If you have a penchant for precision shooting, then it’s likely that you are very particular about how you approach your activity. Your rifle, optic, and ammo need to be a certain way, in order for you to feel comfortable and even more so, confident before you can “send it.”

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When you consider all aspects, even if you’re not behind your ideal rifle setup, one of the most important factors is your shooting position—at least I know it is for me. No matter how you feel about it, shooting groups is an important, if not over-stressed part of precision shooting. But it’s part of my job, and I’d much rather do it from the prone position than from a bench.

I’ve tried shooting from benches in the past and always found them to be less than adequate for my needs. Whether they were wooden, concrete, steel, or some combination of all of the above, they just didn’t “jive” with me. That recently changed after being introduced to the DOA Shooting Bench at the 2018 Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous.

It’s the Wood That Makes It Good

The veteran-founded, Utah-based company offers much in the way of construction quality, durability and comfort—things I’ve never really observed in shooting benches, especially in a portable type unit.

DOA Shooting Benches are made of quality steel and wood. It must be quality, since elite military units around the world are using these benches.

The main parts are a tripod stand and seat support, which is steel, and a table top, which is made from either birch or maple to uphold quality standards. These particular wooden materials provide an ideal feel to the shooter. Think of this feel as harmonics.

If you’ve ever shot off of concrete using a bipod, then you know how much your gun can hop around, or even twist. This is because the concrete is so hard and unforgiving with no recoil absorption.

It’s preferable to shoot off of dirt or grass when using a bipod because this absorbs much of the recoil forces and vibration. While I haven’t seen an earthen bench yet, wood is far better than concrete.

The DOA Shooting Bench uses 14-ply Maple or Birch, and this construction does a good job of soaking up the vibration and recoil. It’s evident when you press the trigger especially if you’ve shot off of lesser benches.

DOA Dimensions

The table top dimension is 30 inches by 43 inches, and weighs 32-38 pounds. The weight is dependent on the density of the wood, proving DOA uses actual wood instead of some laminate type material. The DOA table top will handle up to 50 BMG and scares me to even think that people actually shoot such large caliber rifles from a bench.

The tripod is insanely sturdy and can handle more than 500 pounds worth of shooter and gun with ease. The only flex in the system is a slight movement of the table top when you push hard on it, say in a forward or side direction. You’d get the same flex of a pole stuck in the ground—and it’s flex, not wobble or shake.

The tripod is not adjustable but the seat is, with more than 32 inches of travel to suit your needs.

Testing the DOA Shooting Bench

I must admit that I was reluctant, but more than pleasantly surprised with my first interaction with the DOA Shooting Bench. It worked as advertised. Walking around the bench and “kicking the tires” I found it to be very sturdy. It’s a far cry from the metal unit I have wasting away in my garage.

It’s a good-looking bench too, but nothing flashy. And for you southpaw shooters like me, they have a left-handed table top too.

Over the course of three days I shot everything from .224 Valkyrie to 300 Win Mag on the DOA table from various types of rifles. I also shot both seated and standing while leaning over the unit. I was easily able to make consistent hits out to 1,100 yards, with stability and all while avoiding the cold wet ground.

With products like the DOA Shooting Bench I typically look for what’s wrong with it as opposed to what’s right. I can honestly say that I haven’t found anything wrong with it yet, other than I don’t own one … yet.

MSRP is $599 and they are available in natural and camo colors.

You can check out DOAShootingBench.com to order yours.