front leg vertical adjustment: up to 6 inches
- Ball bearing Panning system with 58-degree panning (swivel) arc
- Adjustable and removable pistol grip attachment
- Vertical adjustment of up to 1.5 inches
- Forend clamp for secure elevation and windage (Tilt and Swivel)
- Individual knobs for precise tilt and swivel (panning) adjustments
The MSRP of the Turret is $129.99 (less $$ online), but with some searching on the internet, you can find it for a lot less. This rest is well constructed out of steel and heavy gauge aluminum and should provide many years of service. As such, we recommend it, even if you do not have an AR-platform rifle, as the swivel and tilt features are great fun at the range.
About Jim and Mary Clary:
Jim and Mary Clary have co-authored over six hundred published articles (and counting) on shooting and hunting. You can read many of them on AmmoLand News.
I like it. It should be mine!
Caldwell is a great company. I have their “7 Rest” which is brilliant in it’s minimalist simplicity. Recently I bought one of their universal pistol mag loaders, just drop in rounds and squeeze the grip. Loading mags now is almost as fast and as much fun as emptying them at a target.
@Dave In Fairfax: Magazines always getting in the way when trying to rest it.
@Dave In Fairfax: Magazines always getting in the way when trying to rest it.
Having struggled to sight in new AR setups at the range this would appear to be just the ticket and at a great price point.
On a completely separate note, as we all know, once you attach your AR death dealer to something like this it increases the rate of fire from 5,000 rounds a minute to 50,000 rounds a minute. Expect our anti-gun President to order ATF to rule these as “atomic blasters” and therefore triple fully automatic and to immediately be banned.
I agree, perception is the new reality. Tacticool is a bad PR choice.
I just had the Bumpstock discussion with my wife and showed her why her 40 year old Marlin 60 was really a machinegun. 9 million round per second out of a 15 round tube. I had to reload in a hurry to keep up with it’s cyclic rate.
What was the problem sighting in the ARs at the range?
It looks like the tripod will interfere with magazine changes. The other issue, that I see right off, is that it doesn’t fold out of the way anywhere nearly as compactly as a conventional bipod. A big point for MSRs is that they are light and maneuverable. This makes them neither. It seems like a solution in search of a problem.
I like it! I’d want to try it out first as with anything. But I have my own range and I use sand bags,lead sleds and several other types of mounts. If this is anchored down good, it seems like it would work rather well.
A few of these and the border is secured!
Best of all it’s scary looking. Progtards will see it and be certain it turns the EBR into a machine gun.