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| One of Us |
Hi, I have been using home-made tripod shooting sticks fro about 3 years now and I will not take a shot at game without them. I have recently been considering investing in a Harris bipod and I was wondering how these compare to using the shooting sticks. The bipod seems liek it might be quicker and easier for sitting or pronse shots. Is this really so? I would appreciate some feedback from those who have used both. Thanks | ||
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| One of Us |
I srongly dislike the Harris bipod unless it is for lots of prone shooting (praire dogs, coyotes, etc). The main reason is that it is very unwieldy and difficult to carry with Sling, etc. Just always gets in the way. I like sticks and spread out they work for sitting as well. The rifle feels far more natural to me that way. There are some newer bipod type arrangements out there that are lighter and more nimble on the rifle. I think one of the brands is "snipepods". There may be others. Just my experience. To each his own. Larry York, SC | |||
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Thanks for the input BigBear. I also should have asked about benefits of two- vs thre--legged sticks. I have been using the three-leg configuration but I am starting to think that two legs may be a lot faster and not much less stable. When sitting, a two leg version could also be fairly simple to lower by extending the two legs forward and bringing the notch back towards oneself and the rifle. | |||
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Two leg version shooting stick work for my own hunting as well as guiding. Gerhard FFF Safaris Capture Your African Moments Hunting Outfitter (MP&LP) Proffesional Hunter (MP&LP) History guide Wildlife Photographer www.fffsafaris.co.za | |||
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There are not many places in Africa that one can shoot from either a sitting or prone position. That is why a shooting stick is better. | |||
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| One of Us |
True, not many. But the Free State is one where you need to crawl and keep low. | |||
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Try 2 legged shooting sticks, they are lighter and just as solid. You become the third leg. There is nothing wrong with a harris BI POD as long as you are shooting on a billiard table!! I have tried them many times, most recently on an antelope (pronghorn) hunt in Wyoming and the problem is that they are never high enough to get you above the brush. ALSO I have found that when shooting off a hard surface some rifles POI changes, I have NEVER seen this with shooting sticks. NRA Life DRSS Searcy 470 NE The poster formerly known as Uglystick | |||
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my preference is a bipod as its faster to set up , some with argue not quite as steady but i have had good success with them .. "The greatest threat to our wildlife is the thought that someone else will save it” www.facebook.com/ivancartersafrica www.ivancarterwca.org www.ivancarter.com ivan@ivancarter.com | |||
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| One of Us |
I have used bipods here and have been practicing with tripod for a upcoming hunt I agree with Ivan both work well tri is some what more stable. personaly I have learned to like the tri better | |||
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| One of Us |
Thanks all. I saw in some of Saeed's videos that the Vincents use two sticks which look to have been bolted together. Those seem to work pretty well. I may just have to copy them :-) There is also about an R1,100 difference in price between an Harris Bipod and DIY sticks which is something to consider. | |||
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| One of Us |
Drive out to the plots on the N4... At the Donkerhoek area there is a lot of young blue gum trees growing. Stop and look around and pick two trees that are the diameter you want. Cut them and remove the bark... Buy some camo duct tape and use it to cover the top half of the sticks. Do stop at and wheel and tire dealer and buy one inner tube. Cut the tube in strips about an inch wide and 10 inches long and use these strips to tie the sticks together.... There you have your own custom build pair of shooting sticks that works every time. Go to the range and practice shooting from your sticks and remember to take tire strips with you if you need to make any adjustments.... Easy and cheap... Gerhard FFF Safaris Capture Your African Moments Hunting Outfitter (MP&LP) Proffesional Hunter (MP&LP) History guide Wildlife Photographer www.fffsafaris.co.za | |||
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| One of Us |
If you set up to still-hunt an area with a the sitting height Harris-type bipod they are useful. However I also do this with my homemade tripod and rest on a leg. I have wrapped rubber tube at the right height for sitting on each leg. I made sticks from cane (from the nursery) and bicycle innertube. The cane is a bit flexible but still a good rest and very light. Anyway, IMO the bipods are great in a limited set of applications, other than that they can actually be a pain in the arse! I used one for coyote hunting in Canada this year and they are unbalanced when slung and the legs hook of stuff all the time, as well giving you little rnage of motion to move the rifle, especially when the bipod legs are in some brush etc. Just stay with 'sticks' IMO | |||
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Shooting sticks are the very best alternative. I have a number of Harris bipods that now sit, unattached, in my gun room, and are of no use to me. Only one rifle, a 22-250, is still adorned with a Harris bipod, and that's for varmint work. | |||
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| one of us |
There is nothing more accurate than a Harris bipod sitting model using a technique that I have described on AR many times. It is absolutely bench rest steady. But, to Saeed's point, it is amazing how rare it is to get a sitting shot in Africa. For Africa, go with the sticks. For the rest of the world, use a Harris bipod but keep it in your pack. For anything less than 300 yards shooting with a tight sling should suffice (if not, you need more practice). At ranges greater than 300, which are very rare to begin with, you will have time to fish the bipod out. I have carried a bipod on every African trip I have taken, but I can only recall shooting one animal, a blesbok, using it. | |||
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I have used a Bipod in the Free State for Blesbok and Springbok and will do so again. | |||
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I own both the short (prone) and long (sitting) Harris Bi-pods and they have greatly assisted me with many long range shots both here and in Africa. Granted, I usually shoot off "bi-pod" sticks but when they come into play, the long Harris has paid for itself many times over. My average shot is normal ranges: 50-150 yards but a fair number of my 200-300+ yard shots were made with the Harris. I recently purchased the Primos trigger tripod and will take it to Africa this spring. It is rock steady! A little heavy but I won't be the one carrying it. With a little practice, it was quick to set up and comes with an anchor strap (rubber) to hold your rifle in the yoke for those "wait till he steps clear" shots, especially those in the 250+ ranges. For those of us who practice long range varmint shooting, you know how important a stable platform is. True, not many places in Africa can offer a prone or sitting shot, but when attached to your rifle, at least you have the choice. LDK Gray Ghost Hunting Safaris http://grayghostsafaris.com Phone: 615-860-4333 Email: hunts@grayghostsafaris.com NRA Benefactor DSC Professional Member SCI Member RMEF Life Member NWTF Guardian Life Sponsor NAHC Life Member Rowland Ward - SCI Scorer Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt: http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262 Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142 Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007 http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007 16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more: http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409 Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311 Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#9261039941 10 days in the Stormberg Mountains http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322 Back in the Stormberg Mountains with friends: May-June 2017 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6001078232 "Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading" - Thomas Jefferson Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running...... "If you're being chased by a Lion, you don't have to be faster than the Lion, you just have to be faster than the person next to you." | |||
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