Caldwell Lead Sled DFT 2 Rifle Shooting Rest with Adjustable Ambidextrous Frame for Recoil Reduction, Sight in, Range and Stability

I got this in early last week, put it together and took it to the range the next day. I timed myself for assembly - 43 minutes including unwrapping the parts. And I lost about 5 minutes looking for the screw that holds the front cradle down on the ram. Obviously the #!!@# who packaged this left it out but fortunately I have 6 mm screws in my shop to finish the job. So as I prepared to check to make sure my screw was the right size and length, I realized the "missing" screw was already threaded into the ram. Take it out, put on the cradle and screw it back down. My sincere apologies to the fine person who packed this. All the parts were there. Assemble was easy. Run the ram all the way to the top to fasten the top part of the front cradle to give yourself room to work. Getting those screws started can be a little tricky, Use one of the included hex wrenches or a screw driver to hold the clamp down till you get the screws threaded and it's easy enough. I turned the rest over on it's side when finishing up this step. How does it work? Very well. In fact I had already used another one at the range a few weeks back while helping someone sight in his rifle. I guess that really pushed me into going ahead and buying one. The Lead Sled it fairly heavy and I was checking the sight in of an old (and unfortunately now obsolete) .225 Winchester at 200 and 300 yards, It's a low recoiling rifle and I didn't use additional weights and probably won't for heavier rifles either. I found the adjustments easy and fine with no backlash. I did generally have to reset it somewhat between shots but I've never used a bench rest that didn't require some readjustment between shots. It was very easy to precisely set the crosshairs on the target and the crosshairs stayed in place as I got into final shooting position. After a bit of tweaking the sight in at 200 yds I was able to hit a 4 inch gong at 300 meters (330 yds) with my last two shots so it will hold the rife steady. I did not have any wobble in the front cradle even when elevated. The Caldwell site addresses this saying they have corrected that problem with earlier ones. When I first assembled it I did notice that I had to gently push the ram down when near the bottom but when I had the weight of a rifle in it, I did not have that problem. I did lubricate it and had no problems at all when I took it to the range even without a rife in it, There is a thick recoil absorbing pad in the rear cradle and that effectively makes for a much longer length of pull and I had trouble getting my eye close enough to get a full image in this scope. That pad is not removable. And last I put my rifle in it to clean it. The way it's made, all my rifles are secure in it, not true in other rests I have/had. That's one of the reasons I bought it - not a lot more expensive than some of the plastic vises on the market. I didn't bother with the rubber hold down strap. I expect most will find it of little use. All my rifles, including varmint rifles with broad, flat forends, set below the top of the front cradle so the strap would be above the rifle. I hold the rifle down with my left hand with any bench rest. Yeah it's made in China but it is all steel and is well made. The ability to adjust the distance between the front and back cradles is another reason I bought it.

SCORE 57% off!!! I am very excited to properly sight in my hunting rifle. I have used these before - but they were borrowed. This one is MINE. This unit is very sturdy, and stable. It will work fine for sighting in. . I like the split rail design, it allows for extended magazines/handgrips. Pro Assembly Hint: Before screwing in the four M5 screws into the Front cradle assembly, turn the Elevation Wheel and raise the Windage Cradle Sub Assembly to the fullest extent, that way, you can put the long end of the allen wrench into the M5 Cap Screw, allowing you to turn them 360 degrees for easier assembly. Also, I tossed some grease onto the bearing/race just because...

Seems very well built and adjustable for most any civilian late mod long gun. Heavy duty in an all metal construction other than front foregrip rest. Padded soft rubber rear cradle inside and shoulder side is a big plus with added front muzzle hold down strap securing your weapon. Easy to understand instructions was easy assembled if your are mechanically inclined and takes about 15 minutes. It is helpful to raise front cradle adjustment all the way up to allow for space and access to mount front cradle with supplied allen wrench. All parts fit and work well and comes with all tools needed to assemble. Solid construction with heavy duty parts should make for long lasting heavy use. Baffle weight bags recommended especially for larger caliber guns. Accepts rifles with lower extended mags as the slider bars are spaced and separated with flattened space allowing mags to extend down between the slide bars.

I can not get a cheek weld with this rest. That makes it almost impossible to zero accurately. Maybe I can cut that tall rear stock holder down? But it's taller than any of my current stocks. Going to try a different shooting table before I modify it. A couple of wedges on the sides of that rear holder makes a stable hold and repeatable shots, but I find myself behind it trying to center the scope for parallax. Stout, adjustable where it needs adjustment. the front holder is a softer plastic, almost rubber like. It shouldn't hurt the finish on your favorite rifle. Comparing to my old Champion bench rest with the grip rest right under my trigger hand, the Champion is still more comfortable, easy to get a cheek weld, but not as positively repeatable or stable as the Caldwell. A little weight, a steady trigger pull, and it could be a .5 MOA rest all day

The Caldwell Lead Sled DFT2 shooting rest has a reputation as one of the best in the industry outside of high end bench competition rests. This reputation is well deserved. From my .22lr to my 30-06 it provides a stable, easily adjustable, rest for 100 -1000 yards. IF I was a serious competition shooter, I might go for a higher dollar sled, or perhaps build something myself, but for the average hunter or recreational shooter, it is an excellent choice. While the Sled has an adjustable rear foot that aids with adjusting elevation, my one complaint is that the front feet are fixed, so the sled can not really be adjusted for cant correction if your shooting table is not perfect, but it is not really designed to lock the gun in a single spot like a competition bench sled does. You can still twist the gun in the sled sufficiently to compensate without the gun being so loose as to slip off target during the shot. Still despite this, I stand by my statement that it is one of the best in the industry. That said, the frame can support AR platform rifles or similar, or an HK 91with a 20 round magazine. Both fit without problem, BUT magazines could not be reloaded with the rifle in the sled due to the frame. Neither I, nor any of my shooting buddies have extended magazine bolt action rifles, but I would imagine anything longer than 4 inches below the stock will likewise fit but not be able to change magazines while in the sled. The newer Lead Sled 3, to the best of my knowledge, is not able to be used with long magazines due to the center frame bar. Needless to say a .50bmg Barrett 82 will not fit in the sled :) It may be able to hold some of the larger rifles, it is not really designed for bulky or long precision shooting rifles, but if that is the type of shooting you do regularly, I would wager you have a higher end sled anyway.

I am a high volume shooter for pistols and rifles. I have my own backyard range, as well as belong to a gun club. Zeroing a rifle can be a challenging evolution when shooting alone, which is what I have done for the past 2 years. I typically use a Lead Sled for two purposes: 1) Check groups from a rifle 2) Zero my scope. This is a very stable system for either purpose. It takes out the human factor of dealing with recoil, though my largest rifle calibers are limited to 6.5 Creedmoor and 308 WInchester. I also shoot 300 AAC/Blackout, 5.56 mm NATO, 7 mm-08, 22 LR, 22 WMR. With the adjustable foreward end, it is also adaptable to zeroing a pistol or revolver. The finish is powder-coated which is durable. Both are stable and solid in construction. The plastic knobs are very easy to turn, and cam-levers allow for variable adjustability for any length rifle. The rear part of the rest allows for significant recoil mitigation. The forward rest allows for elevation and windage adjustments. The rear part of the rest is adjustable for elevation in micro adjustments. These type of small adjustments are not possible on the Lead Sled 2. The center rail is divided which allows for full sized magazines for AR or AK rifles. On my Lead Sled 2, this is not possible, necessitating a 5 round magazine. For the calibers that I use, I find it unnecessary to use weighted bags under either Lead Sled. If I were to test a 338 Lapua Magnum or other heavy recoiling rifle, I'd use a weight. How I zero my rifles: For a bolt action rifle, I make sure the rifle is unloaded and I have a safe backstop. I remove the bolt and center the barrel onto an intermediate length target. I do this at initially 25 yards with a target stapled onto a standard size of cardboard. I center my barrel onto the target, then I adjust the reticle of the scope onto the target, without moving the firearm. This is easily facilitated on a Lead Sled. After I fire one round, I look to see the point of impact. Usually, I'm on paper; therefore, I move my reticle to the point of impact without moving the scope or rifle. The second shot is usually centered accordingly. Afterwards, I will zero the rifle and scope at either 50 yards or 100 yards depending upon what type of rifle I am sighting. If the rifle is not a bolt action rifle, and I cannot peer through the bore of the back of the barrel, I substitute a Laser Bore Sighting tool. I personally find a little more consistency with a caliber specific cartridge but a generalized , adjustable laser boresighter will achieve the shooter a point of impact onto paper. If you are on the fence between the two, I say get the DFT2: Buy Once, Cry Once. The difference in weight and portability are really not that different to go smaller. As you can see, I ended up with both anyways. Keeping a shooting system stable from a platform like this is what saves time, ammunition and money.

Top quality, well built with cast iron and steel with nice looking welds. Easy to assemble but a ball allen is helpful when putting the screws into the front carriage. I used the wrench to turn the locknut about 1/8 of a turn to take up the slop in windage adjustment and that eliminated all move when adjusting windage. I highly recomment the lead sled dft2.

My recent Caldwell Lead Sled DFT2 is the result of a need to have both a stable, reliable base to sight in scopes and to provide a stable rest for long range precision shooting. The DFT2 is essentially cradles your rifle and now with a dual frame slide, elongated magazines, as in an AR fit nicely fit and can be moved in and out unlike the DFT and Plus models, eliminating tilting the rifle move magazines. Though I don’t have any, it also accepts lever action rifles as well. Essentially composed of a padded, non marring stock rest with a front cradle that is both elevation and windage adjustable, the DFT2 allows for 16 ½ inches of forward/backward lockable (via cam levers), movement of that cradle to accommodate your rifle. Adjustments are effected by a heavy duty wheel, capable of up to 2 ½” of height adjustment and a fingertip windage knurled knob…quite ergonomic. Additional height settings can be achieved with a rear foot micro adjustment, which can translate to 11 feet at 100 yards adjustability, (the front two are stable.) The padded stock rest should fit most rifles and coupled with both inside and padded outer shoulder pads reduce recoil by up to 95% according to Caldwell. A fellow shooter at the range was using a DFT2 to rest his slug gun on and he found it greatly eliminated most of his felt recoil without the recommended weight bags in the ample baffle tray, which can add up to 100 lbs. if filled with shot. I did the tray move a little but the DFT2 was indeed effective. At the range I was able to both zero in my scopes and dial them in to a point at 50 yards where my groups on an AR were within 2.5 inches with a number of bulls eyes while also sighting in a .22 plinker again with great results, which made for a productive day at the range. All tolled, I find the Caldwell Lead Sled DFT2 a worthwhile purchase for the aforementioned reasons as well as coming in handy when working or cleaning your weapon. Given its structural viability, it will likely be around longer than you are!