Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Hiking stick / staff ideas

When I used to trap I always carried an oak Staff to help me walk / cross snowy creeks and dispatch things that needed dispatching.

I went mushroom hunting with a trekking pole and it didn’t feel right so now I’m thinking - hey a walking staff / stick whatnot would be great to take with me - not to mention how handy they can come in if I run into something that needs a conk on the head…

Wish someone made good walking staffs… I need to find an oak one again… but I’m not skilled at making such shenanigans

If you have beech trees there, they make the perfect walking stick. Cut a sapling about 6' long, leave the bark on. Should probably put wax on all the exposed end grain, and just bring it in the house with you. It should dry with very minimal end checking. The bark is smooth, and stays tight on the wood, and makes for a very nice gripping surface.

The one I've been using, I didn't wax the ends or anything. I just cut it and started using it right away there in the woods. It has been my hiking companion for probably over 20 years now.

I am not fond of weight, but I use a staff all the time, particularly in the spring, snow bridges, high creek crossings etc. My favorite is Western Spruce (think the Spruce Goose) but hard to find or.... a well seasoned Saguaro cactus rib. Ask the Arizona guys, feather light, very strong...none of my suggestions make for a good weapon, too light for that..I use about a 6 to 7 ft staff, you don't need a staff to hit you in the face or throat if you have a wreck.

I use a 5 foot Ash staff that I made years ago. Got the wood free from a cabinet shop. It has a stainless screw in the tip that I shaped into a little spike. I carry it in the truck at all times, and use it hiking.

A Savage 99

I have hiking/backcountry ski poles, extendables. Leki is one of them brand-wise. I just won't go on any kind of a "hike" of any duration without them.
I suppose a good staff is "adjustable" in terms of height by changing your grip, but I really like having TWO, meaning both arms are available to assist. You can really churn uphill in a ski gait (with practice), even on those long diagonals. Downhill? Gosh, how I ever managed before without them, I dunno.
And, while I haven't quite figured out perfection, poles make a pretty good bipod (gun and/or camera) where it's otherwise impossible to get comfy for a shot. I've used velcro and straps, surgical tubing, not perfect yet and maybe not ever, but always better than nothing or a single stick, even a single leaned against a tree or rock or fencepost.

Pert near any staff of wood will work fine. Use what you gots handy, I had a ton of bitternut hickory in the area years ago when the family still owned the woods on the farm. Wish I had saved some staves!

Find a beaver dam and pick one.

I like to use a young hickory.
I had one that I made out of sassafras that I used for a few years but I like the hickory ones better.

It's a Shillelagh, not a shenanigan.

I use a shooting monopod. I also have a binocular mount for it.

I have a 6.5’ Hickory I use. It’s coated with 3 coats of boiled Linseed oil to preserve the bark. I need a metal cap on the end that will secure a spearhead I got from Buck knives.

While I have a Michigan Cedar hiking staff my father bought for me years ago, I usually use Cross Country ski poles for hiking. My latest set is carbon fiber and very light! I had several sets of regular ski poles that I had bought at yardsales and just cut the rings off the bottom, however I left them at the old house during a recent move.

Good luck!


Frog---OUT!

As others have said, ski poles.
$5.00/pair at the local thrift shop.
They were glossy white, so they got a camo spray paint job.

Did something to my knee, the left one this time. Not sure what, maybe dragging out my last deer. Anyway, one stick wasn’t really getting it done on uneven ground, so I hit the buy button on these:

https://www.amazon.com/TrailBuddy-Walking-Poles-Collapsible-Lightweight/dp/B01N1L8SKX/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3OV2GPZ3X8AI8&keywords=trail%2Bbuddy%2Btrekking%2Bpoles&qid=1684320968&sprefix=Trail%2Bbuddy%2Caps%2C289&sr=8-1-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzODlQRU45N1RKSUlXJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjM4MzI0MTc0QkNINDMxNUJBRiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzU1Mzg2M0NJVVhTRVdPVTJGWCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1

Aluminum, which is supposed to be tougher, if not “stronger” than carbon, and cheaper. Have them taped up now for turkey hunting. These are keeping me upright pretty well. Two are better than one, though I’m mostly carrying a pistol for my turkey at present to lighten the load.

Around the yard I use sticks I cut from a Kieffer pear tree every couple or three years. That is some strong wood. I cut them about chest height, which gives me a bit more on slopes. I’ve tried breaking them against trees etc, and they don’t even flinch. They grow with a natural curve which serves as a handle. Would not want to be whacked with even a small one.

I use a Diamond Willow hiking stick Made by a fellow Viet Nam Veteran. He makes them for the Vets he meets at the Billings VA.

I bought a hickory hoe handle at the hardware store. Put a loop of cord through the hole at the top end, and a rubber cane tip on the bottom. I wound about three feet of heavy copper wire around the bottom end to serve as a pot holder or whatever, and then drilled and glued a short piece of dowel to stick out about 1.5" near the bottom to serve as a "grabber/puller" to reach stuff.

It's a hiking staff, a floating boat hook, a dog discourager, and a better than nothing weapon.

Hickory is a great weapon/tool. I have an old railroad "hickey" that was gifted to me, much abused, much used back in the day. But it is so strong, so solid it literally "rings" when tapped.

Yucca stalk.