Caldwell's New Lead Sled MAX Review

Affiliate Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We earn from qualifying purchases.

If you’ve ever spent time at the range sighting in a rifle, zeroing a new optic, or patterning a shotgun, there’s a good chance that you enlisted the help of a Lead Sled to do so. Caldwell has produced a variety of different Lead Sled models over the years, but they’ve all got a few key things in common: they’re designed for use with long guns and even without added weights, they’re heavy.

Lead Sled MAX

With the introduction of the new Lead Sled MAX, Caldwell has upped the game and created the most versatile Lead Sled ever. Up until the release of this new model, there were seven different versions of the Lead Sled from which to choose. That may have some people wondering why they would bring an eighth one to market. It seems that everything in the gun world these days is “modular,” and now the Lead Sled is, too. In less than a minute, you can change up the Lead Sled MAX into three different rests.

The rear portion of the rest where the buttstock sits has six different holes in the main tubes that slide into the front portion of the rest. Cam locks on the rear portion of the front part of the rest are used to positively lock the rear portion of the rest in place. This allows you to adjust for a variety of different firearm lengths while still being able to fully utilize the clamping turret front rest. The front features rubber-covered jaws to protect the finish of your firearm and the rear has a beefy rubber pad to absorb recoil. The three rubber feet - one on each front arm and one in the rear - provide great grip on different shooting bench surfaces and they’re also articulated so that you can get solid points of contact on all three feet even if you’re on an uneven surface.

Previously, I’ve tried to temporarily retrofit my older Lead Sled to be used with handguns. In the end, it doesn’t really work that well. Your mileage may vary. Sure, I could have just bought one of Caldwell’s purpose-built handgun rests, but I prefer to spend my money on more guns and ammo instead. However, I’m clearly not the only person who has wanted Lead Sled reliability for my handguns without having to make an extra purchase because the new Lead Sled MAX comes apart and can be used as a standalone handgun rest. (Or, just as a front rest for a long gun; it doesn’t have to be used with a handgun, but it’s nice to have that option.)

Features

Oversized tactile knobs are all over on the Lead Sled MAX. On the front portion, there’s a very large elevation wheel along with the adjustable turret clamp wheel. You can also adjust the tilt friction so that further adjustments are easy to do or require some effort to avoid messing up where you’ve currently got things set. The large knobs on both the front and rear portions of the rest make it super easy to adjust for windage and elevation, and they lock down tight exactly where you want them. I experienced no movement once I got them set in place. There’s also a feature that will make southpaws happy. The fine windage adjustment knob at the rear of the rest can be swapped from one side to the other by simply loosening the cap screw and collar, removing and flipping the shaft around, and then reinstalling the collar and tightening down the cap screw. Easy peasy.

Speaking of setting things in place, the weight reservoir on the Lead Sled MAX is removable. This is a first for the Lead Sled line. Instead of utilizing separate weighted bags or plates, this model has a molded weight reservoir that hugs the contours of the rest and is secured in place with two steel pins. By the way, the pins are tethered to the reservoir so that you don’t lose them! The reservoir has a two-gallon capacity, which means it can hold up to 16 pounds of water or 24 pounds of sand, gravel, or even lead shot. Basically, if it’s heavy and you can fit it in the reservoir, then go for it.

When the reservoir is full, Caldwell claims that the Lead Sled MAX can reduce felt recoil by 95%. I don’t have the sophisticated means to measure it that accurately myself, but I can attest to the fact that it does an excellent job. I have a medical condition that has led doctors to tell me I should avoid heavy recoil to my shoulders and pecs. Of course, this isn’t always possible to avoid and sometimes I downright ignore it, but I can guarantee you that my doctor would approve of the use of the Lead Sled MAX for a full day on the range with heavy rifle calibers or 3.5” shotshells.

Being able to remove the reservoir is a huge plus. It means that you no longer have to move around a single heavy weight if you don’t want to do so. You can simply fill up two one-gallon jugs of water, take them to the range, fill up the reservoir, and then dump it out when you’re done. Plus, it also means that the sled can be used without any weight at all. Sometimes you just need a solid rest from which to shoot and don’t need it to be a big, hulking weighted piece of equipment. Without the reservoir, the sled makes a fantastic standalone long gun or handgun rest.

Final Thoughts

One of the shortcomings of previous Lead Sled models is that they take up a good bit of space. With the Lead Sled MAX, most of the unit collapses into itself for storage. The front legs fold out when in use and back in when not. The rear portion of the rest gets flipped around and inserted from the other side, allowing it to shrink in on itself when not in use. My only complaint with these space-saving measures is that there’s no way to attach the weight reservoir to the rest of the unit when the rear portion is in the storage configuration. You can attach the reservoir with the rear portion fully collapsed, but not when it has been flipped around. Not a big problem; just an observation

Caldwell has chosen to make the Lead Sled MAX’s tagline, “Eliminate the Variables That Make You Miss.” With all of the different features that they’ve packed into this unit, I think they've done a great job of eliminating all of the variables that can be controlled. I will, however, offer a word of caution if you choose to use the Lead Sled MAX. It won’t make up for you being a crummy shot, and with how good this rest is, you won’t be able to blame it on the gun or your other equipment anymore!

---