Kelly-Tappin Machine Rest

Busier than a cat in a sandbox, I went back to work today after my Summer Sabattical, and my second son is here spending a vacation, and we are still babysitting grandsons during the last of their summer vacation. Next week, everyone goes back to school and life returns to normal. Maybe blogging will be more normal too, although there is really nothing normal about blogging.

Yesterday, second son and I went to shoot some reloads I made for him for his 7mm Rem Mag. It is an accurate load, averaging a half minute, and we were pleased with it. We just didn't know how fast it was going.

We took a target stand to my Dad's place. He and Mom live way the hell out in the country on a retirement place, and he has plenty of room to let the big dogs roam. We set up the target stand, and the chronograph, and got out the Kelly-Tappin Machine rest.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Kelly-Tappin rest, it is a highly specialized piece of equipment that was developed by Paco Kelly and John Tappin, of Leverguns fame. It is not currently being made by any major manufacturer, so the discriminating shotist has to construct it himself, if he wants one. I consider the Tappin-Kelly rest to be absolutely crucial to wringing the utmost accuracy out of any available rifle or pistol.

To make a Kelly-Tappin rest, the shooter must find a suitable piece of discarded carpet and a piece of string. Roll the carpet into a cylinder approximately 18" long and 12" in diameter, then secure it with string. Lay that cylinder on the hood of your pickup truck or shooting car and place the forend of the rifle on the cylinder. Place your elbows on the hood of the truck and you will find that you are in a rock-solid shooting position.

Be especially careful not to shoot a hole in the hood of your vehicle, nor to clip the antennae with a stray bullet. Doing either will affect the performance of your vehicle engine or sound system.

Messrs Kelly and Tappin offered the rest to the shooting public as a public service. As far as I know, it is neither copyrighted nor patented. They prefer to simply be referenced as the originators, and gentlemen of great inventive capacity. Forward all checks to their publishers. I digress.

The reloads did fine, showing the velocity that I hoped we were getting. Something over 3000 fps. I also chrony'd my Sharps reload, and verified my zero on my beater rifle. I got to shoot with my son and my Dad, and that made yesterday something special.

More blogging as time allows.