I'd been toying with the idea of spending $600 on a DOA Tactical shooting bench, but I wasn't in a real hurry to spend $600 on a bench, but then again I was also leery of spending a couple hundred dollars on a bench that would not be all that stable.   Getting a Caldwell Stable Table as a birthday present from my wife resolved that dilemma.

As it turns out I'm actually pretty impressed with it.

It take a couple minutes to set up, but it goes together quickly and easily.    

The 1 1/2" square tube steel legs are installed in a hub built around a 3" diameter steel tube.  The legs are retained by 1/2" thick steel quick release pins and one leg is screw adjustable to level the table.  The screw itself is about 3/8" in diameter and has a very sturdy handle making adjustment easy.  Each leg is identical but one end of each leg has a steel pad welded to it to provide reinforcement where it contacts the adjusting screw for the adjustable leg.   If the leg is used as one of the non adjustable legs, the other end is inserted into the hub.

The 2 1/2" diameter main tube is welded to a heavy steel collar that rests on the hub via nylon bearing ring.  Another large hand screw is used to lock it in place and eliminate any movement, or to leave it loose enough to rotate through 360 degrees.  Greasing the tube where it inserts into the hubs makes this much easier and allows for a snugger fit.  

The seat has a steel base welded to another 1 1/2" square tube and gusset that are in turn welded to a 2 1/2" ID steel collar that slides over the main tube.   The seat assembly is adjusted for height via holes in the main tube and a 1/2" thick quick release pin.   The seat itself is bolted to the tube with two bolts, washers and nyloc nuts.  These are about 1/2" longer than necessary so I cut them flush with the end of the nut to remove the potential for the bolt to snag something in transit or storage.    

The table base consists of a collar welded to a plate with a pair of gussets to spread the load across the plate.   It is also secured to the main tube with a large hand screw.    The plate extends under a large portion of the table and the end result is quite sturdy, but not overly heavy.  

The square tube stock, gussets and table base plate all appear to be made from 1/8" thick steel, reinforced where necessary with 1/8" pads and 1/4" plates for the threaded portions while the round tube stock uses steel that is about 3/16" thick.  

The table is rectangular with well rounded edges, measures 23" by 34", and is made from molded plastic.  it is attached to the metal table base plate with six bolts that mate with nuts molded into the bottom  surface of the table. The table is fairly well thought out with a groove running around the edge that works nicely to prevent cartridges from rolling off, and it incorporates handles on two sides that do double duty as mounting holes for a pair of rubber coated supports that can be used to clean the rifle.  

I had some initial concerns about the shape of the table given that it lacks a cut out.  However I found that with the large table area, I could align the table long ways directly in front of the seat and at about a 45 degree angle to the target and get plenty of clearance for my chest, while having room for the bag supporting the butt on the rear corner of the table, and enough table for ample elbow support.  And, given there is no cut out in the table, it's ambidextrous.  






Caldwell includes a set of it's BR Rubber Feet, which are designed to accommodate the pointed legs on an adjustable bench rest to prevent them from digging into or scratching a table top.   I would not have worried much about them digging into or marring the pebble grained top, but they do work well to prevent any slippage of a bench rest on the table.

I did note that plastic MTM ammo boxes seem to slide a little too nicely across the table.   The pebble grain surface looks nice and will continue to look a lot better over time than a smooth surface, but it does means there is less surface area actually in contact with anything sitting on it.  Thus, a little more slide potential if you bump an empty ammo box.

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My major concern was how stable the table would really be when shooting. It was a lot better than I expected.

I noted that if i repositioned myself on the seat pretty aggressively it would create some vibrations, however they dampened quickly - within about a second and a half.  I also noted at high magnification if I left my chest in firm contact with the table, i could pick up just a hint of pulse with the cross hairs on the target at long ranges.  Backing off slightly eliminated the unwanted movement.  

It is not perfect by 2,000 pound concrete or heavy wood bench standards, but it's faults are manageable with a little work on technique, and the results were about an order of magnitude better than i expected with a 60 pound portable bench.

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Despite the reasonably large table surface, there isn't really a great spot to put a table top tripod for a spotting scope.  It can be done, it's just not very elegant.  The metal table base is large enough to accommodate a larger wooden table top in the event you want to make one out of 1" plywood or a 1" or 1 1/4" finger jointed panel.

The good news is that with the table angled about 45 degrees to the line of fire, the ergonomics work very well for a tripod mounted scooting scope along side the bench.  

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So far I have left the hub attached to the main tube for travel with the pins left in the hub, so that results in the hub/main tube assembly, three legs, the seat assembly and the table assembly for transport.  I used large (1" wide and 1/8" thick) rubber bands to hold the three legs together during transport, so it's effectively four pieces to keep track of.   I ordered the bag made for it and it is a heavy duty bag.  It has a single compartment but also has a drawstring pouch for the hub assembly.  It allows you to leave the main tube in the hub as well.  Weight with everything in the bag is right at 60 pounds per my luggage scale.

The Stable Table's assembly is not as slick as the folding leg DOA Tactical table's base and legs, but it's not a major pain either and it's only 1/3rd the price.

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In short, it worked well and I found that despite some minor vibrations you need to let damp out for a second or so, sub MOA accuracy was still possible with my .22 Hornet at 100 and 200 yards.  Consequently, for the $190-$200 they seem to cost on line, I have no qualms about recommending one.