10 Best Shooting Rests 2023
If you want to improve your accuracy at the shooting range, a good shooting rest will help you accomplish that goal. Often used for sighting in or testing the precision of new ammo, a shooting rest is designed to take the shooter’s inconsistencies out of the equation and determine the accuracy and precision of the equipment. A shooting rest does this by holding the firearm in place so all the shooter must do is pull the trigger.
Shooting rests come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and applications, and this guide will help you make an informed decision and help you find the best shooting rest for your individual shooting needs. Whether you are looking for a shooting rest for hunting, sport shooting, or just sighting in your equipment, this guide will help you find exactly what you are looking for.
Top 10 Shooting Rests Table
| Picture | Name | Height Adjustment | Price | Rating (1-5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1. Caldwell Dead Shot Field Pod | 20” to 42” | $$$ | 4.7 |
 | 2. Caldwell Lead Sled Solo Shooting Rest | 3” front elevation 2” rear elevation | $$$ | 4.6 |
 | 3. Caldwell The Rock Jr. Shooting Rest | Up to 8” | $$ | 4.6 |
 | 4. Caldwell Tack Driver Shooting Rest - Filled Bag | 5” non-adjustable | $$ | 4.6 |
 | 5. MTM Front Rifle Rest | About 4” | $$ | 4.4 |
 | 6. Caldwell The Rock BR Competition Front Shooting Rest | Up to 11.5” | $$$$ | 4.4 |
 | 7. Guide Gear Bench Rest | Up to 10” | $$ | 4.4 |
 | 8. FoamAction Sports Foamrest Rifle and Pistol Shooting Block Bench Rest | 6.5” or 8.5” | $ | 4.4 |
 | 9. CTK® P3 Ultimate Shooting Rest | Not listed | $$$$ | 4.4 |
 | 10. MTM Shoulder-Gard Rifle Shooting Rest | 19” | $$ | 4.2 |
Choosing a Shooting Rest
Shooting rests come in a variety of styles, each with its specific uses and characteristics. To choose the best shooting rest for your shooting needs, you first need to understand the common variations and the types of shooting they are best suited for.
Traditional Shooting Rests
A traditional shooting rest is best for hunters or sport shooters to use in the field. They are often lightweight and provide stability to the shooter on varied terrain and different shooting conditions. Some shooting rests that fall into this category are shooting tables, shooting sticks, bag rests, and tactical pods.
Traditional shooting rests are designed only to hold the gun. They do not perform well for tasks that require recoil reduction such as zeroing in scopes on high caliber rifles or patterning a shotgun. Those tasks are best left to the shooting rests in the next category.
Lead Sled Shooting Rests
Lead sled shooting rests are designed to absorb the energy recoil of a firearm. The structural design of this type of shooting rest can dramatically reduce recoil energy by as much as 95 percent. Weight can also be added to the “sled” to adjust the recoil reduction, allowing it to be used for high caliber rifles. This type of shooting rest is often used in factory testing to ensure accuracy before new weapons hit the market.
This type of shooting rest allows the shooter to squeeze off multiple shots with high-powered firearms without causing sore shoulders and arms from the gun’s recoil. They are also great tools for tasks such as patterning shotguns, zeroing scopes or new sights, or testing accuracy of new ammunition.
Top 3 Best Shooting Rest Reviews
1. Caldwell Dead Shot Field Pod
The innovative design of this shooting rest supports both the stock and the fore end of your weapon and easily adjusts to fit almost any rifle, shotgun, or crossbow. It quickly collapses for portability in the field and is made of lightweight cast aluminum. The whole thing weighs only 6 pounds, and it has a convenient shoulder strap to facilitate transportation in the field.
It is the perfect shooting rest for hunters. It pivots smoothly and easily, has a full-tilt function, and can rotate 360 degrees for easy aiming and target acquisition. Also, with its range of height adjustment, it works great for hunters of all heights, regardless of whether you are seated on the ground, a chair, a bench, or another type of seating.
With the sturdy quality and solid stability of this shooting rest, you’re shooting confidence will improve as well as your effective range. It allows you to take longer shots and still make quick and ethical kills. Give it a shot, and you will agree the Caldwell Dead Shot Field Pod is the best shooting rest for field shooting on the market today.
2. Caldwell Lead Sled Solo Shooting Rest
Weighing 14 pounds with the option of adding 25 extra pounds in the weight tray, this shooting rest offers superb recoil reduction while holding your rifle on target. The weight along with the heavy-duty spring between frame members all but eliminate recoil on non-magnum caliber rifles. It has a durable frame and adjusts to fit any rifle, including those with lever actions and detachable magazines.
The front support is height adjustable to make sure you are always on target and has a durable rubberized coating so that it won’t scratch your gun. The steel brace also has a rugged rubber boot to protect your rifle’s finish from impact scratches and dings.
The Caldwell Lead Sled Solo Shooting Rest is a quality tool from a respected company, and it is made in America, too. Once you try this shooting rest, you will wonder how you ever accurately zeroed in a rifle without it.
3. Caldwell The Rock Jr. Shooting Rest
Caldwell is one of the most respected names in shooting supplies, and once you try shooting with The Rock Jr., you will understand why. The perfect combination of quality and affordability, this shooting rest is great for sighting in, test shooting, or informal shooting competitions.
It comes with interchangeable non-slip rubber and metal spike feet to ensure that the rest stays in place no matter the shooting surface. With a quick change of the included feet, you can shoot from the ground and then switch to bench shooting, and although the overall weight of The Rock Jr. is just 5 pounds, the base is constructed of four solid pounds of heavy-duty cast iron. This rest isn’t going to slide anywhere unless you want it to move.
Practicing your shooting with this superb, American-made rest will not only improve your accuracy, but it will also give your shooting ego a nice boost as well.
