Viper Benchrest Barrel Vise

[Brian in Montana]

Well... I may be the only person in history who has broken a Wheeler Barrel Vise - long story, but involves a protracted fight with a factory Tikka T3. I've read the Viper barrel vise is solid and actually an upgrade from the old-school Wheeler. Anybody used one?

I'm not a gunsmith, but I've rebarreled a half dozen rifles with pre-fits. I don't use a barrel vise a lot, but I want something that will be adequate for stubborn job like Tikkas. And don't want to break the bank on it. Thoughts? Recommendations?

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I have the PMA Gen 2 which is a slight revision of the viper to my understanding. I've only broke loose one factory tikka barrel with it and used it to swap barrels on actions that have already had barrels removed by others. It works but I wouldn't bet on not marring a finish, at least how i've done it thus far.

The SAC Bravo vise with specific inserts is what I would have got were it in stock when i was buying. It looks like a better mousetrap with the specific inserts but it's also twice the cost.

There are some similar versions listed on ebay that look pretty nice and some others in the works specifically for tikkas like the one from buffalo creek machine. I think they are tweaking the final product on this one: