DIY Portable shooting bench

[Cornholeo]

I wanted a portable shooting bench to take PD hunting this spring but did not want to shell out the Benjamins on a built bench. I do not like most benches you see at ranges in the L-shape, can't get behind the rifle good on a bipod, for me anyway. So I search and look at videos and pics for a week on DIY benches and determined it needed to be based off of a rectangle design, wanted/needed collapsible legs that give a solid stance with little to no wobble, and light weight and small enough to put in the truck with other gear. Here she is: 3/4" birch plywood from Lowes (about 49.00 for a full sheet), 34"legs from Rugged-Buddy at about 46.00, and about 3 bucks worth of screws and bolts from Lowes.
40" top to bottom
30" wide at top
22" wide at bottom
Holes for handle and gun rests cut with a 1" wood bit and a jigsaw

 

[OzTRG]

Nice work up. Might have to copy your idea

 

[Cornholeo]

Thanks Oz. The only thing I did not do that I want in hindsight is some kind of rim around the edge. I've rounded the corners so some type of molding would not mate up properly. Wished I had thought of that. I have a buddy who does wood working so I might ask him about using a router around the rim, something to prevent stuff from rolling off.

 

[Matty-Light]

Very nice! I'm going tomorrow to get supplies for mine.

 

[Cornholeo]

My build also had (8) 1/4"x1-1/4" lag bolts for the bases since I used some of the 3/4 birch to reinforce the legs.
I used 3 1-1/4" wood screws and some wood glue to secure the wood blocks to the bench.

 

[dannySH]

Nice! I will have to make a visit to Home Depot or Lowes.

 

[Cornholeo]

Cut 4" off of legs to make a better fit for me using a collapsible stool. The height is now correct for me to get behind the rifle and lean forward.

 

[littleeagle52]

I like the bench.Thanks for posting this.I will have to build one of these.

 

[stalwart300]

Looks awesome. I've needed a portable shooting bench. Going to have to make this. THANKS

 

[goatboy]

I did a very similar job, but topped the plywood with a sheet of cork and finished with a water based poly.

You've solved my one problem, the height. I haven't found the right stool and it never occurred to me to shorten the legs.

 

[RandyG]

 

[Mike Casselton]

The stool could be a 5 gallon bucket with the swivel cap. BPS sells a bucket that is almost 6 gallons so it is a couple inches taller.
With the bucket you get extra storage