Caldwell Precision Turret Rest with Adjustable Ambidextrous Swivel Design and Detachable Magazine Rest with Pistol Grip Attachment for Rifles, Shot Stabilization, and Target Shooting

I agree with all the other reviews about the Caldwell precision turret rest as it relates to quality, adjustability, weight as well as a few areas that might need a slight improvement such as the nobs or screws used to tighten or lock the right/left or the up/down movement or to increase the down travel of the rear pistol rest plate particularly for AR style rifles. Otherwise, it is a great product. Now let me give you my experience with the CPT rest and some background info. I am 78 years old and have been around guns all my life. My eyes are not as good as they were. My holding of a rifle or pistol is not as steady as it used to be. My buddies and I used to hunt deer, elk and upland birds. But old age, back operations and other things caused us to give that up. We started shooting prairie dogs, varmints, and targets. Each year we would go out West to shoot prairie dogs. A few years ago, we ran across a married couple at the place we stay. They drove up in a SUV all set up for long-range shooting off of the top of the SUV, the husband was ex-military sniper and his wife was a 110 lb. blond who looked like she just a few years out of high school. We assumed he was the shooter. Well, it turned old Missy G. was the shooter, she was second in the nation for women shooting in a particular class. Anyway, later in the week we watched her (it is recorded on video) hitting prairie dogs at a distance of 1644 yards which broke the old record (1249) for verified shooting at the place we stay. That got us old guys into trying to get better at longer range shooting. So, we decided not to shoot at any prairie dogs that were not at least 400 yards out. Over the next few years, we have tried to improve our accuracy because trying to hit a young prairie dog which is not much bigger than a quart bottle at 600 or 700 yds is tuff. We have used all sorts of bullbags, sandbags and tripods. Two days ago, I got the CPT rest. I took my 6.5mm Tikka T3x Tac A1 all apart for a good cleaning then remounted my Vortex Raszor HD Gen II 4.5-27 x56 FFP so it was dead centered. Headed off to the range with my re-load ammo. Fired a couple of rounds at 50 yards, elevation was right on but was shooting to the right. Adjusted the MOA a few clicks. Fired a couple more rounds at 100 yds and made a slight adjustment to the scope again. I then loaded the clips with the 8 rounds of the reload I know Tikka likes the best. I fired 5 rounds at 100 yds. Made a slight adjustment to the scope. I then fired the remaining 3 at a 200 yds with the same results. Enclose pictures black target is 5 rounds at 100 yds and blue target is 3 rounds at 200 yds. The CPT rest took out my shakes, was more comfortable, eliminated all the adjustment neceassy with sandbag, got the same sight picture in seconds and it was fast, easy, stable. In a month I will be out West and field test it under actual conditions for a few days of shooting. Right now, it is my go to rest, it is unfortunate that it took this long to run across this rest. It is the best !!!

I like this one because it is not as bulky as a lead sled although it does have its job and purpose, I use this at the range to sight in different firearms and works really well. I really like how compact it is as well and rugged. in my opinion, great value and a lot more steadier than using sandbags.

Love this thing, I have a lead sled as well and the portability, size and weight of this makes it so easy to grab and go, it’s so stable and hold the rifle very well, I’m really enjoying it

UPDATE: The replacement for the defective turret was delivered within 2 days of filing for a return. The new one functions the same as the defective one but without the rust. The clamp and turret is capable of holding a 10/22 perfectly solid and still for the purpose of adjusting the zero on optics but is not so solid that it cannot be moved with a moderate amount of force and it will not hold up 100% under recoil. ORIGINAL REVIEW: The turret shooting rest is overall heavy and solid providing a good base for zeroing optics on light to medium weight firearms. Assembly is easy and straightforward. The paint on the weld around the joint of the pivot hub assembly was flaked off when the unit arrived and the weld is already rusted. I have to assume the weld itself is poor quality and the paint flaked off as a result of the weld rusting underneath it. The front rest clamp closes smoothly and without resistance but there are a couple spots where the clamp hangs when opening and requires more force than I believe should be necessary to open the clamp. Tightening the pan control knob and the pivot control knob as hard as I dare without fear of striping something it is still possible to move a rifle clamped in the rest. It's solid enough that the rifle doesn't move while adjusting an optic but recoil will cause the clamp and pivot hub assembly to change position in relation to the base. Maybe it's better for it to move than break. I plan to contact customer support to see what can be done about the rusted part before resorting to returning it.

This bench rest is compact and well made. I was expecting a cheap plastic part and was suprised by how heavy duty it was. It worked well for every long gun I own.

Been using this as my main front rest since I got it, very much well worth the money. I still use my rock BR on my bigger bench rest rifles but all my ARs , 308s , PCCs and anything high cap magazine I ditched using sandbags for this and never looked back. I wish they'd of made all the adjustment knobs aluminum or steel instead of polymer but I understand the price would of went up doing so... but most would happily payed that premium. This takes the abuse and works great, just remember this isn't a leadsled its simply a pivoting front REST , so don't clamp something like a large caliber magnum down then expect it to absorb the recoil.

Holds very tight. I can focus more on trigger control. Very sturdy, good design..

I bought this earlier in the year and have been using it for about 10 months now. It works great for AR style rifles and is great for laser boresighting and dialing in scopes. The quirks are as follows; Quirk #1 I found that heavier recoil rifles have a tendency to make the turret kick back on the bench no matter how much you put the stock into your shoulder, so I usually screw in a piece of wood to brace the back legs against to keep the turret in place. (see pictures) I don't use the piece of wood with my M&P 15-22 (22LR rifle), but anything .223 or bigger I do. If the turret had feet you could screw into the bench that would be an awesome improvement to the design. I considered having some tabs welded to the legs to accomplish this, but screwing a piece of wood to into the bench to brace the back legs accomplishes the same thing more or less. With something to brace the back legs against it's important to make sure you have your stock firmly into your shoulder, so the front leg doesn't kick up. You probably do this shooting off a bipod or freestanding anyway, but I just thought I would point that out. Quirk #2 If you don't tighten all the knobs in the right order the turret has a tendency to "unload" or "reset" on the first shot and leaves you off target. I usually start off by tightening the clamp on the hand guard first obviously, then with the other knobs loose, line up your reticle on target. When setting the elevation make sure you have a good cheek weld and put your weight into it, because it will shift slightly if you lock the elevation and pan knobs in and then put your weight on the rifle. Once you have a good cheek weld and are comfortable with your position and reticle alignment on the target, lock in the elevation and pan knobs and it shouldn't "unload" or "reset" and knock you off target on your first shot. I didn't have to tinker with the bolts like some of the other reviewers did, I found the knobs all tightened up and held firm more or less without any adjustment. Verdict: Overall I think this is a good piece of equipment for taking you out of the equation when dialing in a scope or finding what ammo groups the best for you, but you have to know how to use it effectively. I've gotten used to it and have come to prefer it over sand bags and other types of bench rests.