I have just ordered a Stoney Point shooting tripod and I plan to be using it at the range to (a) sight in my larger caliber rifles (b) shoot through my chronograph and (C) practice shooting from sticks so I will used to shooting a large bore rifle quickly from sticks when I finally get over to Africa. This may sound like a stupid question but is there but is there a suggested method when shooting from sticks? I have seen some guys place their hand on the forearm in front of the sticks, in back of the sticks and some guys just rest the off hand on the sticks and leave the muzzle free.

Dave

If you shoot a double, rest your hand on the sticks & hold your double. bolts, just do the same thing every time, being careful not to scratch your stock

Your gonna use your sticks to shoot thru your chronograph...yes you will...right thru the center of it. Better plan on purchasing a spare while your at it. This is not a good idea...use something a bit more steady to shoot thru the "screens" of the chrony. There is not much room for errors. I do agree that practice on the sticks will make you a lot more confident when there is an animal in the sights. Even with practice, I still had a hard time steadying my Encore handgun on them. The rifle was not nearly as bad though.

Here is how I shoot off of my sticks.


This way you stay in control of the rifle and are not tangled up with the sticks. Recoil is managed, the sticks stay put, and you are free to move as needed.

Keith

ps: Just wish that was MY DR, Rusty thanks again for letting me play with your TOYS.

quote:

Originally posted by Woodrow S:
Your gonna use your sticks to shoot thru your chronograph...yes you will...right thru the center of it. Better plan on purchasing a spare while your at it. This is not a good idea...use something a bit more steady to shoot thru the "screens" of the chrony. There is not much room for errors. I do agree that practice on the sticks will make you a lot more confident when there is an animal in the sights. Even with practice, I still had a hard time steadying my Encore handgun on them. The rifle was not nearly as bad though.

I've shot through the screens using sticks. It only takes a moment more to make sure all is aligned to not shoot your chronograph. Leave room, better to get a couple no reads than to go pick up pieces.

JPK

quote:

Originally posted by Hog Killer:
Here is how I shoot off of my sticks.

Um Hog Killer. Can you really hold that double down with that grip at the front? I think if I held my pipsqueak .458 like that it would kick up, over the sticks and down to the right.

My sticks look like those, only crossed closer to the top, with a pad over the shallow "V", and with a "target shooting elbow rest" for the right side, I'd not expect to hit a chrono. My mate even lets me shoot thru his (chrono) off hand.

Well, it is a cheap model.

I chronograph off sticks all the time, even with my ultra light 600 OK...

I don't know what size screens other chronos have but you would really have to pull a shot to hit the sky screens on an Oehler (sp)...

On hard kickers you have to hold the forearm down or you will lose controll of the rifle...

I hold behind the sticks...

On light kickers it is not as important, I squirrel hunt with a 22 and sticks and it really doesn’t matter how you hold them as long as it’s steady!

Matt V.

I don't use sticks! I practice shooting offhand!-Rob

Dave,
Like Rob, I also shoot offhand, mostly because I have never quit been able to shoot off the sticks and at any rate, the PHs that know me won't let me shoot off sticks. They make me shoot offhand so I won't wound anything..

That said, the accepted method to shoot off sticks is to lean into the sticks, and this seems to work for about 99% of the folks out there...Pierre van Tonder whom I book for always has his tracker carry the sticks for his hunters and they do very well from them.

I would, by all means, practice with the sticks and learn to shoot from them if you can..I would also suggest that everyone practice off hand every time you go shoot, it will pay off big time in your hunting career. I have had so many instances wherein I was able to shoot an animal that would have been long gone had I not taken a quick off hand shot and connected. You might even practice "point shooting" at 25 and 50 yards, you will be surprised how accurate you can get point shooting. I doubt that you need to take sticks to Africa, but check with your PH. Use your sticks for practice.

Practice makes perfect, but only good practice works in shooting, roping and chasing wimmen, or so I am told Well, two out of three ain't bad, I can shoot and rope.

In preparation for my African trip, I built a set of shooting sticks from which to practice. I used 3/4 dowel as per the suggestion of someone here on AR. I used a vacuum cleaner belt to hold them together, and inserted clear plastic tubing over the ends to protect my rifle's finish. I even stained them with Watco oil. They were rock solid, and I shot them by placing my hand, palm up, in the fork offered by the portion above the vacuum cleaner belt, and placing my gun's forearm in my open palm.

These sticks had one fatal flaw. They were far superior to anything I found in Africa. The sticks I actually hunted with were some sort of wobbly saplings held together by electrician's tape. In order to shoot them properly, I had to grip them firmly at the joint and force them into the ground. The resulting tension more or less made them rigid. Then I just flopped my gun on top of my clenched fist and whaled away. Surprizingly, they worked quite well once I got the feel of them.

The point of this interminable story is that I don't believe there is an accepted technique, as the most effective technique will depend on the construction of the sticks you get to use.

Still, practice with the sticks before you go will help you immeasurably. Just be prepared to modify your technique to adapt to local conditions once you get there.

Has anyone seen Tracks Across Africa this week?

The show is about PH Ivan Carter, but there is a segment with Boddington talking about recoil…

During the segment they show some hunter (face focused out) getting scoped when shooting off sticks…

He was not holding the forearm of the rifle...

That is definitely an example how not to do it…

Matt.