The Gun Counter

Is there such thing as a good combo gun cleaning/smithing vise and shooting rest? Or should I pony up and buy one of each?

I have plans somewhere for a wooden rack/rest. I'll see if I can find them.

You want a decent mechanical rest, be prepared to spend some money. The absolute cheapest I would go is the Caldwell "Rock" rest. Honestly though, I like their "Rock BR" rest better(if for nothing else the handwheel). Caldwell also makes the what is possibly the cheapest joystick style rest on the market, but it's a little too wierd looking for my tastes.

Another good option for a traditional rest is a Wichita Arms rest. They start around 130 bucks and go up from there. I will point out that they don't have the commonly used 3/4 acme thread commonly used by pricier rests, so it makes fitting new tops more of a hassle.

Bald Eagle used to be a good choice, but they were first discontinued, then the company bought by the same guy who owns Grizzly Industrial, then announced that new rests were coming "soon". If you can find a deal on a used one, grab it.

Sinclair is another major player in the mechanical rest market. With rests ranging from 160ish to over 600 bucks, they sell a huge variety.

Finally there are the socalled "joystick" rests, the two biggest are Farley, and SEB. Honestly I like the SEB better, but it has issues with shipping - they're made in Indonesia of all places. The SEB is actually a fair bit cheaper than the Farley, but because of Int'l shipping, it evens out. Honestly the best way to buy an SEB is not from them, but from the guys reselling them, who buy them a dozen at a time. This way you get your rest right away, and don't have to deal with moving money across the world and getting your rest back. Also, the SEB rest that's the current "hot shit" isn't listed on their website(at least it wasn't the last I looked). Called the Neo It's a significantly better design than the old one.

Honestly? If you don't have the bench bug, I would buy the Caldwell Rock BR - it's relatively cheap($160ish), has a decent amount of weight to it(15lbs roughly, moar iz bettah), and won't make you weep at the price. If you want something a bit better, a Sinclair "Gen II" all purpose rest is probably the way to go(about 300 bucks plain, 380 with the Windage top, which I suggest you seriously consider. I think they weigh something like 18 lbs).

Also, factor in at least another 60 bucks at least, for bags. Protecktor is decent. The high end these days is Edgewood, with a price to match - most rear bags from them are over a hundred bucks.

Not planning on getting into BR shooting. I'd just like something to help me test the accuracy of my guns.

Last weekend I tried to test a new scope on one of my .17s using an old cheapo cleaning clamp (that was a well-intentioned gift) instead of sandbags. That fiasco made me realize I need a better rest.

The Rock and rear bag look just about right for me.

For years all my cousins and I used were a couple of 4x4 and 2x4 stacked and nailed together for the correct base height and then a suede leather long, narrow bean bag (from a ripped jacket) for a padded rest that my grandmother sewed for me...Mine was actually filled with real pinto or Lima beans but synthetic ones now-a-days work great...Some of my cousins bags were made or corduroy, denim and one their old floral chesterfield cover...Even if you bought the material you could probably make one for ten dollars.