Last fall I made a set of African Shooting Sticks. I have just finished reading Terry Wieland's "Dangerous Game Rifles" (which I would highly recommend to all to read). In discussing shooting sticks, Terry described his favorite shooting sticks as very close to the ones that I had made previously. I have posted pictures of mine here. They were very easy to make. Three 6 foot long dowels purchased at Home Depot, with the top 8-10 inches wrapped with bicycle inner tube and the three dowels held together by a round vacuum belt. They can be positioned in any position you so desire, high, medium, low, or very low. They are very light and very stable. The tubing on the upper parts of the dowels easily proctects your rifle and gives you some "grip" for the gun and for your left hand (or right hand if you are left handed). The cost to make them was under $10. It took me about an hour to make them. The wrappings are done so that the end of the tubing is under the wrapping similar to what you would do in putting your wraps on a fly rod when attaching the guides. That keeps the tubing very tight and from coming off or undone. These sticks are great for practicing here at home and they are also very useful for hunting here if sticks are needed. I hope that this information is useful for some of you looking for some affordable and easy to use and assemble shooting sticks. Good hunting! [IMG]

I made mine out ot bamboo and had the third cut even with toe top of the band, it formed a V that way

You could cut the third stick as you suggested if you wanted to. You can also sharpen the bottom ends to stick readily in the ground as well. You could even linseed oil them or stain them if need be to darken them to your liking.

UEG, you're right, those are very nice. Why have you never offered to show those to me?!!

I have recently. Before that, well. . . you know the story.

Much prefer just two sticks used as a bipod design,; preferably the telescopic type so they can be used sitting or standing..

These tripods are ok if somebody else is there to set them up for you, but if hunting on your own I find them a touch too unwieldy...

Regards,

Pete

Pete, I don't necessarily disagree with you. But I think the purpose of these sticks is primarily to practice for the next trip to the Dark Continent. To get as close to African conditions as possible, it probably makes sense to practice from a tripod.

Btw, if one does not have time to set up either bi- or tri-pod, either can be used as a mono-pod, which still offers a lot more stability than off-hand shooting.

I agree with the other posters who suggested cutting off the one top, it is much easier to use with a simple V at the top of the sticks.

- mike

Mike,

I know where you are comming from, but I use double sticks for virtually all my deer stalking and that is probably the best practice you can get..

I remember when I first started using them; I banged them about, made lots of noise and generally made a right pigs ear!

Now I wouldn't be with out them...

Still it might be nice to have someone to set them up and place them ready for the shot, African style!

Regards,

Pete

Here is a set of takedown shooting sticks I made up.


6 - 3' - 5/8" hard wood dowls
1 - 2' - 1/2" ridged copper tubing(3 - 8")
3 - 5/8x1" rubber gromets
heavy rubber bands

Keith

quote:

Originally posted by Sniper:
I wonder how they would work if a person put the round pipe insulation over the ends? I would think the foam would make a nice cushioned area for the rifle to rest in.

Sounds like a good idea, Sniper.

The one problem I had with a set I had was the 5/8 dowel flexed a bit much. Might do them in a larger diameter (obviously heavier though)......

I wrapped my old ones with leather and they looked and worked good.

A question for Use Enough Gun:

What is the diameter of the dowelling you used?

A question for Use Enough Gun:

What did you use to secure the tubing to the dowels? Any special wrapping technique?

The dowels are 6' long, and are 3/4" dowels as purchased from Home Depot. They are quite light, by the way, but strong. The bicycle tube I purchased from Wal Mart and then cut into strips. The round vacuum belt I purchased from Wal Mart. The shooting sticks will easily support any of my rifles, dangerous game or otherwise, very firmly and very comfortably. As to the wrapping, I did so using a similar technique as that for wrapping guides on a fly rod. I tuck the end of the tubing under the wrap at the beginning of the wrap, and begin the wrap on a slight angle, lapping the next wrap in part over the last. At the end, I carefully insert the end of the wrap under two to three of the prior wraps. This may require you to stick a smooth narrow flat object under a couple of the wraps in order to lift it up enough to stick the final part under the wrapping. You need to make sure that you keep the wraps fairly tight. The tubing is very flexible and will adhere well to the sticks, almost like being glued. Good luck and good shooting!

Sitting here at the house with nothing to do so I thought I would head over to the local Lowe's and build a set of these sticks. Definitely an upgrade over the ones I built from hacked off tree limbs. Well I get to Lowe's and of course they do not have the dowel rods I need. I hate that place. The nearest Home Depot is 30 miles away. Maybe mine don't look so bad after all.

bamboo poles are much lighter then dowel rods. You can use a vacuum cleaner belt to tie them together with.