Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Best "cheat" for stability

I'm off for my first western hunt; antelope in Wyoming for this Nov.

Vast majority of time I shoot on a bench at the range so I've been making a concerted effort to practice for field type of positions like sitting. Tried some prone too. Found I'm not nearly as good a shot from field positions!

Been trying various cheats like a Primos trigger stick tripod and recently got the Caldwell Deadshot Fieldpod which I find is stupidly good but wonder how convenient it will me to setup in the field putting a stalk on a lope.

Guide was telling me they try to get most guys prone so I will practice that too but I did find I really do need to practice it as I found prone a bit ackward. Certainly not as stable as the fieldpod thing.

What have you guys found has worked for you ? Anyone use the Fieldpod out west or is if just too much of a pain?

I have had good success with a simple set of shooting sticks. They break down like tent poles with elastic running inside them. They are light and easy to carry and I wouldn't want to pack more than that. At some point you feel like you are dragging three fly rods around with about 40 yards of line behind you. I hate carrying too much schit.

Shooting off your pack is probably the best. But sometimes prone won't work. A lot of guys use bipods on their rifles but I don't like the way they balance. Just personal preference.

I usually use a bipod on my rifle when I hunt antelope.

Me too. For me, on uneven ground a tripod is a bit trickier to get set up quickly.

A bipod equals cheating for me, and I like to cheat...

Bipod or off the pack for me.

If you're crawling up on a target, just be slow, methodical, and keep your movements within your silhouette. You can get your bipod open without much fuss.

Harris bipod for antelope.

There's a good chance your outfitter will have one you could borrow if you don't feel like buying. Ask ahead of time.

November? There will be a lot of hornless, and one horned bucks running around that time of year...

Prone....learn it.

In sagebrush country, being able to shoot prone is unlikely. Bipods are usually too low as is shooting over a pack. I've done it a few times but usually you need to be at least sitting up. I've had the best luck using a single trekking pole. There are lots of ways you can set up using it to brace against your knee, grabbing it and a sagebrush branch for support, etc.

canoetrpr:

Prone works the best for me but it's not always possible because the grass/weeds are often too tall.

My rifle wears a bipod when hunting speed goats. Make sure that you try out the 'pod at the range to see how you fit the height. You need one that's right for your torso height. Sitting only works for me when using a bipod. Whenever possible, I try to use other stuff like my pack, a fence post, rock, etc., for additional stability.

Kneeling is the most difficult shooting position for me and I only use it when there's no other alternative.

Practice wrapping the sling around your arm to get additional stability.

KC

I like prone over a pack or use a bipod as a second choice.

Eric

Sticks or off my pack

I always install a Harris bipod on my rifle before going out on a day of hunting. It has helped me so often I can't count any more, even with relatively short shots at times. For times when you will need to be prone, or close to it, you will need a shorter unit- 6-9" or 9-13". For sitting shots, I like the 3 piece 13-27" unit for the adjustability and extra height for sitting positions. Sometimes for really long shots, I will put my back against a fence post and use the bipod for a really steady rest.

Pack works great also but none of these aids work if you don't practice with them to get the technique down and muscle memory and to see if they will affect your rifle's point of impact.

Bob

I have a monopod that doubles as a walking stick and adjusts quick an easy. Not as steady but handy and a useful for more than just the shot.

Most of my antelope hunting has been in the shortgrass prairies of Wyoming. There, I find the 9-13" Harris bipod to be near perfect.

I tend to favor a day pack with a shooting sling. In fact, with a soild sitting position, a properly adjusted shooting sling, and, perhaps a somewhat heavier rifle, my groups from sitting with a sling have equaled my prone over a pack groups at times.
Too bad nobody seems to use a shooting sling anymore.
As to bipods, I haven't even carried one in the field for many years now. Too hard to use when you need to shoot in a hurry and the animal gives you very little time to do it. E

And that's exactly why a bipod is so handy. Way easier to drop the pack before going into sneaky Indian mode.


Can't think of the last time I went hunting(open country) without a swivel 12-25" Harris.

I like the Primos shootin sticks for antelope. The sagebrush can be too high to shoot prone in Wyoming. As KC suggests, I also use a the sling wrap around the arm for more stability.

As others have said, I personally prefer:
1. Prone with a Harris bipod when height of brush allows
2. Bog Pod tripod, with my back up against something fairly
stout.
3. Not in regards to stability, but make good use of a quality
spotter.

I'm thinking I will give the bipod a try. Love that Caldwell Fieldpod but it's going to be a pain it seems to stalk with it and put the sucker together. I think I will keep it for my ground blind for crossbow / whitetail at home.

I've been thinking about a Rhodesian sling combo with a stick or bipod. I have the sling on its way. A bipod does seem to be convenient to get together quick.

I like the sitting position more than prone and don't think I will have enough time to get proficient in more than one or two positions. Guide does have a bipod but I want to get used to it at the range.

Which of the umpteen Harris models should I opt for? Two piece, three piece. Swivel or not? 12"+ I guess?

There was recently a thread on here about winning a LR comp in Utah, sorry I can't remember where I saw it. The poster showed photos of shooting from sitting w/ sticks and his elbows rested on a daypack on his lap. I thought that a very stable position and gave it a try w/ great results, consistently hitting a 6" paper plate at up to 300 yards. I am currently hunting wolves in Idaho and today had opportunities to not shoot a beautiful Pronghorn at 178 yards, a mousing coyote at 240 yards and the biggest badger I have ever seen at 60 yards. All on private land while traveling to and from my wolf areas. My range finder works and so does my GPS. I just have to find some thing I can shoot on public land. Oh yeah I love my Primos trigger sticks.

mike r

Quick adjust legs w/ a swivel and the locking thingy on the Harris. I like the length that allows sitting and prone for range and coyotes. I found myself using the Primos' trigger stick when I am walking a long way. I use the bipod version in the long size.

mike r

I'm a bipod fan. Either pivoting Harris style or another style (the name evades me) but it pivots on a main spring.

I think the last 7 antelope I shot were all prone and off a bipod. Most of my mule deer and several elk have been shot in a similar fashion.

The high bipods are almost uncomfortably high. The lower ones feel much better to me, but the grass and brush often makes it hard to get a clear shot.

I have shot quite a few and mostly with my left hand supporting the rifles while resting over:

-rocks.
-a jacket bunched up or laid over sage.
-My binoculars
-Wrapped in a tight sling from prone and sitting.
-My hat.

In short just about anything that gives me some stability from as close to prone as I could get under the circumstances.Since I practice most of my shooting at 200-400 yards this way after zeroing at 100 yards, it just sort of comes natural doing it this way.

I am not much for bipods as I don't like the things hanging off a rifle. I have lugged the shock corded shooting sticks around, but it seems that by the time I pull off a stalk and get ready to shoot something, there is a handier natural rest nearby to use.

I think you are correct assuming that Cauldwell Field Pod would be a royal PITA to use while hunting around on foot.

I like bipods too, but I have really taken a liking to this...



Tanner

Any more I almost never have a rifle in the truck or field with out a bipod..

Tanner, Packs are good. I forgot to mention those in running down the list.

If I did a lot of varmint hunting in the west, I would darn sure use a bipod, but for BG hunting I don't want one myself.

Decisions. Decisions. Trying to decide between the 12-25 and 9-13. I'd get them both but have to stop spending somewhere!

Is 12" far too high for prone?

I've tried them all and use the 9-13 more than the others. Unless you're taking a lot of sitting shots or shooting over tall grass I'd get the 9-13.

Eric

I've used just about everything mentioned above as a rest. A full day pack has always been the best option.

What I use depends on the situation. Tripods are much more stable than bipods. at least for me. Prone is almost never done as it tends to be too low but when it is I generally use my backpack as a rest. Don't believe I've ever taken a standing/freehand shot at antelope, much preferring to take a knee instead.

As mentioned, the collapsible shooting sticks work pretty well. YOu unfold them and get them ready prior to the final shooting scenario. I've shot a few antelope from prone. Usually there are terrain features one will use in the stalk which may allow prone shots. Also used sitting, fence posts, the door of the truck and whatever else was handy.

Best thing is to get close enough that you don't need a rest. Contrary to a lot of what is printed, not every antelope is shot at 400+yards. Most of mine have been less than 100....

My favorite cheats:

1- a big rock, provides both cover and support
2- pack for prone
3- internal frame pack in sitting position
4- two 7/16 wooden dowels wrapped with electrical tape and held together with a rubber band. Slide the rubber band up and down to easily change the height.

My biggest cheat is to shoot hundreds of rounds at varmints from field positions.

Sometimes off hand is your only option though......

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For off hand shooting I place my shooting stick against the top of my thigh and grab the other end at the forearm. This is the most stable off hand hold I've got.

Walking and shooting prairie dogs has improved my shooting. No doubt the biggest "cheat" is practice.

^^^^^

This.....

I also take 90% of my shots from sitting, elbows on inside or outside of knees as appropriate for where I am sitting....

Did some more thinking and I'm going to hold off on the bi-pod and try to get more practice time on my Bog-Pod / tripod.

No reason I should be getting the results I am getting on the Bog-Pod and I'm sure I can find a bit more of a stable position than I seem to be getting. Going to mess around with the idea of using a day pack for elbow/elbows and once I get my Rhodesian sling in that might help too with the Bog Pod.

Right now I'm only getting 60% of shots in the vitals of a deer shaped/sized target at 200m with it. 95% with the Caldwell Fieldpod

I'm sure I can improve the 60% to 90+% with some practise, sling, day pack. Worst case I lug the Caldwell Fieldpod with me and take the extra 30 seconds to set it up.

Nothing like practice I guess and I will have three weeks of more practice time before the trip so I'm sure I can get 3-4 range trips in.

I may not practice much prone any more. Figure I should use the time to do really well at one position.

canoetrpr I have not seen it mentioned but what rifle/scope/load combo are you shooting?

Oher. I'm w/you. I do like the Harris but they put a pound plus on your rifle to carry which can really add up on a long hike as well as over balancing the muzzle when carrying or slung.The rifle generally has a sling on it anyway. I've shot small bore and high power for about 50 years now and a shooting sling is the way to go. I have also shot off of sagebrush, left fist on the ground, hat, rocks, barbed wire fence, gloves, fanny pack and any thing else that is handy. Goats are generally not that spooky so inching around a bit for a rest isn't generally a problem. A shooting sling can be set (adjusted) for a good sitting position and also used for prone and kneeling at the same setting so no need to muck around w/it once set and all that needs to be done is to "assume the position" needed. Canoe GOOD LUCK-Muddy

Moody: Like Steve Martin said in "My Blue Heaven", "...I'm wit you"

We (my pal's wife) and I were on or way back to the ranch from town dropping off an elk and a couple of mule deer for processing. We were on what passes for a road in Wyoming,and two antelope bucks crossed in front of us at about 200 yards. One was a pretty 14-ish inch goat with nice mass and that black face. Joanne had a tag.

It was wide open and the goats saw the truck,ambled way out on the flat and there was nothing for us to hide behind or conceal a stalk....I grabbed the only thing for a rest I could...a down jacket in a tight stuff sack and we started walking, in the wide open,obliquely toward them but kind of angling away...if you know what I mean. No sense being coy about it...we were "made".

After awhile of angling on them we had closed the distance to about 400 yards(estimated, guesstimated and interpolated by me while looking through the 4X Leupold on my 270. This was the dreaded pre LRF days when we "guessed". Also pre bipod when we used field rests to kill stuff ).The goats were staring at us,broadside.

We flopped prone,Joanne chambered a cartridge,rested the rifle over the stuff sack; and I told her to hold a thin sliver of daylight over the bucks back and "kill him". She touched off, the buck sagged at the shot,danced a 10 yard circle and collapsed, heart shot.

This was made easy because Joanne often came to the range,could shoot a rifle,and had killed more game than most men I knew.She also knew how to shoot from improvised rests...with her behind the rifle,if it stood still, it was usually "dead".

Today I walked a bit in Idaho, about 6 miles. I didn't see 1 damn wolf, couldn't call in a coyote but I saw a buttload of Pronghorns on public land. I didn't have a tag. To amuse myself I would range and dryfire on the 'lopes. I could use prone off my pack once from a hilltop. The rest of the time, from 104 yards to 378 yards I would have had a decent shot off my trigger sticks from sitting or standing. This is not scientific but reflects my 50 years of hunting in the western U.S. It should be noted that I am not a great shooter but I am a wonderful ranger and dryfirer.

mike r

lvmiker: So, you spent the day "Counting Coup"....that's good practice, too!

Shooting sticks for me. Homemade, from long arrows.

I've used homemade sticks for years, made from fiberglas electric fence poles. They really work great, and are tall enough that I can use them in most situations. I do use bipods too, and they are obviously great but I find that in the fall often I can't use them due to high vegetation. Great in winter though.

I made the mistake of leaving my sticks at home this year, and of course ended up in a situation where I had to shoot offhand since no rest was handy. Would have been much easier with the sticks I'm sure.

Being able to shoot offhand is never a bad thing either. I have a friend who prides himself on his shooting ability, as long as he has a rest. Animals are pretty well safe if he doesn't have a rest, even the close ones.

Bob, I counted coup on a Badger I saw 2 days ago. He was easily the largest Badger in the world. He stuck his head up several times while I watched w/ rifle in hand. He was on a tiny strip of public land on the edge of a county dirt road so I couldn't shoot. At least I,m not yet a road hunter.

mike r

if prone is wobbly at all, you need a lot of learning... Prone beats sticks ANY day.

And this isn't a flame either, just a comment.

Over a pack I'm good to 1000 pretty easy if the weather is right. Bipod would be the same if I could trust it for repeatability, I just have not gotten that comfortable with one at longer ranges. But there is still time.

But toss a pack down and set the body and rifle up right, its like a benchrest.

I too like prone and find it the most stable of field positions. Except those damn bushes keep getting in the way.

mike r

prime fur could change all that.......

I was sorely tempted, I want a winter hat w/ a face on it.

mike r

I prefer prone, whenever I can do it, but often there is too much brush in the way. Sometimes, only off-hand will do. But a sitting rest often is doable. I got a Harris S-25C Bipod Sling Swivel Stud Mount 13-1/2" to 27" Black: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/22...ing-swivel-stud-mount-13-1-2-to-27-black

It allows me to shoot almost as tight of groups at the range that I can from a bench rest. The base swivels, so that it doesn't matter if the terrain is uneven right-to-left. And the bottoms of the legs have round knobs that tuck tightly against the barrel, like this:



Despite all of the negative "snagging" comments I hear about bipods, mine never have snagged on anything even in the roughest brushy terrain. I used them all the time in the military. You can pre-adjust the legs to the best length for a sitting rest and then just pull them down when you want to shoot. Mine is set up above so that it is the correct length for sitting, minus one click out. If the animal is within 150 yds or so, I'm likely not going to be using the bipod. If it is much further out, I have time to extend the legs and pull them down. JMO.

That ^

&

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE

The critique on not having enough practice is definitely right on. Ranges around here are really setup for bench rest shooting; wish we had a better setup for field positions but I can manage and frankly just need to spend more time at it. Better to know a month before the hunt than on the day of ;-)

I've only tried prone once last week and found it rather wobbly. Part of the problem may have been my pack just had zero padding. I'll set one up the next time which is better suited and give it a shot.

If there is one position that I will primarily concentrate on though is sitting from sticks. I'm already better at sitting from sticks than prone so I'm not going to sweat getting the prone right too much and work on sitting as I will be able to take a shot that could be taken prone sitting but not the other way around due to grass.

Actually there are a lot of opportunities during antelope hunts to shoot prone where sitting isn't an option. There have been numerous times where I've belly crawled over a ridge with nothing but a yucca plant or single sagebrush for concealment, then peeked around the cover and fired. Sometimes there wasn't even any intervening brush, just crawl until the rifle barrel clears the ridge, and fire.

The extra movement and increased silhouette to gain a sitting position has caused many an antelope hunter to be busted. Doubly so if they were crawling on hands and knees to begin with. If there's any possible chance those antelope will see you over the intervening concealment during a stalk, drag that belly through the cactus.

Depends on the rifle and conditions, but prone over a backpack, bipod, and sticks are what I use. I use sticks like these in the picture for almost all my hunting regardless of where I am. Can't imagine not having a good set of shooting sticks that can adjust from standing to sitting.





Bipods work too:

Purple power.....very nice!!!

Just trying to combat the head to toe camo, face painted crowd.

Here's a trick. If you're in tall cover using a bipod and have to shoot from a sitting position, take a length of webbing with two "D" rings sewn to one end, make it into a loop, and cinch it around the outside of your knees while sitting cross legged. This allows you to rest your elbows on the inside of your knees for support, and do so without having to hold everything steady with your muscles. You're totally relaxed and the strap mechanically holds your shooting position together. It's like a tight sling for your legs. It only takes a second two get set up, and makes the sitting position rock solid.

Rifle is a Cooper M52 Jackson Game 280AI. Scope is Swaro Z5 3.5--18x.

I'm thinking it might as well spring for a bipod too so I can play around with it.

Would you guys get a 9-13" or 12-25". Id like to be able to do prone with it.

I'd rock either stock. They turned out great. Have you posted the color combinations in the McSwirly/McFlame thread?

Canoe - I'd go with 9-13 unless you have a lot of tall grass.

Cheers,
Eric

Guess I can always revert to the sticks if the grass is too tall. Besides, guide said he tries to get most guys prone.

Go with the 9-13 or the 6-9 if the grass is really short. I've used the 9-13 for sage rat and rock chuck hunting and if you have to keep your head up in that position for long periods it can get pretty uncomfortable. The 6-9" eliminates 90% of this problem.

However, for a crawl and a shot at one animal, the 9-13 is just about ideal. With practice, you can shoot prone with a bipod about as well as off a bench, IMHO.

Bob

This reminds me if someone already didn't mention it, get yourself a pair of knee pads and some tough leather gloves for the "stalk."

I like a long day pack and stuff it with clothes I don't need so it gets the right consistency. If you use the right pack it'll have two different thicknesses (width and depth) to work with, and height too if you really need a tall rest.

Also, a light rear bag stuffed with plastic beads.

Good luck!

Hmmm. Never thought of knee pads or gloves.

I'd rather have elbow pads than gloves....

Where do ya get elbow pads? You a hockey player or something?

I thought of 'em a lot last year, as I was picking cactus out of my hands.