My single biggest pet peeve with bolt action rifles these days is the height of the cheek rest. There was a time when iron sights on bolt action rifles was the norm, but with the price of optics so incredibly low these days, it’s damn near impossible to resist slapping one on your gun. And then there are the scads of higher end rifles that don’t even have a front sight, making a scope is the only way to go. And yet the cheek piece on so many of these rifles seems to have been designed to put your eye in line with the nonexistent iron sights — too low for a scope by far. That doesn’t make sense. Thankfully, there’s a solution.

A proper cheek rest is essential for precision shooting. The ability to line up your eye in relation to the scope the exact same way every single time will make you more able to put each round through the same hole. A proper cheek rest gives you that ability by giving you a definite reference point from which to index your face in relation to the gun. Without a good cheek rest, your face — and your eye — is floating around and will never be in the exact same spot twice.

I’ve tried various cheek risers in the past, but none seem to work well for long range rifles. Plus, they all seem to use cloth or other fabric material combined with some sort of shoelace system to keep the whole thing in place. The end result is usually that your cheek rest goes sliding all around the stock and isn’t in the right place when you need it.

That’s where Bradley’s cheek rest comes in. Made out of what feels like the same kydex material as most good holsters, the cheek riser attaches to the gun using velcro straps and includes a rubber non-slip pad to keep the rest from moving or scratching your stock’s finish.

In terms function, I’d say its just about perfect. Three minutes to install the cheek riser, and it put my eye exactly at the right level. I’m using the 3/4″ riser with a 30mm scope tube, and putting my cheek on the pad brings my eye to the perfect height.

Also, because the material it’s made from is much more rigid than the older fabric models, it doesn’t move. At all. Which is fantastic. You will have to make sure you get the right design for your gun though, and while the Rem 700 model will fit most bolt action rifles, there’s also an M1A / M14 design available.

The only problem I have with the Bradley rest is that the edges are a little rough. Not so much that you’d cut yourself on them, but enough to be annoying if you’re carrying the gun around for a while. Not even close to a dealbreaker, but its the only issue I had with the thing.

All that said, this cheek riser isn’t cheap. At $90 it’s well above any of the usual competition, but from where I’m sitting, it’s worth the price.

Specifications:

Price: $89.99

Ratings (out of five stars):

Ease of Use * * * * *
The velcro straps make putting the cheek rest on the gun an absolute breeze.

Utility * * * * *
Um, yeah. Just about perfect.

Overall * * * * 1/2
A touch high in terms of price, and the edges are a tad rough, but I’m actively looking for faults. Moral of the story: this is now a permanent fixture on my rifle.

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24 COMMENTS

  2. I’m interested, but I have a question. It appears the “riser” part is hollow, just an arc of bent Kydex. Is it stiff enough to take a solid cheek weld, or does it flex? Can you lean on it like you would the riser for an adjustable stock, or for the actual stock if it came up that far?

  4. I bought a cheek rest from Brad over Christmas. The one I got had sneaked through the QC process and wasn’t assembled like it was supposed to be. When I contacted him about it, Brad was very apologetic and went above and beyond, comping me the cheek rest and throwing in an additional set of straps. I love how it works with my M1a1. Good product and stand up guy making them.

      • I’m curious about the optic you’re using. I hope you’re not skimping on the scope after putting down $8.6 million for the tank.

        • No tank but I do have fat fingers… lol
          But if I did have a tank I’d probably put a Leapers on it. Or if I felt extra rich, maybe a red dot…

  6. Nick, it’s not the rifle, it’s YOU and as I told you last year there are MANY ways for you to solve your problem, (without surgery).
    The Gizmo above is an epic FAIL.
    Stop making YOUR problem MY Problem

    • So, ensitu, please share with the rest of us your wisdom so that we can all be saved from spending $90 to solve our cheek weld problems.

  7. I’m thinking about ordering the Karsten rest for my Savage… Adjustable and cheaper, but you need to drill your stock (no biggy on a non-accustock savage). Ever tried it?

    • Yes! My problem is with my FN FAL when using a scope. I can easily replace the stock if I want one without holes for the Karsten cheek rest.

      David, buy it and write a review…

  8. According to their website its made of B24 carbon fiber not Kydex. That would explain the price, hollow riser, rough edges and rigidity. Maybe the riser is CF and the base is Kydex? Good looking product but I doubt they have one for a MAS49/56.

    • Actually I do make one for the Mas 49/56, the M1A Model will give you 1 3/8 inch of rise, that might put you where you need to be, I have a new model that will be on my site this Saturday , I will start selling the BA Bradley Adjustable model, it will go from 1/4″ to 1 3/4″ and in 4 or 5 colors. That model will fit most guns, not AR 15 formats, but the other stuff..
      Just to clarify, the B 24 is a Cheek rest model number, and the material is a Holstex Carbon Fiber pattern, it looks just like carbon fiber and actually has a slight texture on it as well. And the edges sometimes are a little rough. And if you mention this website I will give anyone from here $10 off any cheek rest.. Thanks for the good words Leghorn:)

  9. This is a huge improvement on my 700pss w the hs prec stock. My wife went from shooting 2in grps to 1/2 in simply due to being able to focus completely on trigger control and maintaining a good shooting position. Especially prone, she can now put her cheek to the comb and open her eyes and shes looking straight thru the scope -from i was amazed at the difference. Before she was always “swaying” her head .. off the comb.

  10. Wait a minute! $90 for something made out of stuff from a craft store that looks like it was made at a retirement home? PASS…

  11. Just put a Vortex Viper on my Ruger M77 MK11, heavy barrel, will this work as with the 30mm tube and 50mm glass the stock sits way short of level with the optics.

  12. I have the adjustable model on my m1a it is perfect. No flex ,straps down tight and doesn’t move. And if I pull the scope it’s just 3 velcro straps and I’m back to original.
    I sanded the edges on mine so that the sharp edges are no longer an issue. If you need to solve cheek weld issues.
    Just buy one

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