P3 Shooting Rest and Gun Vise
By Leroy Thompson
Since I live in a condo these days I have to limit the amount of space I can devote to all of those accessories which make working on firearms or shooting easier. As a result, I am always on the lookout for devices which are simple, compact and multifunctional. That’s why I like the P3 Ultimate Shooting Rest and P3 Ultimate Gun Vise Attachment.
The Ultimate Gun Rest may be used for sighting, testing groups or chronographing either pistols or rifles. By carrying out a quick conversion, the P3 Shooting Rest becomes the P3 Gun Vise which allows easy cleaning, repair, bore sighting or other tasks on the rifle, shotgun, submachine gun or the major subgroups such as the barreled action or stock.
The Ultimate Shooting Rest allows easy adjustments to properly position nearly any firearms for shooting. The shooting rest is of heavy duty steel construction with a wide front V rest that first all firearms. The rear shooting pad and the V rest are padded to protect the weapon from scratching. Note, too, that the padding is solvent safe to allow no-worry cleaning. The feature that makes the P3 Shooting Rest so useful for sighting in scopes or adjusting sights is the ease of adjustment. The base has a three point leveling system with thumb locks that allow it to remain very solid on a shooting bench. The rear shooting pad telescopes so it may be adjusted for height and angle to fit the weapon being shot. The front V rest also telescopes. A useful feature of the rear rest is that the carpet which covers it has a center groove which helps create a tight fit and also allows a rifle to be sighted without removing swivel studs. If one plans to sight both rifles and pistols, the changeover is as simple as sliding the rear shooting pad forward for pistols or to the rear for long guns.
If the Rest is to be used with the Ultimate Gun Vise, the changeover is also quite fast. The vise attachment may be quickly affixed to or removed from the Rest’s base. If the vise is to be used for long guns, it is affixed behind the rear rest, which can be slid forward to make room for the vise. If the vise is to be used for pistols, the vise can be installed in front of the rear rest, which will be slid to the rear. The vise is quite versatile and will fit virtually any type of long gun stock, whether the gun is positioned in a standard position or upside down. Double barrel shotguns may also be positioned with the barrels open. AR-15 rifles or carbines may be positioned with the upper tilted open.
The Ultimate Gun Rest/Vise combo is especially useful for bore sighting, then zeroing a rifle or carbine. Curt Knitt, the developer of the Ultimate Gun Vise and Rest, offers a simple system for sighting in one’s rifle. His steps are as follows:
- Make sure the scope is properly installed.
- Bore sight using the Ultimate Gun Vise, which should get the rifle/scope combo on the paper at 50-100 yards.
- Once at the range, remove the Vise attachment and use the Ultimate Shooting Rest to fire one shot at the center of the target at 100 yards.
- Unload the firearm, then move the Shooting Rest attachment forward and install the Gun Vise. Clamp the rifle in the vise and align the scope’s crosshairs with the center of the target.
- With the rifle secured in the vise, use the scope’s windage and elevation adjustments to move the crosshairs to the center of the bullet hole.
- Remove the rifle from the Gun Vise and remove the vise. Then slide the Shooting Rest back into position and fire a three-to-five-shot group at the center of the target. The scope should be very close to “on” and only a few clicks will be necessary to sight in the scope.
Since I normally sight in most carbines and rifles at 200 yards, I would move to a target at that distance for the final sighting, but, otherwise, Curt’s system seems quite simple. I have a couple of scopes to install over the next weeks and will use the P3 for sighting them in.
My initial test of the P3 Ultimate Shooting Rest was pretty basic. I had taken my Bushmaster .308 carbine along and wanted to check where it was shooting with some surplus Hirtinberger .308 ammo. I found that it took me a few minutes to get the rest leveled and set since it was the first time I had used it. Once I did, though, I found that I could get quite comfortable behind the stock and readily adjust the front V rest and rear rest so the scope was at the correct height and eye relief. Once set, I fired three shots, adjusted elevation and windage slightly for the ammo I was using and the scope was zeroed.
I especially like the P3 Ultimate Shooting Rest since I test a lot of rifles and scopes and it makes this task easier. I think I will find the Ultimate Gun Vise useful as well for mounting my scopes and bore sighting. I would definitely recommend that the combo be purchased together, though one can purchase just the Shooting Rest. Price for the Ultimate Shooting Rest is $125.00 plus $15.00 shipping and handling. The Ultimate Shooting Vise adds another $50.00
SOURCE:
CTK Precision
Dept. S.W.A.T.
E5861 Herzberg Road
Marion, WI 54950
(715) 754-2304
www.ctkprecision.com