CTK Precision P3 Ultimate Gun Vise & Shooting Rest Review
Review by: ShootAndReload.com
There comes a time in almost every rifle owner’s life when a gun vise becomes a very nice thing to have, if not a necessity. For me it was when I was buying the scope (Leupold VX-3i) for the Remington 700 project. (BTW, This video by Larry Potterfield of Midway USA is a great tutorial on mounting a riflescope).
I knew I needed a gun vise that would hold the rifle solidly. I needed a gun vise that would allow me to easily level the rifle in both directions. I also knew that when I finally took the Remington 700 to the range for sighting-in that I would need a solid shooting rest. It would be very nice if I could find a single product that would do both jobs.
I also wanted a gun vise suitable for cleaning my AR. I wanted to be able to pull the (rear) takedown pin and let the Upper rotate downward. (See adjacent photo.) I have a 2-point sling on my AR, and when I pull both pins the Upper and Lower are still connected by the sling, resulting in a slightly unwieldy arrangement when trying to clean it without some sort of vise.
The two most popular gun vises on the market are the Tipton and the CTK Precision P3. I chose the CTK because:
- It is made of square steel tubing. It’s not going to flex (or warp in the heat). It’s solid and heavy enough to provide a stable platform.
- Properly accessorized, it operates as a gun vise AND a shooting rest. CTK Precision sells the P3 as either a gun vise OR as a shooting rest, the only difference being which attachment (the gun vise attachment or the shooting rest attachment) is included. The great thing is that the gun vise attachment and the shooting rest attachment are each available separately. I bought mine configured as a gun vise and separately purchased the shooting rest attachment. This means I have ONE thing to store in the garage and keep track of.
- While other vises rest on just rubber feet, the CTK Precision P3 has vertically adjustable feet. Each foot has a rubber bumper on the bottom and a large knob on the top. It was really easy to put my Remington 700 in the vise and then use the three knobs to get it perfectly level both fore-and-aft as well and left-and-right.
- CTK Precision’s Customer Support is outstanding. I managed to lose one of the rubber bumpers. An email to CTK Precision had several replacements on the way.
Cleaning the AR
The photo above shows the P3 with both the shooting rest attachment and the gun vise attachment in use, The shooting rest attachment is supporting the magazine well, allowing the upper to pivot forward/downward for cleaning. I really like this arrangement as it allows me to have both hands free for cleaning the chamber.
Working on the Remington 700
In the adjacent photo you can see the shooting rest attachment is pushed forward out of the way. Here, I’m about to give the Remington 700 a good cleaning, but this configuration was perfect for mounting the Leupold VX-3i scope. The yoke at the front of the P3 can be raised and lowered. After raising the yoke to roughly level the rifle, I then used the knobs on the feet to make the final level adjustments.
Shooting Rest
Here you can see the P3 acting as a shooting rest. I’ve removed the gun vise attachment. This is a nice easy relaxing way to support the rifle while zeroing the scope
Buy Once, Cry Once
Yes, the P3 is expensive, but let me tell you a story. My dear departed father grew up on a farm in Ohio. Farmers don’t have much money. When they need a tool, they go out into the tool shed, find something close, and beat-to-fit. As a result, I watched my father all his life work on projects – whether it was re-paneling a room or overhauling an engine – using substandard ill-fitting tools. I watched him get angry at his tools and cuss and swear because the tool did not do the job properly. And I watched as the end product was almost always substandard. I learned from that. For me, tools need to give me pleasure. (After all I am working on my hobby.) Good tools mean the end result is one I can be proud of. Half the job is the right tool.
The CTK Precision P3 is a tool that I will have for the rest of my life, and probably eventually pass on to my son.