Do scope shades help much and what determines the length one needs for a shade?Will they hinder light gathering in early morning and late afternoon?Are they best in mid day,high sun?Any down sides to having one? Are they a must for varmints in fields?Also are bipods recommened that much?Any favorite,what about cross sticks?Are they just as good?

blackbearhunter,
I have the same questions that you do regarding the scope shades. I used to use a bipod but I have gone to shooting sticks. The shooting sticks aren't as sturdy but I can get shots of quicker with sticks because I don't have to adjust the bipod. With some practice you can definitly make very accurate shots off the sticks. My longest lasered shot of sticks with my Rem. 204 was 627yds. I have had plenty of practice as I have been using stoney point stix for about 4 years to shoot coyotes and varmints.slygunner

Sorry, can't help on the sun shades much. I have used them on occasion when shooting p-dogs. As far as a bipod goes I would not be without one when shooting for an extended period of time in one place; be it "dogs" or paper. I even have one for my walking rifle as well, just my personal preference. I shoot with guys who use the cross sticks for their walking rifles that seem to have no problem at all.

Well, you have posted a many faceted question here.

For starters, I only use sun shades on my high power varmint scopes. That is, on 6.5 X 20 Leupolds. I find them to be a very nice option in bright sunlight. I have used them extensively from California to South Dakota.

Having said that, my dad does not use them at all and seems to do just fine.

An unexpected advantage to a sun shade is that in a light rain it will keep the rain drops off your scope as well.

Frankly, I have them on all my high power scopes and never take them off. For my scopes of 14 power or less I just do not bother.

In regards to the bipods, I just will about not hunt varmints without one. I use Harris bipods on most all my varmint hunts and especially like the swivel models.

As much as I like the bipods, for big game hunting I tend to use the shooting sticks more. There are big game hunting situations where the bipod just will not work.

In some big game situations the hills are just too steep or the grass and or brush too high to be able to utilize a bipod.

Just last month I went to New Mexico to hunt antelope. It was unusual, but it had rained every day there for months. To try to use a bipod in that high grass was useless. We all took shooting sticks and it worked out great.

The shooting sticks are NOT as steady as a bipod but they are a BIG advantage versus shooting offhand, etc..

I once dropped a wild hog that someone else had wounded at better than 500 yards using the shooting sticks, they work!
But for serious varminting with all the time in the world to get set up for the shot, nothing beats a bipod.

I guess my recommendation would be to get some sun shades if you think you need them and get a bipod or two and some shooting sticks for sure!

R F

Bipod. I have one on all the time when I am hunting west of the big river. They don't work in all situations but then nothing does.
I have a 4" shade on my high powered (6x24- 8x32) varmint scopes. It lets you shoot more toward the sun later in the day. At that high a power, the shade doesn't seem to interfere with the light gathering ability of the scopes.

Blackbearhunter: I have a bunch of sunshades for my scopes. I have different makes and models from 2" long to 6" long. I buy them only when the price is real right anymore. Like for a couple of bucks. If you do not have one though go ahead and get one. They are useful and worth having in my opinion. Lense protection being just one auxillary reason to have one.

Now I am not your average Colony Varminter! I usually sleep in my VarmintMobile and am up by sunrise (no motels and long breakfasts in town for me!) - I really enjoy Varminting both very early and very late in the day. Early and late in the day means low sun and that is when sunshades are most useful! Again I must make reference to my commitment to Varminting. When planning the next days Hunt (or that afternoons) I try and approach the Varminting situation with the lowering or rising sun at my back! This is not always possible though and again this is where the sunshades really earn their keep. My longer sunshades will protect the sight picture from being "washed out" or "blown out" by sunlight in all but the most direct aiming toward the low sun. I saw a 2" Leupold sunshade at the Wisdom, Montana Gunshow in August for $5.00. I would have jumped on it but I have about 7 or 8 of this length already. I leave some sunshades on certain Rifles and have others available to tag along with me when needed. I would opt for one of the longer ones though if interested in having just one.

I use bi-pods a lot for Coyote, Fox and Bobcat Hunting as well as on occassion in the Colony Varmint fields but nothing beats a tri-pod for steadiness and quickness of implementation in Colony Varmint situations. They are faster to set up and steadier than bi-pods and I prefer them for my walkabouts in Colony Varmint fields.

I also on occassion use cross sticks but prefer tri-pods or bi-pods for steadiness. Tri-pods also impart less differing stress's on your Rifle than a tri-pod in that the Rifle when used over a tri-pod sits in a contoured sand bag and has a more uniform shot to shot ability to rest and recoil. In my experience shooting over tri-pods gives me higher percentages in kill shots than over a bi-pod. Try one of these tri-pods also and I am sure you will like them.

Good luck.

Hold into the wind

VarmintGuy