Caldwell’s Stinger solves some fundamental challenges with rifle shooting.  I had been resistant to the use of rests, perhaps as an old Soldiering habit.  Train as you fight, so shoot free-hand was the mantra.  All of that goes out the window however if you are truly trying to test, zero, or even teach with a simpler experience.  All of those require a stable shooting platform and sometimes the range bag or old wooden blocks at the range just aren’t good enough.  The delay in buying a rest for me was the cost-benefit factor.  Options seemed to either be expensive, heavy, and too bulky to toss in the trunk or cheap, flimsy, and too insubstantial to serve as much more than a display.  The Caldwell Stinger seems to fit in the “just right” category.

Made of tubular steel with rubber feet and pads to protect the rifle the Stinger is solid and stable.  3″ of gross vertical adjustments are made with a large knob under the front of the rifle while 1″ of fine adjustments are made at the rear where the support hand would traditionally be squeezing a bag.  It all makes for a very natural shooting position while eliminating slip, wobble, and minimizing human error.   With an MSRP of $119.99 the price is also very reasonable.  For more information see Caldwell’s website.