Tag Archives: Rifle Rest

Shooting in General, Sniper / Precision Rifles

The Caldwell Precision Turret Rest And Caldwell RockBR Rest Are Both Rock Solid

I like target shooting but have a tremor – that’s not a great combination. I am always on the hunt for better rifle rests when shooting from a bench. I owned the Caldwell Rock BR for a couple of years and it is a darned good rest in its own right. I wanted to see the Caldwell Precision Turret Rest was better.

The reason I bought the new Precision Turret was that I planned to do some test firing of four different .308 rifles and wanted to see if I could improve my own accuracy by using a better rest. Thus, I did some digging and went with the Precision Turret due to a combination of reviews, features and price.

Here are the two rests next to each other. On the left is the Caldwell Precision Turret Rest and on the right is the far lower Rock BR.
We were setting up when I snapped this photo. The rear bag goes with the Rock rest – it’s too low for use with the Precision Turret.

The Rock BR has some real nice features

  • The foot spikes really get a good grip on our wood range tables. There are rubber pads you can optionally buy that prevent the spikes from damaging a surface if you need it.
  • At 13 pounds and very beefy, it doesn’t move – especially if the spiked feet are dug in
  • It has a great elevation ring that allows you to precisely adjust the height
  • That ring is on bearings so raising or lowering the saddle is very smooth
  • The saddle is adjustable to better fit the forearm of your rifle
  • It can get really low to the table or go as high as 11.5″
  • You will either need to shoulder the rifle or use a bag, and Caldwell sells many varieties, for the rear/shoulder portion of the stock.
  • Assembly was quick and easy.

Cool features of the Precision Turret

  • The feet are tipped with rubber and will not damage surfaces
  • The legs are solid steel and it weighs 10.6 pounds
  • The front non-marring saddle clamps the forearm in position
  • The legs are adjustable for height and can be set differently if you need to level the rest up to 6″.
  • The elevation and tilt are controlled through a ball connection that allows the saddle to move and you lock it in place.
  • Fine elevation control is done via the pistol grip platform. This works great if your firearm has a grip that can reach the platform and most of mine do.
  • Assembly was quick and easy.
This the Precision Turret holding a .308 Aero M5 with a 20 round magazine. John was holding the grip and using the grip platform to get him in the ballpark. The .308s did move the Precision Turret around a bit but not a lot.
The Rock BR is a solid precision rifle rest. I dont have photos of me using it with my Aero Solus — I forgot to ask John to take some photos when we were at the range with both rests.

The Differences

  • The Rock can go lower to the table and the Precision Turret is higher and can better accomodate rifles with larger magazines
  • I feel the vertical adjustment in the Rock is smoother and doesn’t need a pistol grip
  • The Precision Turret really needs a rifle with a pistol grip to handle vertical adjustment.
  • The Rock has zero flex but the Precision Target is sensitive to how much pressure you apply to the pistol grip platform
  • The Rock either needs you to shoulder the rifle or use a rear bag. The Precision Target’s clamp and pistol grip platform hold the rifle in place — if there is a pistol grip – let me stress that.
Here you can see the pistol grip of the M77 resting on the pistol grip platform. The wheel to the front of the rest tilts the platform up or down thus changing the elevation of the barrel. Unfortunately that platform is not rigid and if you change the amount of pressure on the platform then the point of impact will shift.

The Verdict

They really are rests for two different use cases:

The Rock is really a precision rifle rest – hence having Bench Rest (BR) in the name. It is low to the table, heavy, rigid and excels at providing a solid front platform. I’d use the Rock rather than the Precision Turret for those situations.

The Precision Turret works best with rifles that have a pistol grip and a magazine that needs height for clearance. It is not as rigid as the Rock but I found I could figure out the loading to work the way I wanted it to. At any rate, if I plan to shoot a designated marksman rifle (DMR) with a pistol grip and magazine, I’d use the Precision target.

In Summary

I am keeping both rests because of the two different use cases. I have not had any problems with either one and recommend both. In case you are wondering – I bought both off Amazon and Caldwell didn’t pay or compensate me in any way.

I hope this helps you out.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

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