I know that tall sticks have a real advantage in high brush and grass, but what is this trend I see toward short shooting sticks to use from a setting position? I have seen numerous hunting shows lately which use them. In my mind, they are simply something else to carry, hard to get set up sometimes, and quite frankly I have never found them to be as steady as a good sitting position. Half the time, they are being used incorrectly with the barrel resting on the sticks instead of the forearm. With a light barrel, this is a recipe for a bad hit.

As I grew up and learned to shoot, I quickly found that the setting position was the most stable and best position for shooting game, if the situation allowed. Prone is usually not practical and too restrictive when game moves. The setting position is quick, very stable and allows a lot of adjustment.

It seems like very few shooters now are ever trained in actual shooting. I don't know the number of hunters I have met who have never fired a rifle except off a bench rest. There are legions who will admit they have never fired while standing up. You should always use the best rest available, but you also need to be able to shoot from all the classic positions when time and conditions dictate.

Art S.,

I agree with you. The sitting possition is my favorite possition to shoot from. I disagree with you on the shooting sticks though. I use the stoney point sticks. They come together fast and work very well. It only takes a little practice to learn to use them properly.
They are not for every situation. Sometimes, all the time you got is to sit quickly and shoot.

Daryl

While I advocate the use of the marksmans sling for prone, sitting and kneeling I have just got a coyote hunting video where one of the shooters uses sticks.

They are two sticks held together with rubber or something that the rifles barrel, forend and carrying sling poke thru. This gaget is for sitting only and is slipped on and off the rifle only when you standup to walk or sit down.

I have never tried such a device but I have a Harris bipod that I don't use any more.

Such a device would free your hands to use a call and keep the rifle off of the wet ground. I may try one. It's not a bad idea at all.

Savage99:
For an intersting (and sometimes humorous) thread on making shooting sticks do a search on the AR African Hunting board w/shooting sticks as key words.

Standing shooting sticks are great and proper use will make standing nearly as accurate as sitting IMHO.

Following suggestions in above thread, I found the 6' fiberglass rods available in Kmart garden section with a -212 neoprene o-ring (available at most industrial bearing and some hardware stores) slipped down about 6-8" from top of sticks and wrapped around them 2 or 3 wraps worked great.
Total cost was about $2.10.

Other than making for steadier offhand shooting, shooting sticks allow the hunter to rest his rifle while waiting for the shot to present itself. Give them a try, you'll like 'em.

Regards,
hm

In use, the rifle forend just rests on the V formed by the sticks when you spread the bottoms....height is adjustable by varying width of spread.

[ 03-09-2003, 23:25: Message edited by: hm1996 ]

I really like my short Stoney Point sticks. I'd venture to say that nearly anyone can shoot better off of those than they can without.

Bi-pods work great, but I just don't like the way they feel attached to my rifle. Like having a trailer hitch on it or something.

I actually have tried them and didn't see any advantage, that's why I asked. I guess the one thing mentioned was that they give you a place to rest your rifle. That would be an advantage if, say, your were coyote hunting.

It just seems to me that they are not very stable unless you are in a sitting position to brace everything. If you are, you are already in a good steady position and don't need the sticks.

I will agree that the full height sticks are better than just standing, but they are of limited use where I do most of my hunting, and they are quite a bit to fool with and carry in heavily wooded areas.

I generally find myself hunting in thorns about waist deep. A sitting shot around here would be uncommon. I practice at the range shooting around the left or right side of one of the roof poles. In the woods, I'm likely to use a tree the same way.

I practice from sling supported positions as well, but not because I ever think a deer would use one of my chosen shooting lanes.

I carry my rifle in my hands in the woods and wouldn't know what to do with two or three six-foot bamboo poles or a bundle of rattly jointed metal sections.

H. C.

But I almost never see anyone shoot other than off bags or something resembling them. In my life, I have never seen another person practicing shooting from a sling supported position.

[ 03-10-2003, 06:26: Message edited by: HenryC470 ]

I made me some shooting sticks for coyote hunting and they allow me to keep my gun in the ready position while I am calling. It only cost me about $3. While they are not needed for every situation, for $3 I think if you use them one time, they pay for themselves. Mine can even be used in a standing position. Check out Varmit Al's webpage for instructions. Easy to follow and only took about 30 minutes, even wrapped mine in camo duct tape.

If I can't sit, grab a rest or kneel, then I take the shot off hand...I learned to shoot, so this is not normally a problem, it fact it is well known among my Safari companies to not let me use the sticks and to make me shoot off hand..I can't shoot very well with the bloody sticks for some reason. I know the procedure but it just does not work, and I don't need them anyway...they work well for most....

It is a very rare ocassion when one cannot find a suitable rest....A big stout PH makes a great rest.

I have an old set of Stoney Point sticks. They provide an option. I have shot over them, and find them a real plus. But I still prefer my day pack as a rest. This past fall I began using them to steady my binoculars, whild glassing. Was real easy to trade the binoculars for my .270.

Since I don't hunt in areas where I must stand for a shot longer than 75-100 yds., I've never used the tall sticks.
I much prefer the home made short, tripod style shooting sticks for prone. They are as steady as a bipod, far lighter and more compact. A day pack works for me, but is much tougher to come very close to either a bipod or the homemade tripod in steadiness.
My favorite is the shooting sling, particularly the Jeff Cooper CW sling. Fast, fumble proof, and light. It's only draw back is the mounts must be custom installed. Well worth it. E