DIY Concrete Shooting Bench and Slab for Under $300
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- Опубликовано: 9 июн 2020
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A concrete shooting bench has been high on my list of priorities for a while, and I've finally completed my first such installment. This has already made a huge difference in the quality of data and results I've observed when testing rifles and ammunition, so I feel like I've accomplished my "mission". In this video/article I'll summarize my experience building this bench, provide rough plans for my bench design, and talk about what I'll do different next time.
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You should never work alone...I find it hard to believe that you didn’t put a word out on line or on here asking for help ...Im Sure some people would of liked to be on line ...many hands make for light and fast work .....but I salute you on the great work you did...please keep pushing out the videos ...always great to watch ...cheers young man
Why should you never work alone?
Gavin you did an awesome job with the platform. I’d recommend two things; 1. Put a water sealer on the bench especially the cinder block. 2. Build a roof to provide shade and cover from the elements. Sounds like your choice of materials will provide enough strength. I always put rebar inside cinder blocks and fill them with cement. I doubt you need to do this for your application however. Job well done IMO.
As someone who works alone, I would have formed and cast the top in place, just like making a concrete kitchen countertop. Casting in threaded inserts could be handy later to add an umbrella or shooting accessories.
Seriously though, as an engineer and machinist you are well aware of how to be anal retentive building things, but I appreciate you letting your viewers interact.
It looks great! I would recommend sealing it so the weather doesn't add to that crack.
Your enthusiasm and passion for what you love is contagious
Having built a dozen for my shooting club, as part of a team work, it was a learning curve. We made those benches portable. Best solution we found was:
1/use aluminum scaffolding tubes and attachment for the bottom frame to which we added a pair of wheel at the front so when lift up from the back we could move them out of the way with ease for prone shooters. One note; make sure the frame doesn't interfere with your knees when sitting at the table!
2/ For the bench top, we use plywood however what we found was: it is not the weight or the thickness of the top but the flexing what was the most important part to consider. Heavy bench rest rifles, rests, bags, shooters leaning on the table...etc is a lot of weight, it will make the top flex and interfere with the stability. Best solution and to keep the weight down is to build a frame in aluminum (bulky but light) or steel (my preference) from there you'll see how much plywood you really want. As a side note shinny, polished and slippery tops attracted the most complaints :) :) leave the top a bit rough if I may suggest....
Thank you for your great work, very inspiring!
You are very fortunate to have a shooting range on your property. Reloading and testing your loads on site is a very handy problem to have. Great job on the bench!
That's awesome Gavin! Nice work!
I like the idea of a concrete bench. That is what they use at most all the ranges. They are as good as it gets. I myself am looking at making a very heavy-duty wooden bench that will have the ability to move if necessary and be stable as well. The gun range I used to shoot at has been closed because of tornado damage and I don't know when they will be able to reopen. They need to invest about $50,000 to get it back up to specs and reopen. So, I have set up a 100- and 250-yard range at my farm. Not too crazy about shooting at the farm a lot but with the range closed one must do what they have to. I will probably put a pad in to sit the bench on. Most shooting benches that are for sale are flimsy pieces of junk and not stable at all. A good solid wooden bench is the best way to go. If I need to move it I will use my tractor. It won't be a lightweight bench. Light weight in no way can be stable enough for a good bench rest bench.
Made mine integral with a gooseneck trailer complete with shooting bench with left and right positions, 2 prone positions, rifle racks, storage bins ect.
That should be a very stable platform. I started a mobile bench for right and left handed shooters. We have a lot of lefties in our family so I wanted to accommodate everyone. The wood is from various family barns we had stashed away. The bench will have a set of wheels up front so we can move it around in the summer and store it in the barn in the winter months. I used spent .22 lr and .223 casings to create a logo in the center of the bench. I will apply epoxy resin to the top and some automotive clearcoat for UV protection.
"I'm pretty analytical"...understatement of the year! LOL
I love that style though it gives a kindred spirit the info we crave.
Great video, looking forward to more about benchrest shooting!
I 100% agree with you when you explain why benchrest can improve your accuracy (isolate the factors to solve the problem). Nice work Gavin !
Gavin ,
You are a Humble Man .
Willing to openly share your strengths and short lived weaknesses.
Great first effort on a very functional and long lasting bench .
It will serve you ( and others ) well for many lifetimes .
Yes , I have built some ( IMHO ) very nice portable, and collapsible shooting benches that are ideal for Prairie Dog Shooting.
All that see and use these benches rave about their usefulness. But their archelies ( sp ? ) heel is a lathe is required to fabricate.
( right up your alley )
I added features to an existing design , and have had many years of Family fun shooting Prairie Dogs .
I really enjoy your channel and content.
I LOVE THE TRANSPARENCY! YOU HAVE ONE OF THE BEST CHANNELS OUT THERE!
Gavin , your bench looks great and if it works for you that's all that matters I love too shoot and over the years I've built a number of benches-portable & stationary. Most recently a large 10' bench that accommodates for rt and left shooters ,for two people., covered and even has a sun shade (bench faces west setting sun) and a sound/blast deflector--sounded great in theory but the final results are inconclusive. 500 yes. What I've found is no matter how much you plan you inevitably find some things you might have done differently.
These things are " a work in progress" and there is the joy in the building process as well learning. We really enjoy shooting at our bench even though it's not perfect in all ways. We are looking at building a second bench down a recently constructed TVA power line on our property to shoot long range and I think something like your bench would suit our needs quite well. Thanks for the video.
P S --I think you would really enjoy having this covered from the elements and would help the longevity.
CRhea MD
As a builder myself I couldn’t enjoy listening to the building process that this took to be built but I reckon your great effort to get things done. Next time please use some #3 rebars or wire mesh that way you get rigidity on the slab. Now you should get some stucco mix and skin coat the whole bench then seal it with a good outdoors paint.
Looking forward to building my bench
I built a bench using Rugged Buddy legs that I found on eBay. I made the top out of 3/4” plywood. The legs fold and when I lock them in place, the bench became solid and still movable. I supported the bench under the top with two pieces of 1/4” angle iron made of aluminum for rigidity. The other thing I did was take a aluminum tube the length of the bench and screwed it under the right side of the bench so that I could store my cleaning rod seeing that I am a right handed shooter. I also made a small drawer to keep my brushes and jags in. The reason I did that was my cleaning rod would be in the way and I use to knock it off of the bench.... Solid bench that folds and is transportable...
First you said your an Engineer, I hope Home Depot didn’t sell you cinder blocks because what you have is concrete masonry units also known as CMU’s, the pavers you used are just pavers and could have been broken when you cracked the top. Another issue is you put your blocks on top 3.5” on slab. Your best install would have been to pour a footing for the blocks One block deep with rebar and grout the cells full the plan the top of your footing to adjust the overall height of the top when you place the footing. For your top you should have built a metal frame of welded angle. With welded wire mesh for support set it on your the melamin top.
My gun club has 8 concrete shooting rest each one was poured in place in a mold that was made from plywood and 2x4’s for the legs are a poured in place tee like yours they have rebar running from the footing to the they have a sun roof to keep them from heating up first that crack will in all likelihood crack worse after the winter due to frost.
FK ,
I can tell that this is not your first rodeo !
Experienced Professionals standout !
I can't believe so many folks goto great lengths to make perfect ammunition and don't blueprint actions and use a solid bench. Bench comp. shooters were doing all this in the 70's when I started. My first rifle was a Davidson sleeved Rem. 700 blueprinted by Sinclair when he was gunsmith. Used a Jones Lyman conversion measure. Good old days, great stuff available today.
Great addition to the range thumbs up.......
just was talking with a buddy about building a concrete bench
also wanting to build a heavy wood bench as well
yours turned out great though! great idea with the cinder blocks and pavers
i would dig a T-shaped trench, build a form and lay a level footing. The depth of the footing below ground level would be dependent on the height of the cinder blocks and top thickness. Use rebar in the footing and fill in the hollow cavity of the first course of blocks with cement to anchor them. You could use small wooden spacers between courses and then fill in with mortar. Same principle if you construct the top down below. Use wooden spacers to support the top and fill in again with mortar. The pad could be optional, but personally, i would make one and just pour it around the blocks. With the weight of the top, you do have the option of just setting it in place. Gives you the option of changing it. Mine would be double wide to accommodate rightys, leftys and equipment.
Looks great man! I did build a bench myself. It’s all steel. Same style of top you have but the bottom is 2 inch pipe stuck in the ground about 18 inches. The top is 1/4 in thick steel plate. It sits in a heavy angle iron frame. It’s very heavy and permanent of course. Very stable as well!
Great job on the bench
If you don't mind a different shape and materials, you can try wheels. Those wood wheels use to carry hugh electric cables, they sometimes will be consider as junk and there are plenty of them in your local junk yard. You can choose small ones and pile up 4 legs or a hugh one. And then the top, artificial stone use in kitchen bench is a convinent way to get a marble flat surface in reasonable price. Give it a 1 1/2~2 inch thick piece, you can stand on it. It is design to be machinable as well, you can use stainless steel screw bolt it to the legs. Or you can do it 2~3 piece U shape table top (yea, who say a table top must be in one piece? You can carry 2~3 piece in your 4x4 without any helper), it is all possible as you can see them in ordinay kitchen. If you are more ambitious, give it a cheap harbour flea car jack under the table top, you will have a adjustable height table top.
Wow!!! Great Job Brother!!! I've been thinking about making one of these similar to the ones at RMAC.
I noticed that you have a Sinclair shooting rest....New item? Maybe a review in the future? Great videos!
I've used the concrete blocks for the base and a 1" wood topper covered with a flat dense carpeting, We have ours covered though as a pavilion which allows the carpeting to not get wet. Prevents a little resistance to damage if something is accidentally dropped.
BTW, Still love that finished rifle.
Gavin, Nothing wrong with the bench. I have never thought to build a concrete bench. Good Idea! That 5 shot group was ideal. !
Pretty cool
I like the bench. I LOVE the property. If i had access to such a place, I would definitely build a pretty sizeable bench.
Nicely done sir.
Luv your bench video. A couple suggestions:
1.) Use rebar to reinforce to top prevent cracking.
2.) Put in a lifting inserts or eyes in flat-top. This will enable safe and easy lifting with your backhoe or crane. You can cut them off later and patch any blemishes.
Keep liv’ the dream!! 👍👍
Great bench
My benchrest club has a similar concrete bench setup. On top of the concrete top, they've added 2 - 3/4" pieces of plywood. This would help get to the 34" height you'd mentioned as well as add a replaceable surface for the sharp anchor points of a mechanical rest to dig into. I agree that you may wish to seal the concrete and add a roof at some point.
It's great. All you need is a heated shed built around it with a kettle. Keep you warm and dry and shooting longer sessions!
Love the bench.
Our shooting benches at our local range uses a similar design except our seats are made of concrete blocks with concrete slab seats (for left and right shooters) We then covered the all the table and seat slabs with scrap horse stall floor mats. These mats protects you firearms from scratches and your butt from sitting on cold concrete.
Show & describe what you are using for your bench stool, an important part of your stability. Love your new bench and I am sure your next one will be an improvement. Thanks for the work & the vid.
Seal the concrete and build a nice roof over it but make it big enough for two benches, you are bound to have friends over that need to sight in their deer or elk rifles before the season.
You should have cast it in place....bit of mesh in the slab also as frost winter etc will take its toll
My shooting club has the same type on the Benchrest line. Never had an issue with stability. Have done some fine work off those benches.
I don't know if you are aware of a RUclips channel called MarkandSam. They do extreme long range shooting, in many different calibers. Mark is a machinist by by trade. Beside shooting, he talks about his method of long range shooting.
Great Job! Please consider putting a high quality CONCRETE SEALER on your creation while the concrete is still fresh.
Looks like a good bench to shoot off of. I look forward to seeing you build a portable bench. I have been planning to build a portable one for myself for long range shooting. I haven't been able to find any plans that fit my needs yet so I was just planning to wing it. A friend of mine built one out of steel and it's extremely sturdy but it also weighs better than 80lbs which is more than I want to lug around so I plan to use wood. I'd like to keep the heaviest piece under 50lbs if possible and 60lbs at the most. I'm thinking detachable legs might be necessary.
Love to see a video tour of your property one day. Wow.
Great job. You could consider using concrete adhesive next time rather than mortar.
I made one similar, I used rebar and just used construction adhesive to glue blocks together.
Im still rebuilding my reloading bench
Looks great. How about some comparison groups, prone/bipod Vs Bench. Same load, same day, to quantify effect of postion on precision.
Hole for umbrella to mount on hot days.
Rebar is your friend 👍🏻
Having an adjustable height shooting stool, the height of the bench is not near as critical. Just use four layers of blocks with the slab on top. A car wheel, some redi rod, a couple of nuts and a 2x12 for a seat is inexpensive and durable. We just set up three columns of half blocks dry, two in the front and one center in the rear. The bottom slab has rebar protruding up at each leg site. Fill the legs with slightly wet concrete, no mortar in between the blocks. The top is precast upside down with three lengths of rebar that go into each leg. On assembly day, stack and fill the legs, drop the top in place square up and walk away.
Make sure the tops have a deep enough recess for the shooter, so as to get the left elbow on the top comfortably. .
Just a weird. You could call it antidotal thing. I have taken to carrying a clean piece of poster board with me to the range. I lay it down across the front of the table, taped down, and place my bipod on that. I have found over the course of working up several loads for 4 different guns that the average group size is 3/4 to 2/3 (3-5 inches down to 2.5 -4) of the size @ 400-500 yrds of not having the poster board. The poster board allows a smooth surface for the recoil to travel on verses a concrete or wood surface. Grant it, a stable 3 leg front rest with a smooth surface to surace interaction can be better for recoil mitigation. This just is one way of removing a source of error that I have found when working with field / working guns. Also remove the back sling stud makes a difference. A little off topic.
Amazing table.
Nothing is perfect the first time and if it is; the second time is a catastrophe. "MURPHY"
Woah nice
I plan this Spring to build a new bench. I am Trying to determine cutout and should I go both RH/LH. Good job!
Great Video as usual. For your portable bench, you might consider a "Stuckys Sturdy Shooting Bench" unless you just want to build it yourself. They are extremely well built, rock steady and portable.
$2000 for a simple table ? LOL
Gavin- do you have any videos or can you make one on beach rest front and rear rests? Kinda basic stuff and then moving up to $$$ stuff... thanks
and did you do anything to prevent frost heave? i have been planning on building one just about like it for sum time now ,good showing btw
I hope you don't have trouble with frost heaving in the winter. You surely would if you built this in the Northeast US. Your ground looks very dry, so you might be OK. In the Northeast all footings have to go below the "frost line" (typically 6 feet where I am), in order to prevent heaving across the seasons. That's why everybody has a basement in the east, whereas few have them in the west -- well, in California and Nevada, anyhow.
I am building a range at my farm in newyork state. I want to enclose the shooting bench area so i can shoot year round and in all weather .was contemplating concrete or wood shooting benchs.Thanx for the video and some ideas.
Nice bench, but you're going to want to have a solution for your right elbow, either wear long sleeves or some kind of pad to put your elbow on, rather than the concrete. You'll wear the skin away pretty quickly from recoil. It doesn't take a lot. For the top, you can buy pre-cast, 3" thick slabs that HVAC companies use to place compressor units for central A/C systems on, outside buildings. As long as you can be happy with a square top. Last shooting bench I built had 4x6's for legs, 2.6's for the framing and 5/4" decking for the top. It was built about ten years ago, and the top needs to be replaced now. It was all pressure treated lumber, and it was stained about five years ago, but the Texas sun will bake wood away to nothing sooner or later.
Does the fiber reenforced top give you itchy arms after a day of shooting?
Video flagged. That table is biased to right handed shooters.
@poet in a paper bag:
All lies matter.
? Do u get fiber in your arms from the fibercreet while.shooting
What is that front support you are using? That thing is wicked.
Fiber mesh is way over-rated. Ask me about my driveway. Rebar requires 2 inches of coverage over top and bottom for maximum strength but a section of welded wire stock panel would probably work well in this case. Concrete takes 28 days to cure to 80% of strength. Would like to see a design that incorporates the ideal set-up for using a rifle rest to reduce recoil while zeroing say a 338 Win Mag. Great video. I do a lot of things with just me and the Lord. He always shows me the way.
I want one, I live in the mountains of North Carolina and I would have to cover it with a roof and seal the concrete if rain or snow gets in the pores and freezes the concrete will eventually crack. Or may be use some cinder block filler paint it will fill all the cracks and it hides a lot of mistakes. And how is the top attached to the bottom? I am a mason and for a first timer using what you used it looks great. Also where is your ranch located?
Amazing property. Curious where you are generally.
Hey what’s the dry case neck lube you use?
GRW. New Zealand
The biggest issue with these types of benches is the fact you aren't straight behind the rifle. In my experience the best shape is a square table that forces you to square up behind the rifle. This simulates what you do when prone. I also try and avoid benches all together. I like shooting and testing from prone.
Looks good, personally I would have made the inset a bit deeper, to keep the gun being shot away from the edge, just a personal preference.
Look at the techniques for concrete counter tops. Consider some lightweight aggregate. Borrow a concrete vibrator to flow and de-air the concrete in the mold.
Someone may have already said it, but how about a cover over the it to protect from the sun etc.?
Just saying because, I live in Louisiana…. And it gets HOT!
If I would have cracked the benchtop trying to install it, I would have got pissed and destroyed it.
But I'm not a cool-headed or smart guy like you. :-)
Next time hire the 5 guys to help you lift it or pour in place like others have suggested.
Good job. Next time, instead of using mortar to set table top, just place top on and use concrete anchor bolts to lock them to the base.
Is there more wind on the top of the ridge?
Put flex tape in the middle of the crack and drill 1/4 holes so the flex tape go in
Love your bench.... i need to make one, but am gonna make it out of wood... probably deck planks.
i would form and pour the top in place
I like this
What state is that in? That's a sweet ridge top!
What carbon fiber stock is in the thumbnail?
How big is your ranch? It's beautiful
Is that the Sinclair Competition Shooting rest? If so, how do you like it?
Video coming!
Also i would like to see gavin build 6PPC
Nothing more stable than prone in my opinion. I lay a tarp down even tho my range has nice benches.
I would have done a cement foundation but a wood bench that made with 4 x4 legs with mental brackets that are attach to the cement.
Better add a SEB rifle rest to squeeze that last .010 " out of your new rifle.
Wire mesh in the top would have keep it from cracking
Nicely none.
I would add a roof of some sort, if even just an umbrella or canopy.
how about using a concrete pad for outdoor AC for the top? They are precast and cheap. Glue to your base.....
Hi from France, some paint should be great ....
No doubt the bench you made is remarkable for its remote position and sturdy construction. The only better choice might have been using a bolder already at the location. Then chiseling it into a shooting bench. Reducing the chances of the bench settling out of level from the effects of weather. Even if this happens it is easy to adjust for that minor issue. Something I discovered spending time at different ranges is using targets that use reflective paper over ones with flat finishes. The low reflective targets produced tighter groups than ones made of shiny paper. This is one important fact few understand. Even the slightest change in light will change bullet impacts. Using high magnification or low magnification scopes the surface of the target paper makes a difference. Using certified targets produce better results. Another important reason is becoming familiar with the consistent sight picture of the target. Using a 100 yard Bench-Rest Target has the best advantages for testing accuracy. Buying targets in large quantiles saves money as well. Most sight in targets makes a poor choice for getting accurate results. The great thing about quality targets is they provide an important place to record the data of the results for later study. If you decide to compete in matches the targets you use to practice with should be the ones that are used at the matches. If you practice in changing wind conditions you learn how to read the wind and make the proper corrections.
thats a good project. I can't wait to sell off my CA houses and go get some land.
I pay several hundred dollars per year for Gun Club dues - and our benches are no better, TBH. Most have shade because it's so damned hot in the South.
you have way to mutch air pocketes in the concrete thats way you slap is cracking if you need help let me know i am a german maison nuffsaid
If you need an extra hand...I'll just drive over and help you out...lol...I am only a few counties away...lol