CTK PRECISION P3 Ultimate Gun Vise

The CTK PRECISION P3 Ultimate Gun Vise arrived well packed; all parts bubble-wrapped and/or zip-bagged, with NO MISSING components! The vise appears to be a very well made, high-quality product and with minimal care, should last a lifetime. The assembly instructions are more of a parts diagram & list, as there are NO step-by-step instructions. There is a useful on-line U-Tube assembly video noted in the instructions, and a link is provided from the CTK website. Although after completing the assembly; most of which was straight-forward and somewhat intuitive, watching the video was more than useful, if not required. The only issue I had with the assembly was T-Handle Knob (#27) and the Vise Spring (#26). In the video the spring easily slides on-and-off the T-Handle threaded shaft but in my case, the spring was just ever-so-too-small. I had to repeatedly force the spring onto the T-Handle threaded shaft part-way, forcibly remove the spring (which was far harder than forcing it on over the threads) and repeat this process over-and-over-again. Finally after 30 minutes, I was able to complete this portion of the assembly and proceed to the end without any further issues. Total assembly time was just over an hour, but half of that time was spent working the spring issue. I think this is an easy 30 minute job assuming you have some skill with a few wrenches and a screwdriver. I tested the sturdiness of the vise with several firearms and all fit firmly and snuggly. There is no "parts-tray" with this vise, but either the Raiseek Cleaning Mat or the Lyman Essential Gun Maintenance Mat fit well under the vise. I preferred the Raiseek mat as it has several magnetic pads for keeping small metallic parts from escaping. Both are ~16"x10" and fit well under/next to the vise. The CTK Gun Vise is rated on a number of sites as the "best gun vise" and I would have to agree. Having gone through several others in the past, all of which I was never fully happy, this is the vise for me! It is not the least-expensive vise but if you want a quality gun vise that will keep your firearm steady for maintenance or attaching components and most importantly, confidently preventing your firearm from falling out of the vise if properly secured, this is the vise you should purchase.

I received this CTK P3 Ultimate Gun Vise earlier today. These are my initial impressions. It comes well packaged in a box that is 6"x6"x24". Total assembly time was well under an hour, some of that time was ensuring all parts were present and oriented for assembly. Along with the individual major components, there are two parts bags. One bag contains the hardware to assemble the T-frame, levelers, and the front Y rest assembly. The second bag contains the parts for the sliding rear vice assembly. Two sheets of paper contain the assembly instructions and a parts list. Assembly was generally easy and the instructions were quite adequate from my perspective. There is, however, no picture of the entire vice when fully assembled. I pulled the Amazon photo up and enlarged it to assist in further orienting the assembly. The overall dimensions of this vice when assembled, lacking in the Amazon product description, are: Length of main beam = 25"; Length of cross beam = 18", Height of vice and Y rest at lowest adjustment points = 10". There are some "quirks" to be aware of during assembly and use: ** Plan ahead to have your vice and Y rest locking controls on either the right or left side of the main rail. The cleaning rod holder is made to work that way. ** the leveling screw blocks and vice tightening mechanism are made of some type of neoprene, or similar material. They can be easily cross threaded initially if not careful. Otherwise they seem to work quite well. ** Tools required for assembly will be a couple of wrenches and a phillips screw driver. ** All nuts (4) are self-locking. ** The vice assembly has a mind of its own. It is only attached to the main rail by a friction clamp at the bottom of the vice assembly. If loosened to remove a firearm, don't try to pick up the entire T assembly by just the vice head as it may fall off. The vice is designed to work quite well when tightened but it remains very loose, even floppy, on the main rail if not tightened on itself when no firearm is present. After assembly, being anxious to see how it held a firearm, I clamped down the longest gun I have, a WW-II Mauser that is 48" long. Almost twice the length of the overall gun vice assembly. I am very impressed at how tight and stable the Mauser could be locked in the vice. There was no tendency for the gun to have the center of gravity forward of the front Y rest, and no tendency for the secured gun to rock forward with reasonable pressure on the barrel. This vice should work well for cleaning firearms and also for holding the gun steady for sight and scope installations. All things considered, I am VERY HAPPY and impressed with this purchase. All indications are that this CTK P3 Ultimate Gun Vise will provide me with many years of trouble-free service. I'll update this review if my opinion changes.