Monday, November 12, 2012

Review of the SRB Field Rest

Overview:


I used the SRB field rest with a marlin 39a, Browning BPS, and a Mosin nagant rifle. The product performs as advertised, with some qualifications.



Functionality:

The field rest is supposed to act as a second line of defense for your firearm in wet/muddy environments. When properly set up, it accomplished this task with all tested guns. The rest’s two brackets are wide and solidly constructed enough that they act as stable supports for even large firearms like the Mosin Nagant. Also, since the two brackets are set up independent of each other, you can customize the spacing to fit the rifle.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to obtain the precise alignment that will hold the rifle level. The brackets slip into the support pegs without any problems, but don’t lock in place. Getting them aligned doesn’t take too much effort, but it’s far too easy too have them spin out of alignment with even a light touch without the rifle to inhibit the action. The pegs have to be driven into the ground straight on or risk canted deployment. Since each peg is set separately, it takes some fiddling to get them aligned where the gun is plum with the ground and balanced in all dimensions.

If you’re considering using one of the supports as a poor man’s bipod, don’t. The wide span of the brackets that gives them the ability to support a variety of rifles means that they offer no lateral stabilization.





Quality:

The pegs are made of solid metal and have a good heft to them. I kicked them around and drove them into the ground with a hammer with no ill affects. The plastic brackets, especially the ends that fit into the pegs, are of lighter quality than I’d like, but fine for sporting use. I would have preferred a more dense construction and a more robust locking design for the peg/support fit, but the product is well designed and built from solid materials.



Conclusion:

If I was wandering around in the snow/swamp/rain with a hunting rifle, I’d rather use a slung rifle, bipod, or shooting stick. Pulling the field rest out, setting it up, and ensuring that it is aligned correctly, is just fiddly enough and time consuming enough that it isn’t worth the time…especially since the gun has to be protected in some way while the rest is being deployed.

If however you want a portable rifle rest to take to an old duck blind or the like where time isn’t an issue, than this is an excellent value.