For years I'd been dealing with a series of rickety tables that I called "shooting benches." I finally got tired of messing with the shake-and-bake platforms, so I set out to find some plans for a real shooting bench. I made a few modifications to the original plans; the best mod being the addition of a place to lean firearms against. One of the neat things about this table is that it will fit into the back of a pick-up truck, and, when I'm feeling lazy, I can load her up and wander around to different places to set up my predator calls or to watch a feeder when I see pigs on my game cams. No tricky cuts or joinery, and no special woodworking equipment is required.

Nice, looks good.

GREAT job.

I like it....Well done Sir!

Very well done! I really like that!

What the fellas said Mike!!, I have seen some half that nice at shooing ranges! If I did much shooting, I give building one a go!! What are you going to use as a protector/preservative? Boiled linseed oil is nice, but you'd want to let it sit for a while to soak in.

Western, I've built 5 of them so far, and good old Thompson's Water Seal seems to do the best. My original one sits out in the CenTex weather, totally unprotected, all year long, and is coming up on its 5th birthday. Once a year I load up a sprayer and hose it down. Others who I've made them for have used linseed oil, furniture stain, and paint. All report that the benches are holding up well.

!0-4 sir, I have also used TWS and it is good stuff too, used it on a commercial job that had leaks through the brick siding, 60, 5 gallon buckets did the job, even on brick

Just a thought, I wonder how hard it would be to make an all thread adjustment system under the table top, for uneven ground, or would that be more work than needed VS digging/replacing the ground? Lord, now I'm thinking like East SMH

A little early to be drinking already isn't it.....

Probably this new brand of coffee the boss bought....... Just hope it isn't permanent, I could go through what East does every day

I rough level the ground and then put paving blocks under the feet and level them. Any final leveling required is handled pretty well by the rifle rest/sand bag adjustments. And you could add "levelers" to each of the feet without too much trouble. The thought of making the table top itself adjustable is kinda overwhelming to my simple mind, and I'm not sure how stable and recoil sensitive such a set up would be!

Maybe some wood wedges?

I contacted all the folks who are using these benches and asked them about the "level" issue. None of them has had a problem with it, which leads me to believe that if you get the foundation for the bench set up level, both fore and aft, you most likely will not run into any problems with it. If the ground you set it on is really soft, loamy soil, and you don't put any pavers under the legs, I could understand how it could become an issue, but I don't think a separate table-leveling mechanism is the answer to the issue. YMMV.

We built one just like this at our lease. We sunk the legs in the ground though, no leveling issues there. Great bench, sturdy, comfortable

I've seen several like that and the seat is always too high in relation to the top. FTR I'm 6' tall.

QuitShootin, the great thing about this bench and the plans is that you can tailor it to your own needs. The seat can easily be lowered, or you can make the 4X4 legs longer and raise the top portion. I'm 6'3" and don't have the problem you're talking about, but it's probably because I shoot off a Caldwell LeadSled and it sets my rifles up higher than table-top-high; plus there's a bit of adjustment available on the legs of the Sled. I built one for an old boy who is 6'6" and weighs almost 300 pounds; it took a couple of "fittings," but with a little creative woodworking, I think this basic design can be custom made to fit just about anyone. Back before I finally made one of these benches and was still using shake-and-bake tables, I slapped together a few 1X4's and made a portable platform that I could set on the table, and then put my rifle rests on the platform. Looked bad; worked good. I put some metal straps on the front to keep the recoil from bouncing my booster back for the front of the table, and built another little stand for the rabbit ears that hold my rifle butt, and then covered this piece with non-slip shelving material.

Yeah, Chuck; when I was looking for plans I saw that some folks had used the same or similar construction, but set the legs down in the ground. One group of shooters dug post holes, placed the bench legs in the holes, and filled in around them with QuikCrete. I wanted mine to fit in my pick-um-up truck bed so I could roam the property with it ready to shoot, and also wanted to be able to turn it every which way but loose to give it its annual Thompson's Water Seal treatment. Lots of options when you are working with a solid structure!

I can sure see if put in a permanent place it would be super easy to get sturdy, probably beefy enough you wouldn't want to haul it around, or need too.

Tag for later

Nice build

Thanks for the plans