Buy or build?
Al or wood?
How big a diameter?
Two or three sticks?

Thought about building them, but they were too long to fit in the tuff case. Ended up ordering a collapsible tripod from Stoney Point today.

ddunn,

For practice make yourself a bipod and tripod set from bamboo. Unless you know what kind your PH uses.

Shooting Sticks

Regards,

Terry

Depending on where you hunt, shooting sticks are very important....Your PH will have a set for you.

I really prefer two stick to three. Get some collapsable ones and practice with them...

I seriously wish I had done a lot more practice with mine.

ddun,

Your PH will almost certainly have one you can use.

I prefer a 2-stick over a 3-stick, others might do the opposite.

I found the third leg is nto so easy to locate in a hurry on uneven ground.

I am assuming stiffer sticks would be more accurate, but in Africa I should expect a good bit of wiggle. Right?

BTW, since several of you mentioned using the PH�s shooting sticks, I have to let you know and you�ll find this funny. Unless I win a raffle or the lottery, I am several years (10) away from going to Africa. I am currently living vicariously through others and practicing my skills.

ddunn,

In Africa, I have shot over both "home made" and commercial sticks. The bamboo sticks will give you a good feel for the a bit of give that some of the sticks have. In fact, the "softest" sticks I shot from in Africa were a pair of commercial sticks (segmented metal). Some of the "home made" variety can be quite firm. I think you will be surprised how stiff the bamboo sticks will be, especially if you select thicker bamboo poles.

Don't rely on shooting sticks to carry too much of the weight of the rifle. Think of using them just to steady your off-hand shooting. Make certain that you practice setting up the sticks to the proper height. The PH will set them up and you need to then adjust them. Avoid setting them too low, as this causes one to apply too much pressure to the sticks. You shouldn't have to bend over too much in order to shoot off of the sticks.

Regards,

Terry

I use an adjustable monopod that I bought from a camera store. The monopod fits all shooting positions from sitting to standing. I cut a 3" diameter pipe in half and added to the top along with a rubber pad so that the forearm of my rifle can rest on it. It also serves as a walking stick.

For prone position I use my backpack.

Cheers!

Danny Boy

I used a set of stoney collapsibe 39" on my Alaska hunt and they helped take a bull at over 450 yards, I initially tried to lay down for the shot but there was too many bushes and weeds in the way...I won't leave home without one!

ddunn,

I shot with a hand made rest in Ireland that was quite unique. It was made fron a tree branch with a limb that stuck out about 5 inches. After a bit of practice it was easy to adjust the height by leaning the bottom one way or the other. It was surpriseing how steady it was! I also liked the tri-pod sticks they used when I was in South Africa. I think the adjustable bi-pod that's sold here in the US would be an excellent choice. Try several diffrent ones and see which fits your shooting style the best.

hawkeye47

On my last trip the PH carried a pair of Stoney point collapsibles, they were 3 sections of one foot fiberglass attached together with a bungey. A tracker carried a 5 footer of bamboo.
Both worked real well. I was tempted to buy the Stoney Points, but the best deal I can find is $39, which is too much for a set of tent poles. I really liked them, as soon as time permits maybe I will cowboy engineer a set of my own.
The 5' bamboos were good in tall grass. There is a method to using both sets, set the feet of the sticks at a 30 degree angle or so forward from the rubber stock rests, & lean forward or backward to raise your point of aim.
When using the long set, rest the elbow of your trigger fingers arm on your partners shoulder. This will give you a rock steady shooting position.
Sticks are also nice to rest your binoculars on when glassing.
I thought about the hassle factor intitially, but they really helped my shooting.

I made mine (as I believe T. Carr spelled out) out of 2 bamboo gardening rods from Home Depot and using a vacuum belt to hold them together. I got the 6 foot ones and the only modifications I made were wrapping the top parts with leather to protect the wood on the rifle. I had never used them nefore so on my trial run, I grabbed my 7x57 No. 1 and set up a target about 125 yards away. First three shots were in less than two inches and I inc reased my heart rate by running to the target and back (to simulate being excited on a hunt) and the next three shots also fell within the same 2 inches. Needless to say I was impressed at the stability I could get from the sticks. Now I have made two pairs and have them for my friends to use locally. - Best, BAxter

For practicing at the range, I made a pair out of 5/8" dia. wooden rod with rubber caps on the foot end. For traveling, the legs can be cut in half and connected with a plastic pipe coupling. I like the three-leg configuration for added support & less movement.

rslus

T. Carr

My first trip to Africa was in 2000, and I had not heard of shooting sticks but I can see where they could be a big advantage. I am considering a set of the Stoney Point sticks, I am 5'10" what height would you recommend? I am preparing for a safari to Zimbabwe in 2004 for Buff, Leopard, Sable etc.

CFA

CFA,

Are you going to take the Stoney Points with you to ZIM?

Honestly, I don't know how to tell you what is the correct height for your shooting sticks.

You might try experimenting with different height bamboo sticks before purchasing the Stoney Points.

Regards,

Terry

CFA,

The rule of thumb is that to shoot from a stand position you need sticks that when full extended but the legs together come up around your eye level...a little higher is OK too...

Now you guys who like sticks to shoot off have to go the whole hog and carry them constantly while stalking ...carry your rifle slung and use the extended sticks to steady your binos which you now use for glassing every few steps ...for a number of reasons you will find this a very, very effective method of still hunting/stalking... Of course I am thinking more of deer stalking or possibly plains game here; not sure I would want to hunt with a slung rifle if there were toothy criters around!

Regards,

Pete

[ 10-21-2003, 12:56: Message edited by: Pete E ]

I've used the three-legged African bamboo shooting sticks with great success on several safaris. A well made-set of reasonably thick sticks, properly set up for the shot, gives the shooter a very stable platform.

Remember to put the forend of the rifle in the crotch of the sticks, not the barrel; then reach around the sticks and gently hold the foreend.

The Stoney Point telescoping bipods are also great tools for field shooting. I've bought 4 sets of their 25" - 62" three-piece, telescoping bipods so far, but can't seem to hold on to them.

Every time I take a pair on a hunt, either the PH, guide or another hunter tries them then wants to keep them. I left a pair with my PH in Africa last year and another pair with a fellow hunter in Spain this year! They carry easily by hand or in the belt pouch available for them and can be set up to accomodate any shooting position from sitting to offhand. The independent adjustment of the legs also makes it possible to set up a very stable shooting platform on uneven ground, something difficult to accomplish with fixed length tripods or bipods.

Just like my American Express Card; I never leave home without them!

Another answer to your question-
having access to local farms- i built my first shooting stick out of tobacco stakes [3/4 x 3/4]- just cut to size [it is up to you to determine what height you will need, sitting or standing]- leather lined and bolted together- used 3" #10 nail [head cut off] in the foot to hold in ground to steady

have made several sets for different hunting -still hunting to stalking

good hunting
whtailtaker

Just got back from a whitetail hunt where I tryed my new shooting sticks -built them yesterday out of greenwood poles and a piece of innertube from a bike. Just pulled the rubber over the poles and presto! They gave me a really steady aim and my son and I got an eight point buck.

Wonderful invention!

Check out Lowe's garden dept. They have got some 6 foot green rigid plastic plant poles that I am using with the vacum belts. poles are 2.50 ea

They are only 1/2 inch thick. They will not absorb water. We are having fun with them with the big bores. Capmed

I made a 3-legged set and find the 3rd leg hard to get set, especially on a hard surface. It also gets in the way up top -- if you try to bob it off then you have to pay attention to which way the whole contraption is facing.

Hey John-
I ran into the same problem with mine & felt like the wider I set the sticks the better off I was. All that and I never used a set of sticks in Africa.

In real hunting situations, the sticks are not always going to be positioned perfectly. The tracker or PH is going to throw up the sticks and you are going to have to quickly adjust them for height and stability.

Many times they are not going to be "rock solid" because of the terrain. So practice with them in less than stable set ups. Practice using the sticks just to steady your off-hand shot - not resting the full weight of the rifle on the sticks.

We were on a herd of buffalo grazing in some small scrub. I was set up on some tripod sticks for a long time watching the herd. Off to our left, another portion of the herd started moving directly towards us across a small clearing. Well, I had to rotate my position 90 degrees. That left me balancing the rifle on just one leg of the sticks with no time to make adjustments.

On Saeed's new video, there is a scene where the sticks are set up too high for him. Saeed just drops down below the "V" in the sticks and uses the side of the sticks to shoot from.

What did Mike Tyson say? "Everybody has a plan until they get hit". Sometimes, Africa can hit pretty hard. So you better be able to adjust and adapt.

Regards,

Terry

[ 11-11-2003, 07:11: Message edited by: T.Carr ]