Hi Brazos Jack & all friends:

I am a long time lurker who has a learned a lot through this forum from many of you and have now decided it is time to try to "give back" a little if I think I can contribute once in awhile.

I currently have at least 7 sets of shooting sticks including a set handmade by a PH I partially used on a plains game safari with my then 12 year old son a few years back on his very first trip to Africa.

I have to agree with Mr.Boddington's practice advice beforehand,and I have used multiple sticks including PH made , Long Grass and Sporting Wood Creations over the years.

My son and I both found the Sporting Wood sticks the most stable and they break down very easily for travel. We shot thousands of rounds off these sticks before my boy's first trip and it made a big difference on longer than expected average shots for both him and me.

We also find them very stable on uneven terrain here in the western US mountains on elk and deer hunts as well.

I have no affinity at all with any of the stick makers, and I can't comment on others like the ones Mr.Seller's mentions (but his general advice on what you might find in camp is also right on).

Lastly, I don't know if Sporting Woods still does this, but I called them with my son's height, arm length, rifle types, etc and the gentelman (I believe his name was Jim), actually made a set for him that fit him perfectly (all clean one shot kills!)at the time.

I'm sure shooting stick preferences can be as personal as optics, but in our case the quality, stabilty, break-down ease and ability to customize to a person's physical needs made the SW sticks our favorites.

Thanks for all the knowledge gained on the AR forums & best regards to all, Mark

So did LG discontinue their shooting sticks??

African Sporting Creations

www.africansc.com
ASC is most travel friendly.
These have strong connecting joints.

Also the Polcat tripod.

We recently took Primos Trigger Stick tri-pods to Africa. Not only were they the best I've ever used, but the PH's went nuts for them. One PH owns a gunshop and is ordering them for his stores. A little heavy but a very stable platform to shoot from.
LDK

For some of us who are shorter than the average bear, the Long Grass sticks can be ordered to better fit the "vertically challenged". I took my own to Africa this year, used them once and they were wonderful. If the PH had any, I don't remember seeing them so I agree with the idea of shoot with what you practice with and make sure you take what you need. BTW, I just stuck my sticks in my TuffPak and everything was fine. I will say that it's tough to shoot off them over 150 to 200 yards, even after practicing. Up to 150 I'm dead on but at 200 I find sticks a challenge.

You are nuts if you waste space and weight taking shooting sticks to Africa. Use the ones the PH supplies.

Peg -
Obviously you have never encountered the unpredictable imperfections of camp shooting sticks as many of us have had the displeasure of doing so? I have ample space and weight on my African trips for such small, lightweight, well made, quality shooting sticks so your statement is moot with me. If you are packed so tightly and weight restrictive as not to be able to include shooting sticks then I would suppose your list of "must take" items is too large? Take a chance if you want, but I know better by experience that it's not worth the gamble.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by Pegleg:
You are nuts if you waste space and weight taking shooting sticks to Africa. Use the ones the PH supplies.

I took my Bog-Pod to Moz. in August. Its the perfect solution for sitting and standing shooting. I also prefer a bipod as the fine tuning for height adjustment is as simple as leaning the bipod closer. I also modified the rest on the Bog-Pod as I prefer to rest my hand on the rest and hold the rifle.

The most important reason I took my own set of sticks was the amount of practice I did with my sticks. I felt proficient in setting up for a quick shot, and had complete confidence in my equipment.

I got in contact with Long grass.. they have discontinued their shooting sticks. The gent who made them accepted a position with a different comp. With him gone, they no longer have anyone to make them.
So, if you are in the market, you will have to look elsewhere!

Hi all!!
Actually we have suspended the sale of our sticks. My husband Gerald makes them by hand and accepted a job as CEO of a local gun company. We found that late nights and weekends are not enough time to keep up with the demand (and we need a couple of hours of time off)
Thank you so very much for all of your kind and insightful feedback over these past 6 years.
Long Grass is still in business, going strong, and I'm still at the helm - Gerald is less involved in the day to day as the gun industry is keeping him quite occupied
Blessings to you all!
Melody
www.long-grass.com

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Every hunting camp in SA will have several pairs about the place.

Problem solved!

Sounds to me like a solution looking for a problem. Just use your PH's sticks and save on the hassel and pain in the butt factor of trying to pack them and carry them over.

Ethiopian air hostess?

quote:

Originally posted by ivan carter:
another vote for the sporting wood creation sticks , they unscrew and so are easy to travel with and even if you elect not to travel with them i certainly advise strongly that you get a set of sticks and practice its a very common comment that people are not comfortable on the sticks and many wished they would have practiced more with a set ...

i used these sticks this season through many clients and they worked well and dont ever come apart when you are crawling.

Dave and Ivan:

Aren't they one of your sponsors? If so, you should point that out.

I agree with Saeed. I have never found PH supplied sticks lacking. One problem I have found with many commercial sticks is the propensity of the friction height adjustment to slip.

I also agree with Ivan: practice. I practice with a set just about every week.

I use stoney point safari stix, but what the PH has is also fine

Why "SHOULD" Dave and Ivan point out that "Sporting Wood Creations sticks" are one of their sponors? They are just pointing out some of the good points of a really quality shooting stick. Are you now the self appointed supervisor of all things commercial?????

Maybe some are not as fussy about what they shoot off of while in Africa or anywhere else, but I am. No crappy, self whittled, bent, limber, uneven legged sticks for me thank you. I'll take my own.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:

quote:

Originally posted by ivan carter:
another vote for the sporting wood creation sticks , they unscrew and so are easy to travel with and even if you elect not to travel with them i certainly advise strongly that you get a set of sticks and practice its a very common comment that people are not comfortable on the sticks and many wished they would have practiced more with a set ...

i used these sticks this season through many clients and they worked well and dont ever come apart when you are crawling.

Dave and Ivan:

Aren't they one of your sponsors? If so, you should point that out.

I agree with Saeed. I have never found PH supplied sticks lacking. One problem I have found with many commercial sticks is the propensity of the friction height adjustment to slip.

I also agree with Ivan: practice. I practice with a set just about every week.

This is Jim from African Sporting Creations. Please note that Craig Boddington, Joe Coogan and Mike Rogers from SCI Expeditions all use our Premium shooting sticks. When Craig was sponsoring a competitive product, whenever he hunted off the show, (Pakistan, Turkey, etc) he used our product.

In terms of shooting sticks we make two grades; an entry level version that has a friction fit metal to metal connector that is priced similarly to the one previously offerred by Long Grass and a premium model that has the screw-in connector milled out of a solid piece of aluminum for unmatched rigidity and strength.

Our site is www.africansc.com and would repeat what many of our customers have shared with us, "I had the confidence to take the shot" and "Glad I brought my own"

You always get what you pay for. Our sticks are guaranteed for life and thus you do not have to spend $50-$100 every couple years. Dirk de Bod, the SCI and DSC PH of the Year has used our premium screw-in model for the past 6 seasons and he hunts 250 days a year. He said before he started using our product he was lucky to get a half season out of any of the others before some critical piece would break. Any questions feel free to call us at 419 529 5599

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
Why "SHOULD" Dave and Ivan point out that "Sporting Wood Creations sticks" are one of their sponors? They are just pointing out some of the good points of a really quality shooting stick. Are you now the self appointed supervisor of all things commercial?????

Maybe some are not as fussy about what they shoot off of while in Africa or anywhere else, but I am. No crappy, self whittled, bent, limber, uneven legged sticks for me thank you. I'll take my own.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:

quote:

Originally posted by ivan carter:
another vote for the sporting wood creation sticks , they unscrew and so are easy to travel with and even if you elect not to travel with them i certainly advise strongly that you get a set of sticks and practice its a very common comment that people are not comfortable on the sticks and many wished they would have practiced more with a set ...

i used these sticks this season through many clients and they worked well and dont ever come apart when you are crawling.

Dave and Ivan:

Aren't they one of your sponsors? If so, you should point that out.

I agree with Saeed. I have never found PH supplied sticks lacking. One problem I have found with many commercial sticks is the propensity of the friction height adjustment to slip.

I also agree with Ivan: practice. I practice with a set just about every week.

Why should they? Because it is the law. If you are receiving payment or product in kind, it is now the law that you must state that when endorsing a product, particulary when blogging about products on the internet.

Here is a link in case you are interested:

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Every hunting camp in SA will have several pairs about the place.

Problem solved!

Not if you're 6'8", like me...

If you're height is above average I would suggest you tell your PH. I've done so and when getting to camp they've custom made a new one for me.

So I guess you are now the police, lawyer, prosecutor, judge and jury on all things commercial. Didn't recognize your position in the matter. Big job, hope you are up to it?? Guess I had better keep quiet about all those "gifts and other considerations" I have received from sponsors over the years.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
Why "SHOULD" Dave and Ivan point out that "Sporting Wood Creations sticks" are one of their sponors? They are just pointing out some of the good points of a really quality shooting stick. Are you now the self appointed supervisor of all things commercial?????

Maybe some are not as fussy about what they shoot off of while in Africa or anywhere else, but I am. No crappy, self whittled, bent, limber, uneven legged sticks for me thank you. I'll take my own.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:

quote:

Originally posted by ivan carter:
another vote for the sporting wood creation sticks , they unscrew and so are easy to travel with and even if you elect not to travel with them i certainly advise strongly that you get a set of sticks and practice its a very common comment that people are not comfortable on the sticks and many wished they would have practiced more with a set ...

i used these sticks this season through many clients and they worked well and dont ever come apart when you are crawling.

Dave and Ivan:

Aren't they one of your sponsors? If so, you should point that out.

I agree with Saeed. I have never found PH supplied sticks lacking. One problem I have found with many commercial sticks is the propensity of the friction height adjustment to slip.

I also agree with Ivan: practice. I practice with a set just about every week.

Why should they? Because it is the law. If you are receiving payment or product in kind, it is now the law that you must state that when endorsing a product, particulary when blogging about products on the internet.

Here is a link in case you are interested:

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

at that price Sporting wood creation sticks better be able to preform acrobatic sex acts on me
I'll use the ones the ph has in camp there payed for and I don't have to pack and unpack them. and save weight on baggage

Well Larry, what if I posted I poached animals or otherwise broke the law, and you pointed that out to me. My response? Who are you? The police?


I am simply pointing out what the law is on the subject. If someone chooses to ignore it, that is their business. If I really thought it was a big deal I could just call the FTC hotline, right? I can assure you I have no interest in doing so.

I took the longgrass sticks to Zim in 2007. As I was about to take a nice impala and my PH was setting up the sticks the front leg came out I still managed to take the shot but both the PH and I were cursing. I've switched to the African Sporting Wood Creations and are taking them on my Zim 2011 trip. They're more exspensive but the screwed on leg feature makes it worth the money!