New base for my lead sled.....
Mar 1, 2021 17:15:59 GMT -5
12ptdroptine, leftyml, and 3 more like this
Post by Richard on Mar 1, 2021 17:15:59 GMT -5
New lead sled base
So, while others might be building a rifle, Richard is building a better mouse trap!
I really do not need another rifle but have been thinking about a new better, stiffer base for my lead sled. The first one I built was kind of a work in progress and built from thinner material with add on’s as I began improving it. While it has served me well and I was looking for a new project, I decided to build a new one from scratch.
First of all, the whole concept of my modified lead sled and base was for the smooth recoil of a heavy muzzle loader firing fairly stiff charges. Resulting in no fatigue of the shooter and his shoulder plus, getting good accuracy. There has always been the talk that lead sleds destroy scopes? Yes……….maybe? But why? So here is my thoughts? When you fire a rifle in a lead sled you have three feet on the bench. The front two have rubber feet on them which generally retard the rearward movement of the sled. This in turn causes the sled to jump up and never land in the same place. This sudden retardation of the rearward movement of the rifle is what jars the bejesus out of your scope? With lighter recoiling rifles, this is not a big deal but with heaving kicking “magnums” and these land cannons we call muzzle loaders, it is a significant factor in scope longevity.
Having shot a 45 lb. heavy gun in 1K Benchrest, I decided to build a set up that somewhat mimicked the same recoil sequence. To do this, the rifle and the sled needed to move rearward as one unit without the sled’s feed abruptly stopping that action. To do this, I needed to make the rubber feet be able to “slide” rather than “grab” the surface. This led to the construction of a base that allowed all three feet to slide rearward. Hence the initial yellow base was developed. That base, get “C” clamped to my bench to prevent any movement. The front feet set on aluminum tracks which I grease every time I go to the range. The rear foot is steel……….I have ground and polished that flat and the track for that is nylon. This way, all three feet can slide rearward and are guided by side rails. I have left maybe 3/16” of play in the rear track. This allows my left hand to control not only the elevation but by moving the rear foot side to side, I control my windage. I have actually taken the windage out of the front bag and screwed it solid so all my control is from the rear. I also us a very soft leather corn cob media bag to grab and hold the lower sled bar once I have my crosshairs aligned.
I use an eight pound leather bag filled with shot that sits on the sled. A combination of the leather shot bag and the rubber front feet, keep the set up from and vibration during recoil. So, the rifle weights in at 18 lbs. the sled at 24 lbs and shot bag at 8 lbs. for a total of 50 lbs. With my 3000 + fps 300 grain bullets, this set up recoils just a tad over one inch. So, no scope eye or sore shoulders. The front bag on my sled had been replaced with a 3” wide bag and the toe of the stock fitted with a block that fits perfectly in the rear pocket of the sled. Upon firing, I simply push the rifle/sled forward to the “stop”, remove, reload and place back in the sled leaving my crosshairs practically dead on the bull except for a slight windage adjustment. My NF scope has over 1500 shots on it and is still working fine. I have used a Leupold MK 4 (well over 1K shots) with the sled and it is still in good working order plus a Sightron that is still going strong. So when I hear of people complaining about lead sleds and damaged scopes, I have a pretty good idea why they broke.
This new sled base is just built with heavier materials and some new improvements as can be seen from the pictures…oh, I also added a small bubble level near the left track. I also improved the two leveling screws an made the front of base wider. The old leveling screws were too short and came up under the sled. Tomorrow I get to try it out for the first time.
So, while others might be building a rifle, Richard is building a better mouse trap!
I really do not need another rifle but have been thinking about a new better, stiffer base for my lead sled. The first one I built was kind of a work in progress and built from thinner material with add on’s as I began improving it. While it has served me well and I was looking for a new project, I decided to build a new one from scratch.
First of all, the whole concept of my modified lead sled and base was for the smooth recoil of a heavy muzzle loader firing fairly stiff charges. Resulting in no fatigue of the shooter and his shoulder plus, getting good accuracy. There has always been the talk that lead sleds destroy scopes? Yes……….maybe? But why? So here is my thoughts? When you fire a rifle in a lead sled you have three feet on the bench. The front two have rubber feet on them which generally retard the rearward movement of the sled. This in turn causes the sled to jump up and never land in the same place. This sudden retardation of the rearward movement of the rifle is what jars the bejesus out of your scope? With lighter recoiling rifles, this is not a big deal but with heaving kicking “magnums” and these land cannons we call muzzle loaders, it is a significant factor in scope longevity.
Having shot a 45 lb. heavy gun in 1K Benchrest, I decided to build a set up that somewhat mimicked the same recoil sequence. To do this, the rifle and the sled needed to move rearward as one unit without the sled’s feed abruptly stopping that action. To do this, I needed to make the rubber feet be able to “slide” rather than “grab” the surface. This led to the construction of a base that allowed all three feet to slide rearward. Hence the initial yellow base was developed. That base, get “C” clamped to my bench to prevent any movement. The front feet set on aluminum tracks which I grease every time I go to the range. The rear foot is steel……….I have ground and polished that flat and the track for that is nylon. This way, all three feet can slide rearward and are guided by side rails. I have left maybe 3/16” of play in the rear track. This allows my left hand to control not only the elevation but by moving the rear foot side to side, I control my windage. I have actually taken the windage out of the front bag and screwed it solid so all my control is from the rear. I also us a very soft leather corn cob media bag to grab and hold the lower sled bar once I have my crosshairs aligned.
I use an eight pound leather bag filled with shot that sits on the sled. A combination of the leather shot bag and the rubber front feet, keep the set up from and vibration during recoil. So, the rifle weights in at 18 lbs. the sled at 24 lbs and shot bag at 8 lbs. for a total of 50 lbs. With my 3000 + fps 300 grain bullets, this set up recoils just a tad over one inch. So, no scope eye or sore shoulders. The front bag on my sled had been replaced with a 3” wide bag and the toe of the stock fitted with a block that fits perfectly in the rear pocket of the sled. Upon firing, I simply push the rifle/sled forward to the “stop”, remove, reload and place back in the sled leaving my crosshairs practically dead on the bull except for a slight windage adjustment. My NF scope has over 1500 shots on it and is still working fine. I have used a Leupold MK 4 (well over 1K shots) with the sled and it is still in good working order plus a Sightron that is still going strong. So when I hear of people complaining about lead sleds and damaged scopes, I have a pretty good idea why they broke.
This new sled base is just built with heavier materials and some new improvements as can be seen from the pictures…oh, I also added a small bubble level near the left track. I also improved the two leveling screws an made the front of base wider. The old leveling screws were too short and came up under the sled. Tomorrow I get to try it out for the first time.
