The Benchrest Workshop with Trevor Eling was an excellent day. Here is a synopsis of proceedings: was an excellent day!
The different types of benchrest targets were explained. I had no idea that different areas of the UK use different targets in their own leagues. Yorkshire alone has two different types 25yd targets.
Shooting gloves were discussed. Trevor produced his which he believes is the best for BR. It is 4 x cheaper than the ones which most of us are using including mine. I believe one of our members already has one.
Stools next. We were all amazed by the stool which Trevor recommends. It collapses into a disk about 10cm thick and about the diameter of a large dinner plate and costs about £10. I’m not sure it will withstand a well padded bottom though.

There followed a discussion of types of rim fire ammo for BR. Trevor is of the opinion that Eley has slipped below the useful threshold. He recommends Laupa, RWS 50 and RWS Match. However, since RWS supplies have dwindled in the UK, and he buys from overseas suppliers in 10K batches, I guess we should at least be trying Lapua if we feel that we need to nudge towards perfection.
There followed a discussion on ammo batch testing with useful ideas for club shooters on how to do this economically.

Trevor places great importance on barrel tuners and the way in which they affect barrel harmonics.
And then there was Trevor’s rifle….

Take a good look at the picture of this. It really had us all a bit puzzled. This rifle has helped Trevor become an international BR star. Examine the rear end; two bits of left over wood scraps and a piece of welded aluminium. The rest of the rifle consists of an action, a barrel, a tuner, two lengths of aluminium bar and a scope. The scope and barrel are of a very high quality; the rest? Trevor let us have a shoot with this ‘unusual’ piece of kit.
Jethro just had to have a go even though he was not booked in on the course! I too tried it. Here are my 6 shots. Lots of us achieved one hole groups like this one with this rifle. This has given me, and others pause for thought on the relationship we have with our shooting equipment. This rifle did not fit any of us.

Neither was the scope adjusted to our needs. However, it made us all look brilliant! Perhaps we should be looking for stripped down simplicity and high quality on the bits that really matter. What do you think? We spent some time talking about scopes. Trevor thinks that we should be using £200 – £300 scopes for 25yds up to X 40 mag and X 50 for 50m with the sky the limit for costs on this one!
He recommended that our scopes should be fitted to within a couple of mm above the barrel for the most accurate results. Lots of us have scopes that are much higher than this. He also brought along his match air rifles for us to look at. He shoots these as well as his .22 rim fire in competitions that are suited, or are specifically for air rifles. (Remember, he shoots internationally where competitions are different from here in the UK.) He told us that he thinks that shooting air rifles in BR will “…… be a way forward in the future” as air rifles are now combining accuracy with power for outdoor use.

We spent some time reviewing the necessity both for .22 rim fire and air, for weighing, sizing, washing etc. for high end consistency. He showed us one of these which is used to measure rim size of .22 ammo. None of us had seen this piece of equipment before. I guess this is what the high end shooters get up to – or at least their coaches!
Trevor is of the opinion that we should all aim to use 2 stage match triggers.
He offered various pieces of advice both to the whole group and to individual shooters. Several recommendations spring to mind:
- We should all be trying to have minimal contact with the bench and with the rifle. Ideally only one arm should contact the bench, and that’s it! Our touch on the rifle should be very light weight with no gripping or head resting.
- Natural Point of Aim should be reestablished for each shot other than for the sighters. No muscling at all. He pointed out that this comes naturally to prone shooters, but not so much for BR shooters. Realignment must happen when coming off the sighter card with no ‘pushing’ across the target card.
- We should feel so relaxed before squeezing the trigger that “We should feel that we are about to fall through the floor.” 4. Much of shot fall accuracy is about shot release and this should be a key feature of coaching.
- After releasing a shot, lift the bolt handle but do not eject the spent case. Only do that after picking up a new round and have it ready to insert. This keeps the barrel temperature constant. I think this is a commonly used technique used in prone shooting as well.
There followed a chat about wind reading when outdoors. Different equipment is permitted in different types of competitions. His key piece of wisdom on this was that on an open range, we should only take notice of the flag that is 10m in front of the firing line. Ignore all the others! The reasoning he gave for this is that 1 mm at the firing point translates into several mm at the target. He told us that this is the most important flag to watch – flags further down the range are little more than a distraction. Surprisingly he is of the view that if there is a breeze and then it stops, do not shoot, but wait for the breeze to return and then shoot using the shooting off technique.

Trevor is a devotee of barrel cleaning and recommends cleaning after each shoot. I wonder if we should put more emphasis on this with our club-owned BR rifles. He suggested that solvents should not be used in barrels but this stuff should be used instead. It is available on Amazon and is not as expensive as some gun lubricants / solvents. He advised us that we should be using patches in the barrels and pay particular attention to cleaning the chamber and bolt face.

On other matters from the course Trevor recommended The Art of Rim Fire Accuracy by Bill Calfee as the go to bible for rim fire shooters. I have to say that is a HUGE book!
The shooting table shown on the second page, is the one made by Trevor himself. Its supports are galvanised steel. It slides and clips together very easily and has the added advantage of being ambidextrous. It is also very heavy – I know because I dismantled it to put into his car! I loved the surface which is made with phenolic faced birch ply. This makes the surface very tough indeed and is completely non slip. He will make them for others to use (£350 per table).We spent a while shooting in our usual style while Trevor offered his advice on our positions etc.
The last 30 minutes was very helpful to some of our members. Trevor brought one of these with him. It is a bore scope which he inserted into several members’ bores! This works in a similar way to an endoscope. It is a flexible tube with a light and camera in one end. With it he was able to diagnose the condition of our barrels by looking at a screen with the live camera.
I think this could be a very helpful device. After all, barrel condition is a vital component for accuracy and consistence. Try this link for a full description – https://rifle-shooter.com/article/lyman-borecam-digital-borescope-with-monitor-in-depth-review They cost £330 and would be a great addition to our club’s equipment which we could rent out for members to use. Mind you, if it tells you that you need a new barrel, that will cost a bit more!

Finally, our thanks go to Hazel and, Alan for the excellent catering, and to Chris who brought the tables we sat at! Our thanks and best wishes also go to Trevor who will soon be on his way to Seville, Spain for an international BR competition.
If there is demand, we can run this course again in the future. It was terrific value at just £35 for our members.