The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Shooting sticksGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| Shooting sticks | Login/Join |
One of Us |
Trying to get ready for a trip to Namibia in May and have started trying to shoot off of shooting sticks. Results have benn dismal to say the least. At 100 yards I'm shooting 3 to 4" groups off the sticks and at 200 yards I'm shooting 8" groups. It seems that I can't seem to get a solid rest and have a lot of horizontal swing. Is there some trick to using sticks? Or am I just trying to hard? From the bench my rifle shoots 1/2" groups at 100 and 1 1/2" at 200. | ||
|
One of Us |
are you using treble legs or double legs ...you may find treble legs are the way to go and the best are nice solid sticks , the aluminum ones that pack small are very unstable ... dont expect to be able or need to shoot like you do off the bench and remember that the heart lung area on most african plains game is at least 9 inches in diameter!! "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 | |||
|
One of Us |
Ditto what Ivan said: treble sticks are the only way to go if your not used to using sticks. Also, make sure the cradle has foam or rubber padding. You don't want anything slick like hard plastic or PVC. Another big help will be your rifle sling. I have one of the one's advertised on TV that is made of black rubber and retails for $29.95. It is the best sling I've ever owned. No slip on your shoulder when walking; conforms into a multitude of wearing options and makes an excellent brace when shooting off the sticks. Larry Potterfield of MidwayUSA demonstrated one of the best ways to wrap a sling around your arm the other day when shooting offhand. I don't remember which show I was watching but they are the sponsor. Good hunting, D. 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." | |||
|
| One of Us |
DD66, Not sure if you are sitting or standing. Shooting of off sticks while sitting will yield much better accuracy; however, you will not be able to make every shot while sitting. Here are a couple of thoughts. First, make sure that you are not resting the barrel of your rifle on the crotch of the sticks. You need to rest the forearm on the crotch. Second, make sure your base is stable. If you are sitting, move your left foot out from your behind (right handed shooters). Consider wrapping your right arm around a raised right knee. This "locks" the back end of your rifle in tight. Third if your rifle is equipped with a sling, use your left hand to anchor the sling to your shooting sticks by grabbing both of them together. Last, practice practice and more practice. If you can shoot MOA on a bench you should be able to shoot within two minutes of angle off of sticks. Good luck,, Doug | |||
|
| one of us |
If you are going to be using whatever sticks the PH will provide, find out now what he uses; 2 or 3 legs? I made up a 3 legged version from bamboo from the instructions provided on this forum by, I think, T. Carr. I worked my way out to 200 yards, shooting at an 8" paper plate. I felt quite confident when 3 of 3 shots hit it. Once I got to Namibia, things changed. My PH used a 2 legged store-bought, collapsible version that was kind of 'springy' compared to the very rigid bamboo. Also, without that third leg, they tended to move fore and aft, thus moving the crosshairs up and down. Needless to say, I got a crash course of on-the-job-training in their use. Luckily everything worked out for the best. So my recommendation would be to practice off of 2 legged sticks unless you know your PH will be providing 3 legged ones. If you can master 2 legs, 3 legs will be almost like shooting off a big, sturdy tree limb. | |||
|
One of Us |
7 trips to Africa-never seen any shooting sticks that didn't have three legs and the top was usually wrapped in a flat piece of truck tire inner tube for a cushion---------jerry Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… To quote a former AND CURRENT Trumpiteer - DUMP TRUMP | |||
|
one of us |
Remember that most of African shooting is relatively close (100 yds or less) and the heart/lung area of most animals is going to be more than 3-4 inches dia so take the above advice and keep practicing. If you are not comfortable with a shot, your PH will get you closer. Have gun- Will travel The value of a trophy is computed directly in terms of personal investment in its acquisition. Robert Ruark | |||
|
| one of us |
You have to stand more "face on" to the target than you do from an ordinary offhand position. Indy Life is short. Hunt hard. | |||
|
| One of Us |
| |||
|
| One of Us |
Well I am going to start my practice with the sticks in the next few weeks as I am also going to Namibia in May. I leave on SAA from Dulles to Johannesburg to Windhoek on 13 May arriving on 14 May. When where and what flight are you own? | |||
|
| One of Us |
The answer to few of the questions above is... Yes I am shooting with a 3 leg set of collapsible aluminum sticks from the standing position. Have not tried to incorporate a sling into the set up. I'll give this a try. I'm standing as if I was shooting off hand. I will try standing more face on to the target. Hopefully this will settle the horozontal movement down. I reload, so practice is not a problem. Today I shot 50 rounds from the bench, off hand, and from the sticks. Will do the same on Thursday shooting only from the sticks. Maybe I'll get it right one of these days. | |||
|
| One of Us |
I leave on May the 16th out of Atlanta to Frankfurt and then Air namibia to Windhoek. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Here is a picture of the sticks my PH uses. Hell now I'm really confused. This thing looks to me like a modified bipod.  | |||
|
| One of Us |
When I was getting ready for Namibia in 2005, my wife bought me a set of Polecats expedition bipods. At first, all of my shots were low and to the left. I found that I was bearing down on the bipods instead of resting the rifle on the sticks and grasping the rifle firmly with my hand. This corrected my problem and I collected five animals. Hope this helps! John | |||
|
| one of us |
I find standing cross sticks a pain. And three legs are the worst because they are generally going to be too high, too low or just plain not right. But find out what your PH plans to use. I shoot a heck of a lot off of sticks, but mostly sitting. In Africa, there is something about not doing that - do it anyway. At least when the opportunity presents itself. Shooting sitting from sticks is a whole 'nother ball game. Brent When there is lead in the air, there is hope in my heart -- MWH ~1996 | |||
|
One of Us |
DD, I have found shooting off sticks... 1. My wrist is in the cradle of the sticks and not the rifle. 2. I push down with my wrist and at the same time a forward pushing of my body towards the sticks..Sort of torqueing a spring...This way everything is tight.. 3. 3 inches at a 100yds whatever you are shooting at is dead... 8 inches is dead also..If you need a better rest get on the ground... Your practice will pay off... Have a great time... Mike | |||
|
| Administrator |
You will NEVER shoot as well off the shooting sticks as you do off the bench. And under hunting conditions, 3-4" in groups are very good. You will have to make a dicision of whether to take some shots off the sticks, or pass on them. As sticks are not really stable enough to shoot at long range, or small targets. Also, you have to remember that you might be breathing relatively hard after your stalk, and need to shoot rather fast before the animal takes off again. Personally, I prefer 2 legged sticks on a hunt, as they are much easier to set up on uneven ground than 3 legged ones. On some occasions, I have used the sticks together - as just ONE stick on the ground, as there was no place to put the two legs on the rock I was standing on, and just had the rifle on the side of the closed sticks. | |||
|
one of us |
Devildawg, My PH used a trio of sticks made from the heart of mopane wood. (Very hard wood that is also light). They were ALOT more steady than my bamboo tripod sticks. I started shooting off the home made sticks (bamboo) with a 22 rimfire and experimented with technique. Then graduated to my 450 Dakota. You are shooting great off bench and pretty darn good for bamboo sticks! I ended up placing my rifles forearm on the sticks and left hand ahead of them grasping the forend and hooking my thumb onto one of the three top most poles so it all hang together during recoil. Sounds unsteady but it worked, especially with my PH's sticks. Retreevers method also worked for me but with the 450 I lost grasp of the sticks in recoil. Probably not a problem if your tracker is holding onto them! Andy | |||
|
| one of us |
Throw the sticks away and discover the pleasures of the art of shooting! Make a pledge to yourself and say that from this day on you will never fire another round aside from the stand up offhand position. | |||
|
| Administrator |
You might be so good with your off hand shooting that you shoot better than me with a rest. But, one HAS to shoot off hand sometimes - especially at a moving animal. But,one should ALWAYS, ALWAYS use a rest whenever one is available. If none is at hand, the shooting sticks are preferable to off hand shooting. | |||
|
| one of us |
If your going to use sticks I think you should practice with them as they may cause more harm than good if you are not used to them. Saeed,I doubt that I can shoot as well as you but I believe in shooting offhand all the time and resting the rifle on something that is readily available and that will not move. | |||
|
One of Us |
Rarely do people get the correct instruction on how to shoot off sticks. In Southern Africa they recommend, as you see in the photo above, to rest your forearm on one of the sticks. In the photograph the position of the rifle is nothing like how I use them as the rifle is cradled under the floorplate whereas I position my rifle on the cradle approximately under the rear sight. But the point is to rest your forearm on one of the sticks for better stability. _________________________________ AR, where the hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history become the nattering nabobs of negativisim. | |||
|
one of us |
D66, I have one set like that and I believe those sticks are the best you can ever find. Take a look at this site and see how the sticks are supposed to be used: shooting sticks B.Martins  What every gun needs, apart from calibre, is a good shot and hunter behind it. - José Pardal | |||
|
| One of Us |
3 things in offhand shooting come to mind. 1st is breath control, 2nd is concentration on the sight picture, with a scope this means concentrate on the crosshairs, not on the animal. if you're concentrating on the target you will find that you will shoot circles around the target, without ever hitting the center. #3 is trigger squeeze. In other words practice on basic offhand rifle shooting, then shooting off sticks will steady your position. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Listen to Saeed. You will improve with practice. Your groups aren't bad for sticks. "shoot quick but take your time" | |||
|
| one of us |
I asked my PH for an upcoming hunt what type sticks he uses and they are bipod. There's no doubt, at least for me, that tripod are steadier and I have more confidence with them. Has anyone taken their own sticks to Africa or do you just show up and use whatever's available and deal with it? | |||
|
| One of Us |
Wyattd, I took my own last year and will always do so in the future. I don't want to practice with one set for months then show up for the actual hunt and have a completely different set up. ____________________________________________ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett. | |||
|
| one of us |
My PH didn't carry a gun. But he used the bipod sticks like a blind man uses his white cane. Sweeping away thorn bushes, pointing to where he saw game through his 20X Ziess binos, tapping on the roof of the bakke to signal the driver, etc. I could have taken my own, I suppose. But one of the boys would have ended up carrying them. And in the heat of the moment, I'm sure the PH's sticks would have ended up in front of me to shoot from. If I can convert from 3 legged to 2 legged, anyone can. | |||
|
| One of Us |
shootaway: You have exactly expressed my sentiments! I made only one trip to Africa (for buff) and I was 63 at the time - but a lifetime of hunting where I had to shoot very quickly (like at a white tail deer in deep brush) or also to lie down and shoot at a woodchuck at near 400 yards (using a 220 Swift) or where I had learned since age 8 to stand on my hind legs and shoot a rifle -had accustomed me to handling a rifle without aids. (I practiced for over 6 months before I saw Africa with a 375 H&H using 300 gr. loads offhand so that I could put my shots offhand within a 5" plate at 50 yards. I can understand some people using sticks for long shots at plains game (200 yards+) but not otherwise. I heard from several PHs that the biggest problem they had with clients was failing to set up quickly and shoot. You don't have that problem with deer up there in Quebec, do you?  Shooting sticks just seem like somebody helping a lazy trigger puller (as we used to say about people who were not shooters) | |||
|
One of Us |
I have shot close to 50 animals in Africa alone, not counting all of the North American Game that I have shot over the last 45 years. If given the choice to use shooting sticks or not, I would certainly use the sticks. I have used homemade sticks as well as the Stoney Point Bi-pod and Tri-pods. I have shot close to half of my African animals off-hand, so I am no stranger to either off-hand shooting or to using the sticks. If you have time to quickly set up and use the sticks I would highly recommend doing so as your shot will be steadier and better. Having said that, you should practice well for shooting without sticks since you do not have the luxury of using sticks all of the time. Some of my shots off-hand were running shots as well, and those shots present their own challenges. A tri-pod set is more steady that the bi-pod configuration. The key to good steady shots is in cradling the rifle in the crotch of the sticks and also placing your non-trigger hand on the sticks in the same area, and while doing so steadying the sticks and the gun in the crotch. If you do so, you will have an absolute dead rest. Face on to the sticks with your two feet spread apart and the rest should be history. Make sure that the rifle barrel is not resting in the crotch. It should be the forearm of the stock. I also try and put the sling in the crotch laying flat underneath the forearm if I have the time to do so. It helps in resting the rifle. | |||
|
| One of Us |
I went on my first safari this past September in Zimbabwe. Like you I really didn't know what to expect in the way of using shooting sticks. I practiced as much as possible before the hunt and .....no worries. My PH had bi-pod style wooden sticks wrapped in inner tube rubber on top. I found them to be very stable, easy to set up and use. I took 25 animals in 15 days of hunting (counting bait Impalas). All except my Buffalo were taken with 1 shot. Ranges varied from 20yds to 250yds. Just practice like crazy before you go and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. | |||
|
| one of us |
gerrys375,I agree with you that one feels the importance of being able to shoot offhand after hunting in the field over the years.I've hunted small game and deer and all shooting was offhand.While hunting caribou there were times when kneeling and prone shooting was not possible.Also when caribou were hard to find there would be more than one hunter shooting at a caribou.When I hunt with others it becomes a competitive thing,not from my part but others.I once told my father on our first caribou hunt,that I prefered to each shoot our individual caribou as I did not want anyone shooting at the one I was aiming at.He told me to go to hell and that there are no rules.He got a rifle with a detachable magazine so he could load faster than I and get first shot at a trophy.Being competitive my self I would practice loading and shooting offhand to increase my chances.I have come to consider shooting offhand just as self satisfying as shooting game with your own reloads.It is also a motivating force in staying in shape.Shooting accurately offhand at distances out to 300yds is not a very difficult thing once you get started practicing.Lazy trigger puller or someone who has learned to ride a bike with training wheels and then never took them off. | |||
|
| Powered by Social Strata |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
Visit our on-line store for AR Memorabilia
| View $GS_USERNAME's Public Profile |
| Add $GS_USERNAME to my Buddies |
| Add $GS_USERNAME to my Ignore List |
| Invite $GS_USERNAME to a Private Topic |
| View Recent Posts by $GS_USERNAME |
| Notify me of New Posts by $GS_USERNAME |
