Accuracy: Goldilocks And The Many Rests

How do you know if a gun is accurate? Manufacturers advertise sub minute of angle groups and boast about the accuracy of long-range rifles, while for pistols they emphasize ergonomics. What makes a pistol “a shooter”?

Coming from a world of accuracy and precision, I have high expectations for myself and for my equipment. With a rifle I trust my ability and whether I sling up in the prone position or shoot from a bench or rest, I know if the rifle is not grouping, something is wrong.

With a pistol, however, I am not at the point to trust my skills alone — nearly any handgun outshoots me right now. Some handguns feel more natural to shoot than others. I also discovered during a trip to the range with a friend that I shot better with larger frame pistols than my small carry gun.

Finding A Rest

I still wanted to know. My default was always handing my gun and ammunition to a more experienced shooter — someone whose groups I could trust — but I also wanted to know for myself. My hefty rifle rest wasn’t going to work for this purpose, and my dad’s bags were hidden somewhere in the garage, likely covered in dust in a cupboard I was too short to reach.

A few weeks ago, I attended my first gun show, actually an Ohio Gun Collector’s Association meeting. Amidst long tables of beautifully engraved shotguns, rare rifles and piles of bayonets, I found what I was looking for. A rest. I picked the rubber Birchwood Casey “Nest Rest” off a table of odds and ends and haggled the price down. I appreciated it was small, portable and best of all — cleanable! (Range benches are often splattered with bird excrement.)

SOS

After some eye-opening chats and coaching, I tried yet again. This time I used a rolled-up towel to support the rear of the gun while the bottom of the trigger guard rested on a wooden block. This felt incredibly unnatural and I could not properly grip the gun.
To complicate matters, the target had vanished. I understand the target is supposed to blur while the front sight remains crisp. The target isn’t supposed to blur to the point of the aiming point being indiscernible and, in essence, gone. This has happened to me before with iron-sighted vintage rifles at 200 yards. At 15 yards it was depressing.

I had it half right now. The wooden block was too thick. I returned to my original nest rest, but this time with a rag underneath the barrel and a towel to support the rear. Testing accuracy when you can’t see is not only frustrating but pointless. Prescription glasses to correct my dominant eye’s astigmatism worked wonders. It was by no means perfect, but I could ascertain a target and a finite aiming point.

The groups weren’t perfect but were much improved. The process reminded me a pistol is vastly different from a rifle. Though I still long for a one-stop, easy solution to shooting from a pistol rest, the perfect rest really depends on the pistol and what you have lying around your house. Be creative!

Subscribe To American Handgunner

Purchase A PDF Download Of The American Handgunner Nov/Dec 2021 Issue Now!

RELATED ARTICLES