Clinotus
07-14-2009, 01:36 AM
I needed a rifle rest for various reasons not limited to just looking pretty. It had to be tough, rugged, and easy to operate, which is a given considering the purpose. To my surprise there are a few of the on the market that fail those base requirements. I hunted around online and happened upon www.titegroup.com who offered two different rests models the SDR27 and the SDR40.
They stated on the website that the SDR40 model absolutely eats the recoil. Is that a challenge? I'll take one.
And today it arrived. Its not a lightweight rest by any means, made of .250 walled steel, it clunks in at a hefty 40 pounds.
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/rest.jpg
One of the welds on the rest:
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/weld.jpg
The base has ambidextrous handles which can be used to attach lead bags, or used simply for gripping:
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/handle_on_things.jpg
Included base pad for handgun use.
The front feet are both adjustable, here they are shown as they protrude (left) or recess (right):
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/header.jpg
The rear foot and rear cradle are set on a yoke which can slide in or out of the rest to accommodate longer or shorter rifle lengths:
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/footer.jpg
Both the front and rear feet adjust upwards of 6”, .
The webbing at the rear cradle.
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/webbing.jpg
The forend holder, with leather base:
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/noyokingaround.jpg
The knobs shown above on this model are for ambidextrous adjustments for Windage.
The rifle is held in place with a Velcro strap that goes over top of the rifle from the left hand side to the right hand side.
All points in which the rifle will touch the rest are covered in leather.
Lets take it out and see what it does:
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/balancing_act.jpg
A balancing act.
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/at_rest.jpg
Ready for use.
I'm going to sight this rifle in at a touch over 50 yards.
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/at_rest_downrange.jpg
I am aiming for a box downrange:
Box match (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMXaSebqr1I)
And of course, what is any thread without fire and explosions? Enjoy the freezeframe.
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/flashy.gif
I found the rifle rest to be all that they promised and then some. Saying it is solid is an understatement. I suspect that Titegroup makes parts for other heavy industries and the rifle rest portion of their business is simply a sideline. The weight of it, all 40 lbs, really does eat the recoil. Quality in the workmanship is high with the same being said of its manufacture.
The only shortfalls to the rifle rest are that the stock yoke is better suited for standard rifle stocks rather than the newer modular stock styles for AR15 rifles which come with a variety of features for a custom shoulder fit and sling mount attachments at their bases.
If the yoke were a bit wider and had an adjustable strap or if the rest came with straps of different lengths that could accommodate a small portion of the variety of stocks on the market this product would easily score a 10 out of 10.
The other shortfall was solely operator error, be sure to swap out the plastic feet for the included rubber feet. If not, in the least, its probably a wise idea to pack the rubber feet in your range bag in case the surface you choose to shoot on does not offer the best gripping surface for the rifle rest which in which case it will slide -this is no fault of the rest itself as they have provided you with both feet. For what it is worth we used the rest for a rifle test and the plastic rubber feet on the weathered bench stand did push us off a few times, we actually wound up strapping the rest to the table with ratchet straps, but again this was user error.
This is a great product so far with the rifles we have had access to and while we are sure that we'll enjoy it for many years to come, next month, we move up to a few magnum calibers. We highly doubt there will be any surprises.
They stated on the website that the SDR40 model absolutely eats the recoil. Is that a challenge? I'll take one.
And today it arrived. Its not a lightweight rest by any means, made of .250 walled steel, it clunks in at a hefty 40 pounds.
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/rest.jpg
One of the welds on the rest:
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/weld.jpg
The base has ambidextrous handles which can be used to attach lead bags, or used simply for gripping:
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/handle_on_things.jpg
Included base pad for handgun use.
The front feet are both adjustable, here they are shown as they protrude (left) or recess (right):
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/header.jpg
The rear foot and rear cradle are set on a yoke which can slide in or out of the rest to accommodate longer or shorter rifle lengths:
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/footer.jpg
Both the front and rear feet adjust upwards of 6”, .
The webbing at the rear cradle.
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/webbing.jpg
The forend holder, with leather base:
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/noyokingaround.jpg
The knobs shown above on this model are for ambidextrous adjustments for Windage.
The rifle is held in place with a Velcro strap that goes over top of the rifle from the left hand side to the right hand side.
All points in which the rifle will touch the rest are covered in leather.
Lets take it out and see what it does:
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/balancing_act.jpg
A balancing act.
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/at_rest.jpg
Ready for use.
I'm going to sight this rifle in at a touch over 50 yards.
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/at_rest_downrange.jpg
I am aiming for a box downrange:
Box match (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMXaSebqr1I)
And of course, what is any thread without fire and explosions? Enjoy the freezeframe.
http://230grain.com/images/articles/titegroup/flashy.gif
I found the rifle rest to be all that they promised and then some. Saying it is solid is an understatement. I suspect that Titegroup makes parts for other heavy industries and the rifle rest portion of their business is simply a sideline. The weight of it, all 40 lbs, really does eat the recoil. Quality in the workmanship is high with the same being said of its manufacture.
The only shortfalls to the rifle rest are that the stock yoke is better suited for standard rifle stocks rather than the newer modular stock styles for AR15 rifles which come with a variety of features for a custom shoulder fit and sling mount attachments at their bases.
If the yoke were a bit wider and had an adjustable strap or if the rest came with straps of different lengths that could accommodate a small portion of the variety of stocks on the market this product would easily score a 10 out of 10.
The other shortfall was solely operator error, be sure to swap out the plastic feet for the included rubber feet. If not, in the least, its probably a wise idea to pack the rubber feet in your range bag in case the surface you choose to shoot on does not offer the best gripping surface for the rifle rest which in which case it will slide -this is no fault of the rest itself as they have provided you with both feet. For what it is worth we used the rest for a rifle test and the plastic rubber feet on the weathered bench stand did push us off a few times, we actually wound up strapping the rest to the table with ratchet straps, but again this was user error.
This is a great product so far with the rifles we have had access to and while we are sure that we'll enjoy it for many years to come, next month, we move up to a few magnum calibers. We highly doubt there will be any surprises.