19 DIY Shooting Bench Plans You Can Build

If you are a fan of guns and often go shooting during leisure time, you cannot deny the importance of shooter’s benches.

A nice and well-built bench will take your performance to a new level due to the comfort and high accuracy it offers.

Thus, for those who are yet to have a proper shooting table, nothing is better than building a good one for yourself.

Although building a DIY one may take you some effort. But we are sure that you can create a suitable table by following these 19 DIY shooting bench plans.

1. DIY Shooting Bench By Metalneck Outdoors

The first thing you will notice about this plan is the frame and twin-seat comfortable.

The model’s frame needs to be as sturdy as possible to handle the gun recoil. That is why this frame has a T shape with a wide tail.

In this design, you can add other wood pieces to brace the table’s legs. As a result, the legs will stay firmly in place, no matter how strong the recoil is. The backside is especially strong, thanks to its three legs, all braced with 2x6s slats.

Project details: metalneckoutdoors.com

2. Free DIY Shooting Bench Plans

Some of the big shooting benches generally have a design flexibility that allows people to use simultaneously left and right hands.

It’s not the case with this plan, as it reserves the whole left side as the seat to use the right hand.

For this design, aside from the 2 front legs, there are three back legs: two of which are locked near each other to support the model’s overall structure.

While the last one is connected with them through 2 planks on each side. As a result, the weight is evenly distributed.

The way the supporting pieces are distributed is also interesting. The plan places planks around the legs to keep them from vibrating too much after a shoot.

The last one plank is placed in a leaning position of 45 degree, connecting the table surface to a front leg, eliminating its shaking risk.

You can easy to build this wooden shooting bench from instructions with detailed diagrams and images.

Project details: gardenplansfree.com

3. Portable Shooting Bench

The focus of this plan is to make a shooting desk you can bring anywhere. That is why you won’t see any seat attached, and the size when folded is only 30” x 38”.

The whole thing consists of only a benchtop using plywood and three foldable iron pipes legs, which only take you a couple of hours to build from scratch.

The design also featured angled welded couplings to ensure stability. The challenging part is that these couplings need to specifically have an 18-degree angle.

Project details: portercalls.com

4. DIY wooden Shooting Bench By Rated Red

Most of the time, a desk for shooters requires you to start with the frame first and attach the legs later. That is not the case with this plan, as you will attach the legs and build the frame simultaneously.

The cause for this decision is the legs’ weight, as they are 4x4s with high density. If you put them in later, it will be much harder to ensure they are in the correct position.

Due to the heaviness of the whole table, this plan also involves a set of wheels to make it easier to move.

5. Free Shooting Bench Plans

This project utilizes the classic T-top design that most shooter’s benches feature. However, it requires you to fix the desk’s posts at least 10” into the ground.

The design also ensures that the leg will not bulge. When you use high-caliber rifles, solely fixing the legs may not be enough, as the whole desk will be under pressure.

That is why you have to provide additional protection in the form of 2×6 beams. These beams will keep the bench structurally throughout the shooting process.

Project details: myoutdoorplans.com

6. DIY Portable Shooting Benchrest

This plan is incredibly smart in using an adjustable metal sawhorse as the base. This sawhorse can be easily found at any store as Home Depot at a very reasonable price.

By utilizing the sawhorse’s height adjustability, you can place this benchrest practically anywhere without worrying about wobbly. Your gun will always point straight forward.

The top is just a piece of 3/4 plywood cut into shape. As the sawhorse is incredibly stable, you only need 2 bolts to keep the top firmly attached to the base.

7. DIY Concrete Shooting Bench

Within a glance, you can tell that this plan is special, as its main material isn’t wood, but concrete. It’s also much easier to build than you think.

You simply need to prepare three parts for the whole table, which are T-shape concrete block base, a 6’x6′ concrete slab, and a solid 3″ concrete top.

Both the block base and the slab can be built on-site while the top piece must be finished off-site and hauled onto the site. Keep in mind that this bench, once built, will just stay in one place. That is why you must choose the location properly.

Project details: ultimatereloader.com

8. DIY Low-Cost Shooting Table

This model has a specific length, 40 inches, for its top. The reason for this length is that the table can fit with mid-size rifles while still having some spare space. It’s also light and very easily foldable.

The interesting point lies under the counter. There are two additional planks attached to both ends of the bottom.

Their mission is to give more room for the main bolts to fit securely. Additionally, they will reinforce the table’s structure.

9. DIY Shooting Bench Made From 2×4

As the name suggests, the entirety of this bench will be built purely out of 2×4 lumbers, which makes it much easier for you to prepare the material.

The desk has quite a spacious top, having only one seating side. Of course, to ensure that the top can stand the force, you need to add a partition in the center of the frame. Doing so allows the design to distribute the recoil evenly.

Moreover, the plan further enhances its stability with two diagonal braces placed in parallel with each other.

Project details: howtospecialist.com

10. Build A Shooting Bench By Jim Thomas

The best things to describe this model are rustic and sturdy. It makes use of all the elements commonly seen in benches for shooters, from the T-top to the left-and-right bench.

The armrest area is also specifically designed with 18 inches width, which ensures whichever side you prefer, there will always be enough space for whichever side you prefer.

It’s great to use for both left and right handed shooters.

11. DIY Shooting Bench By Mike Nelson

First of all, you will notice that this model features a triangle structure. This shape provides a strong and stable standing for the bench.

Furthermore, the frame also has multiple X-shape supporting slats, which support the stability and durability even more.

Finally, the model does not have a built-in seat. That is why the construction process is simpler, and shooters can be more flexible when sitting.

Project details: chuckhawks.com

12. DIY Portable Shooting Table By Clemdogsan

This plan is simple, it uses a sawhorse to act as its base. These legs can fold easily, and they are very strong once they fully straighten up. However, they require heavy-duty screws to fit securely.

These screws will destroy the benchtop if they are put in as-is. Due to this reason, you must put in two 5x4s at each end of the table. These will provide enough depth for the screws.

This shooting bench is very portable, you can foldable and bring it anywhere to practice shooting.

13. DIY Portable Shooting Bench By Chris Del

Although most portable models use a folding mechanism for the legs.

Instead, this plan uses three pieces of 2-inch couplings and three legs of 1 1/2 inch schedule 40 pipe legs. To ensure that the legs can securely fit, each coupling gets a 3/8 knot with a through-hole.

Each time you put the legs in, you only need to tighten the knot, and the legs will be secured tightly.

The whole frame is supported by a triangle system underneath. This improves the stability level, which is very helpful when you use high-caliber rifles.

Its surface is also covered with a layer of the carpet. This choice improves the friction of the surface, keeping the gun stable.

14. Portable Shooting Bench By Larry Willis

This plan offers you a very stable base for your guns, thanks to the legs’ couplings. Each of them is specifically welded at an 18-degree angle, canting away from the table.

The outward-pointing legs will keep the model stable throughout any recoil. They also won’t dig into the ground, as there is a cap at the end of each leg.

The whole top surface has a 27″ x 36″ measurement. This size is perfect for most types of firearms, from hunting rifles to attack rifles.

The bolts’ heads are all in the recessing position. As a result, you won’t feel any obstruction while setting up a long rifle.

Also, this project includes a technical drawing with detailed measurements to build. It’s easy to follow.

Project details: larrywillis.com

15. Build A Shooting Bench By Haulin Ash Outdoors

This plan follows the classic design, serving both left and right-handed people. However, there is a twist in its size, with a length of 57 inches and a width of 36 inches.

This huge size allows the table to accommodate not just your guns but also other accessories like bullet cases, optics, holsters, etc. Such a huge size means regular 4x4s won’t be enough, so you need 4x6s for the legs.

These are much chunkier, but they provide stronger structural quality.

16. Homemade Portable Shooting Bench

It’s not an understatement to say that this plan is perfect for people with tight budget. The whole thing is made completely from repurposed plywood.

Its biggest secret lies in the locking hinges. You can easily control when the table can fold with these, as the locking levers will not budge without specific actions.

The legs’ skewing design allows them to fold without touching each other. As a result, the table takes up a surprisingly small space.

17. Shooting Table Plans By How To Specialist

The whole frame of this table is built completely from 2×6 lumbers. That is why it can take on even the highest caliber rifles without so much of a squeak.

This frame’s strength is improved even more with 2 1/2 screws connecting every single piece together. These screws will absolutely hold the wood in conjunction.

As all the legs are buried deep underground, you don’t need to stabilize them by putting in supporting planks. This can significantly cut down the material cost.

On the other hand, you can custom design to keep the leg shorter and put in some wheels. This design sacrifices some stability for the capability to move around if you have a huge shooting range.

Project details: howtospecialist.com

18. Easy DIY Shooting Bench By Airgun Advisor

The whole frame of this shooting bench is built from 3 – 2x6x8s that wood is treated lumber so it will increase structural integrity.

This strength is improved even more with a T-shape build. This style allows for more even pressure distribution, minimizing the blowback.

The surface builds up with a total of three 8-feet decking boards. This leads to the table having a lot of surface area. As such, you can place a lot of accessories on the table.

It has three legs to support the table. Each leg receives an accompanying blocking piece. These pieces’ main job is to keep the legs firmly in place and sturdy.

This means that you must measure and cut these pieces after you have assembled the base table. Otherwise, it’s very hard to achieve a tight enough fit.

19. Make a Shooting Bench By Rock Paracord

The first thing you will notice about this shooting bench is the fact that there are 2 shooting notches. As such, it can suit both right-handed and left-handed people.

While this plan follows the classic portable bench design, it lessens the armrest space to 15 inches.

As a result, the armrest is now almost square at 15×14. This shape is very beneficial for guns with bigger butts.

The legs are not foldable, you can still call this bench portable. The secret lies in the wheels under each leg. Don’t worry about the table’s stability, as all the wheels can be locked to keep them firmly in place.

Conclusion

It is undeniable that a DIY shooter’s desk is easy to build, spend less cost, and improves your accuracy tremendously.

This is not to mention the fact that each project that we prepared has its own unique characteristics, which are suitable for various needs.

For instance, some are suitable for both right-handed and left-handed people, while others are large enough to accommodate lots of accessories, another one is portable.

No matter how peculiar your need is, we believe that at least one plan can satisfy you. Also, you can customize any design or size to be suitable for your needs.