STUKEY’S SHOOTING BENCH
I’ve got a couple of portable shooting benches I use. Name brands, and frankly, they work pretty good. But they’re a bit spindly and while you can do decent work off of them, you certainly can’t get the most out of your rifle or pistol, especially at longer ranges. It’s a trade-off, this whole “easy-to-tote” or “rock-solid” quandary.
I first covered Royal Stukey’s shooting benches some years ago. He’s one of those classic great American entrepreneurs this industry is full of. He lives and works with his family in Powell, Wyoming. Royal both invented this bench and builds, ships and runs the business with his family there. Royal (his real first name) tolerates no compromises, so this bench is, without any doubt in my mind, the finest you can buy. Everything is over-built, over-engineered and created with only the very best quality in mind. I had one here long enough to use it and I came away utterly impressed, with both the product and the people behind it.
Royal reached out to me lately, letting me know they have a new coating offered for the bench top called “Polyurea.” They prime the 13-laminate birch plywood top, spray on the Polyurea coating, then seal this with two coats of a high solids top coat. The result is a virtually indestructible top Royal says should hold up outdoors for 20+ years. Meaning, you could set this bench up on your shooting deck and just leave it right there, come hell or high water. The steel legs are powder coated, the bench frame is steel, there are carry handles, a no-tool set-up routine and the kit fits in most trunks. The top weighs 35 lbs. and the leg bundle about 35 too. This is some serious stuff.
Note the photo of the farm truck sitting on four of the bunches. That’s not photoshop, as I saw the pics (on his website) of how they got the truck up there. You should take a look. So each of those benches is holding up at least 1,000 lbs. — and likely more. I rest my case. Base price is $685 plus shipping, and the Polyurea coating is extra since not everyone may need it. Royal says, “Stubbornly made in the USA” on his website and that’s a statement about the man. This is the last bench you’ll ever buy, I promise. For more info: Stukeys Sturdy Shooting Benches, www.shootingbenches.com, Ph: (307) 754-2060
