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Hoppe Gun Vise

Hoppe Gun Vise

Well let’s get the US versus UK spelling matter out of the way first, we would call this a vice but other than that, what a great cross-Pond item we see here. The polymer Gun Vise from Hoppe’s is a solid positional tool to cradle your rifle or shotgun for a variety of tasks. First off, the front and rear of the rifle is not only supported but does so with a soft jawed clamp rather than just a notch to wedge into. Especially useful when taking on workshop tasks, this can be versatile when the rifle needs to be rolled in position when fettling items like triggers or magazine systems.

Further to this, when bore sighting a rifle, you can finely tune the elevation of the rifle’s bore line to `target`, an obvious object to dial the scope’s crosshairs on to. The front opens to 67mm (2.6-inches) accepting wide beavertail forends with 47mm at the rear (1.8-inches) for the slimmer butt of the gun, these stretch 500mm (20-inches) for excellent longitudinal stability and both use large diameter wheels to nip the gun securely with little physical effort.

Tray bien

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The centre tray carries recessed pockets for smaller items like bolts, magazines and or cleaning kit like patches, solvent bottle or jags, I especially like the clever recesses at the top of the rear jaw in which to slot whichever tool is in use close to hand. Four polymer feet on the underside will adjust in/out to assure full contact with your supporting surface, although one slight downside is these are not rubber so can slide on the bench when pushing a cleaning rod through the gun. When you are being a bit more aggressive, the centre support fits in any of three positions allowing the grip to seat onto its rubber upper surface if desired, minimising bending stresses on the gun. Access to the action’s upper for scope mounting is unhindered from either side.

Clamp down

Weighing just 1.6kg (3.5lbs) makes it easy enough to chuck in the vehicle for use at the range, and I really liked using the effective elevation control for solid, simple bore sighting with less need for three hands to control the rifle’s position when lining everything up. I also used the rest for an emergency complete trigger removal and service at the range on a Remington 700, a rifle which requires a solid hold when driving the pins laterally through the action’s underside with a punch. Given the delicacy and small items involved, I was grateful for the Hoppe’s Vise and its dished trays that I could immediately place components securely within.

The underside shows plentiful injection moulded webbing for sturdiness yet remains light enough that I could drag it back and forth between workshop, armoury and photo studio daily as it fulfils all my needs.

Conclusion

Although I have multiple other seemingly similar gun cradles, the front and rear clamping capability of the Hoppe’s system is an appreciable improvement when doing more than just cleaning rifles.

  • Hoppe Gun Vise - image {image:count}

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  • Hoppe Gun Vise - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • Hoppe Gun Vise - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • Hoppe Gun Vise - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

gun
features

  • Name: Hoppe’s Gun Vise
  • RRP: £64
  • Contact: Edgar Brothers: edgarbrothers.com
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