I attempted to sight in the two rifles working off some shooting sticks but I guess I'm just not that steady, at about 25 yards my shots were maybe 3-4" groups. Do I need a lead sled or something else to keep everything steady? Do I just suck a shooting? I was not at a range, just in the field with a berm as a back stop.

Do any ranges have these for rental or use?

Anyone willing to let me borrow a lead sled or similar for a few hours in exchange for some cash or a case of beers? I'm in the BCS area?

Thanks in advance.

I don't have a sled but you might want to check mounts/rings/sights. Make sure things are torqued to spec. Sounds more like something is loose more than poor marksmanship.

I zero from a folding table and lawn chair. I use these: https://www.amazon.com/Caldwell-DeadShot-Boxed-Combo-Front/dp/B000PW8KSM/ref=sr_1_5?crid=FQSEKU32862D&dchild=1&keywords=shooting+rest+bag&qid=1610040316&sprefix=shooting+rest%2Caps%2C197&sr=8-5

You can buy them filled or unfilled. I bought mine filled from Academy. Before I used the bags, I'd just use a jacket. I didn't notice a difference in my group size. The bags are easier to use but just barely.

That's a good suggestion. Cheap enough to just buy and keep around

With a 3-4" group at 25 yards, I would be looking at rings and mounts as previously suggested. Even off of flimsy collapsible sticks you should be able to hold a tighter group than that at 25.

Why not shoot prone? Is it possible where you are? Bring a weed whacker if you have to. It's a MUCH more stable way to sight in in the field (which is what I do). I bring a blanket, a backpack, and sand bags and just get set up prone.

Edit to add: I have the same style as those Caldwell bags, and like them. Mine is a bigger set that has differ thickness bags, so you can get it perfect.

I have some of these too. I think they work pretty good off of any table that is not rickety. I filled them with crushed walnut shells that they have at pet stores for reptile habitats. Less weight.

If you have never used them, you just squeeze the rear bag to get your sights lined up.

Bipod and rear bag, either on a sturdy table or prone.

I don't think you necessarily need a lead sled, but front and rear support is key IMO. prone or at a bench depending on what is available. to me, prone is 100x better than a crappy wobbly bench if you don't have one that is solid. I've also used prone from a truck bed when no bench available and prone on the ground wasn't viable.

Lead sled is not a grate option for sighting in really... You want the rifle to naturally recoil like ti will when you shoot out of the blind. preventing the recoil with lead sled is going to make the rifle hop around (energy goes somewhere). that hop will not match the recoil impulse with the rifle shouldered. While this shoudl not really matter for minute of deer type thing. might as well start off right than wrong.

Go look at Phil's videos on you tube link

He has some great basic fundamental videos. He also has some up on facebook.

lexofer said:

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Bipod and rear bag, either on a sturdy table or prone.

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Good idea, I can steal a bipod off of another gun. I didn't go prone because It was pretty wet at the time and didn't bring anything to lay on. But I think between those two I should be good

ccard257 said:

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I don't think you necessarily need a lead sled, but front and rear support is key IMO. prone or at a bench depending on what is available. to me, prone is 100x better than a crappy wobbly bench if you don't have one that is solid. I've also used prone from a truck bed when no bench available and prone on the ground wasn't viable.

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I see you are a man of culture....

Truck bed prone is legit. If shooting off the ground I put down a foam pad, use my backpack stuffed with jackets for a front rest and my rear bag.

And here I thought all one needed was a carhartt jacket and a pickup hood.

And a feed sack of course.

I found the sled to be ineffective in sighting in. This is counter intuitive to me, but it is true.

Sight in with a bipod or on sandbags, but either way on your shoulder.

The sled is now used to clean firearms.

There are a lot of posts about led sled causing scope failures on different outdoor forums. Never used one, but beware , puta a lot of stress on scope and mounts

I guess I'll abandon the sled idea. I was trying to sight in at my in laws after getting a scope as a gift, so I didn't have any bags, bipod, or any of my other gear.

Got a LVPO and put it on a 223 rifle and transferred the red dot to my blackout pistol.

The scope has an aero precision mount that was torqued with a torque wrench and a AMerican Defense QD mount on the red dot. Everything seems to be tight.

If you need to use a sled in the BCS area to confirm everything dm me. Thanks

Thanks!

AV8ORAG84 said:

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There are a lot of posts about led sled causing scope failures on different outdoor forums. Never used one, but beware , puta a lot of stress on scope and mounts

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I recently had to replace a scope that i recently used with a lead sled. I will say the 1 pro of using a lead sled is it will save your shoulder but now im not sure if the pro outweighs the cons.

It's a 223 AR, recoil isn't a worry for me, just need to hold it steady. I think bipod is the way to go from what I'm hearing.

I used a Lead Sled for a while - results at the range were very "meh".

I switched to a Bulls Bag with a separate rear rest. The rifles were rock solid stable, and their performance improvement was immediate and impressive. I dumped the Lead Sled and will never use one again - definitely not a fan.

I hadn't heard about the possible scope or mount damage. I have been using the Caldwell Stinger Shooting Rest and I've had good results. With it you still have to shoulder the rifle, but it does grip the stock somewhat. It seems to allow the gun to recoil almost like normal. Any opinions on if it is an OK option?

I used a lead sled to get a rifle tuned at 100 yrds. Then used that to shoot out to progressively shoot out to 450 yrds. Ended up killing my first bull elk with the same rifle at 333 yrds resting it off the hood of a surburban. Sled worked fine for me but maybe my rings and scope were up to it.

Sandbags are your friend.

However, a common mistake I see when people are sighting in with sandbags, etc. is leaving their rifle sling in place finding a rest under the fore stock. Fore stock needs to be nestled, but no contact by anything else on the barrel including the sand bag when sighting in. It is about "perfect" situations at that point. You are putting your rifle in the best possible situation to sight it in.

Now, in the blind, you can mix in all the different circumstances, knowing your rifle is ON, but everything you add in is a deterrent to the best possible shot, which was created at the range. I do use, when needed, the sling under the fore arm of the rifle at this point if needed, as it is better than resting on tin or narrow plasitc/wood.

So to follow up on all this. I ended up putting a bipod on the front and doing some prone shooting. Groups were much tighter, and I was able to sight in at 50 yards.

I changed out the upper receiver for a new Aero Precision M4E1 upper prior to signing in, so that included taking off the scope and re-torquing everything. I think I'm in good shape at this point. Thanks for all the suggestions!