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Benchrest shooting is a shooting sport discipline in which high-precision rifles are shot at paper targets. The rifles ride on a front and rear rest (which may or may not be joined depending on the rules of a particular competition) sitting on a table or bench, hence the name "benchrest". The shooter simply sits at the bench, in distinction to other shooting disciplines, where the shooter holds and aims the rifle without the benefit of a rest. The post-Civil War era "double rest" rifles were one early form of "benchrest" rifles.
Benchrest shooters are notoriously detail-oriented and constantly trying to further the accuracy potential of the rifle through experimentation. Nearly all benchrest rifles are custom-made and many shooters do their own gunsmithing. Nearly all shooters in centerfire competition handload their ammunition in order to tune it perfectly to their rifle. In contrast, handloading ammunition is strictly prohibited by the rules for rimfire benchrest competitions.
World Benchrest Shooting Federation (WBSF) is the main international governing body for benchrest shooting, and encompass both fullbore and smallbore competitions. World Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest Federation (WRABF) is a smaller international governing body focusing on smallbore competitions. International Benchrest Shooters (IBS) and Global Benchrest Association (GBA) are two organizations which are only active in the United States.
The bench rests may also provide a stable platform for sighting in less specialized firearms.

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