Going to a public range can be one of the most fun and most stressful events you can take part in.
First, shooting guns and zeroing in your rifles, pistols, and shotguns is important to those of us who hunt on the regular.
However, range safety is always a concern because, frankly, some people have no business with a gun in their hand (especially around other people). For all our readers that hunt, you know what I’m talking about, so I won’t get too detailed.
Range Day Using a Caldwell Stable Table
I’ve become so anxious after almost getting shot multiple times going to public ranges that I’ve decided to create my own in my little range on my private property in the forest.
There are 5 items that you really should invest in if you’re thinking about doing the same. Caldwell Shooting has treated me right with the products I’ve bought and I’ll go through each of them in this blog today.
1. The Caldwell Stable Table
The Stable Table is perfect for range shooting because it’s durable enough to handle the scrapes of guns, mags, and loose ammo all day without ruining the surface of the table. The Caldwell Stable Table is fully synthetic to make sure that it can handle any environmental condition you find yourself in. The seat is easily adjustable with a quick-release pin that allows you to change heights with minimal effort and time. You’ll appreciate this feature if you’re sharing the bench with shooters of multiple heights.
The pivoting seat allows you to get into the perfect angle and comfort level for your specific shooting style. The ability to pivot your seat also helps you from straining your back, shoulders, or hips because you don’t have to conform to your platform, your platform works for you instead. Obviously, if you find your position, you can lock the seat to ensure your perfect settings are locked in and your shooting position is secure and stable.
The 2 cleaning forks allow you to place your upper receiver in a set of forks and the buttstock in a separate set of forks with true stability. One thing to keep in mind, these forks are not intended to hold a rifle if you’re building one. Other than that, this shooting table is incredibly versatile and offers a comfortable and stable position to shoot and clean your rifle after you’re done.
The Caldwell Stinger Shooting Rest is the model I use on my property because it goes easy on my Stable Table and is incredibly durable and is loaded with features that make it incredibly practical to use in the field. For example, the height adjustment knob is spring-loaded to take the pressure off having to use more force to change the height of your rest.
The spring-assist allows any shooter to make those adjustments with one hand so you can still keep your focus on the target downrange while you adjust your settings. If you’re going to use a vice-grip style machine to stabilize your rifle, you better make sure it has something to protect the finish on your rifle’s barrel and buttstock. The Stinger has those protections built into it for peace of mind.
Caldwell Stinger Shooting Rest Specs
Finally, the cam locks on the steel frame ensure you can move the front rest independent of the backrest to adjust for any size rifle. For $88, I don’t see you finding any shooting rest that will last longer and give you the best experience without the most effort. The low cost of the Stinger shooting rest is what sold me on the buy versus the more expensive Caldwell Lead Sled.
If you’re creating a home range and reloading your own ammo, a chronograph is necessary for you to hone in your bullets and take the guessing game out of velocity. For those of you new to chronographs, they basically measure the velocity of a projectile that passes through the window on the machine. Caldwell makes my favorite model because it’s so easy to use, you won’t need any kind of prior knowledge or technical know-how. It read velocity in feet per second or meters per second, depending on if you’re an American or not.
Caldwell Premium Ballistics Chronograph Kit set up on a home range
It’s incredibly vital to your success to know your velocity when reloading your ammo because you can dial in within 0.25% accuracy with any caliber bullet you’re shooting. This allows you to adjust your bullet depths, powder levels, and maybe even the type of brass and bullet you’re using to obtain the highest level of accuracy.
I love the idea that I can have the chronograph send me an email with the results of my ballistics, or just save it on the machine to look at any time I want. The email option is great because you can access it anywhere anytime, especially making it easy when actively reloading and trying to recall your data.
For anyone that spends a lot of time on the range, the worst part is always the clean-up portion of the trip. There is no other time during shooting where you are more annoyed or nervous about picking up brass. I like to make it as easy as I can on my back and knees with the multiple surgeries I have on my knees and ankles. The Caldwell Brass Retriever makes it super easy to pick up all of your brass without having to bend over or use a high-powered magnet that picks up everything instead of just the brass you want to take home.
All you do is adjust the height of the handle rod and roll the brass reliever cage over the brass like it’s one of those old-school lawnmowers that the wheels turn the blade to cut the grass. You can easily dump the contents of the cage over your brass bucket with a simple lift of the cage lever. For me, it works best when I move the cage faster over the brass, but I use it pavement, gravel, and dirt with no issues of picking up the brass.
Every veteran or active duty soldier wishes they had better hearing protection at the ranges. After years of shooting heavy machine guns and standing guard on an Air Force Flightline, my hearing is very sensitive and not near as good as it was.
I’ve always been a little skeptical of electronic earplugs, but the Caldwell Shadows fits well and doesn’t fall out from the vibration of the gunshot or any movement if you’re trying to move to get to a better shooting point. It reduces 23 decibels of noise, which is enough to ensure the sound you hear is softened and harmless.
Plug these earplugs into the box to recharge the earplugs and you get 5 hours of constant use with each charge. Caldwell made these plugs Bluetooth compatible, so you can connect them to your phone so you don’t miss a call from family or work while shooting or hunting. There are not many electronic earplugs that have a dual microphone system that gives you a wider range of enhanced hearing capability.
The case can charge the hearing protection up to 5 times before having to be charged itself for a nice and convenient touch. I use my hearing pro every time I mow the lawn, shoot at the range, and go hunting. I really like the adjustable ambient noise to make them compatible with hunting or mowing the lawn.
I chose these 5 items because I personally use them at my range and I’ve noticed my safety has been improved along with my performance. The Stable Table provides the perfect amount of support for my heavier rifles like my 7mm Rem Mag and my 30-06, but still works great with my 12 Ga Stoeger M3500 and .308 Winchester. Buying these items on Amazon is the best way to save money because Amazon is always able to undercut prices from their affiliated companies.
The Caldwell Brass Retriever is probably the most underrated tool on the list because it saves my back and knees, but also saves me 30 minutes to an hour when picking up all my brass after the day is over. Personally, I love the E-Max Shadows, but if I’m shooting my 7mm Rem Mag and 30-06, I always wear a pair of my passive low ear muffs from Caldwell.
If you’re interested in saving money, time, and energy, while simultaneously improving your range safety and performance, These 5 items from Caldwell will get you there.
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