Not too long ago, Caldwell produced a full length Fire Control system, kind of like an advanced version of the Lead Sled. This was a superb piece of equipment that made sighting-in rifles a lot easier.

The front control rest portion was so good that many competitive shooters asked Caldwell to produce a free-standing front rest they could use in their matches. The reason being that in competition shoots you are not allowed to use a full length stabilizing system; you are only allowed to use a front rest (or bipod) and a rear bag.

Caldwell has always been attuned to their customers needs and it was not long before they introduced the above version of their Front Rest. Before we get into the details of this very nice tripod rest, we would like to mention that, over the years, we have used a variety of front rests for sighting-in our rifles, as well as in F-Class and Benchrest competition. Some commercially available and others custom made by well-known shooters. All have worked satisfactorily, but all had the same limitation: it took a lot of tweaking to get the crosshairs of our scope on target.

This is no longer a problem with the Fire Control rest. The control arm allows for continuous adjustment of the forend support with your fingers. Unlike conventional front rests, you can do this without changing your shooting position to loosen or tighten the front platform. It is not only easy, it is precise.

The only question we had was whether there was enough adjustment for elevation to make this rest suitable for F-Class competition, as well as regular use on the range. The answer is, absolutely.

The rest has the capability of making elevation adjustments up to 60 MOA, more than adequate for long distance competition. Given that many competition rifles use a 20 MOA rail and a scope with an additional 40-50 MOA, this front rest is an absolutely perfect fit. There is also 60 MOA of windage adjustment available.

With the free-standing Fire Control front rest, there is no need to move the entire rest back into position, loosening or tightening knobs/wheels to realign your crosshairs after a shot. In addition, it comes with an additional 3-lobe front bag for target rifles with wide/flat forend rifles.

With an MSRP of $289.99, it is competitively priced. If you use the Caldwell Fire Control just once, you will probably never go back to your old front rests.