I guess here is the best place to ask....

I am building a set of shooting sticks using aluminium tube. The sticks are extendable. (one tube slides inside the other) When done I think I'll have something I can flog to some of the PH's around here. (Always looking for a better mousetrap)

Now, there is a little plastic gizmo out there that fits on top of the inner tube that allows you to "lock" the inner tube to the inner wall of the outer tube by a simple twist of the inner leg. It works using a camming effect. This way I can vary the height of the sticks from shooting at a sitting stance to standing.

Does anyone know what the gizmo is called so when I phone a hardware store they will know what I am talking about???

Better yet, does anyone know the brand name and maybe a website?

Thanx

Pete

Pete...try a photography shop. What you're describing is the way tripods work.

I bought a set like this the other day on ebay. Cost 15.00 delivered. Should be here in time to use them this weekend. I thought for the price of material and time to make them this was a good deal. I just did a search on shooting sticks. Of course it would be neat to make your own.

Pete,

I think T.Carr had an interesting post over on the African Forum doing this recently.

Joe

Hello Pete,

I tried two 10mm carbon fibre tubes and a piece of rubber band cut from a bicycle inner tube. Quick,very light and quiet.

However after a couple of hunts I decided that they were more trouble than they were worth - it always took too long to get them into position. Anyway, over the 52 years since shooting my first "game" I've always managed to find a bush, anthill, tree or something to use as a steady for the longer shots. So they are now gathering dust in the garage.

However I would just machine the nut with a internal taper and machine the external tube with a matching taper and then split it longitudinally in four places. Think of a collet chuck.

Check out the extruded section that they use for ladder rungs and see if they won't do for the nut. Have the tubes & nut hard anodised after manufacture - otherwise they will gall and seize up.

cheers edi

Collapsible trekking poles have those gizmos. The big manufacturer of them is an outfit in Germany or Austria, I believe the latter, called Komperdell. They might be a source if you can locate them.

Edited-they're from Austria.

[ 02-03-2003, 05:38: Message edited by: Bob338 ]

Thanks guys,

I made up my prototype yesterday, it works like a charm. I used pegs with holes in the two sliding sections to adjust the height. Works like a charm, but it will be much better if I can find the gizmos.

I checked Komperdell, they make the poles, I think they source the gizmos elsewhere.

Cheers

pete