Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Who here uses shooting sticks?

I use them when handgun hunting.I practice offhand shooting as much as i can for rifle hunting.

You get it . Being from oregon, you know where the deschutes canyons are so you know what I'm getting at. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to get a picture perfect shot like calvin posted. A guy could shoot a long way with no brush in the way. I'll likely be sitting in the brush with the rattlers waiting for some unsuspecting mulie to come walking down one of the fingers about 500 yds or more away. I don't usually hunt this way, but decided to try for this tag and these are the tactics for this area, like it or not.

As a general rule of thumb, I don't put the binos to my face until I'm in a spot where I can lay across my pack to get solid and take a shot at whatever I spot that is within my comfort zone. If you put yourself in any other position, you are just setting yourself up for a miss.

That area looks open in the picture, but I can assure you it wasn't. I was in one of two spots on that hillside where I could lay down like that and shoot off a pack, and it was no accident that I happened to be in that spot. (grin)

Also, what you don't see in that picture was the 10 times I crawled over that grass knocking down stray pieces, to provide myself a shooting lane. That in itself was a chore.

I mostly use a pack or sling, or available vegetation (sage brush,small tree, whatever......bipods attached to a rifle drive me nuts,and collapsable sticks always seem to be in my pack when I need them most unless I am in one position for a long time.

I hate carrying extra "stuff"

A tight sling,from sit or prone, is about as steady for me as the sticks,out to 300 yards or so.

Never go hunting without my SP shooting sticks. Even at close range it never hurts to be steadier. They weigh nothing and fold up nicely taking up little room in my pack.

I have... but only once... but they really came in handy

If you are planning on using sticks, my advice would be to shoot some groups off sticks at the range. You'll find your groups grow about 3 to 4x in size, when off stick, compared to shooting off a pack.

I use a stick mostly when sitting in a tree stand that has no rest for a rifle. On one of my first out of state deer hunts the outfitter put me in such a stand over a large field. The far side of the field was 200-450 yds away. Technically a shot I could have made with a really good rest.

I saw something like 100 deer the first night, which happens to be the same number of deer I might see in 5 seasons back in NY. But none closer than about 200yds and off hand at 200+ yds is a shot I am not going to be taking.

Been back there a couple of times ( same stand even) and I can shoot across that field no problem now.

Yep, sticks especially the folding kind are dandy and take up little room. I happen to use a Snipepod, which is kind of a version of sticks and a bipod. If you are new to using sticks or a bipod, do yourself a favor and practice shooting targets or varmints with them. Shooting off a pack is more stable, but that isn't always an option in the areas I hunt due to grass, brush, whatever. Being up in the sitting position gets me above that stuff and the support makes a semi-difficult shot a slam dunk.

I use sticks or a mono pod when calling coyotes but not usually when deer hunting.

I carry treking poles and use them all the time. Like Huntsman showed, the biggest trick to stability is locking up your elbows. I like to lean back against a rock or tree and can hold about 2moa. Without the backrest Im not near as steady.

Another way of getting more stability for the elbow is a kneeling position with the knees reversed. Most are taught the support knee is up with the supporting elbow on top. With sticks switch your knees, put your strong knee forward and let your strong side elbow go on top of that with bone to bone contact.

I use telescopic sticks for all my deer stalking and they are a huge help especially on our small Muntjac.



But sticks are not just for shooting off..If you can accept carrying your rifle on the shoulder, tall sticks are great for steadying your bino's...The idea that instead of snap shooting deer that are high tailing to the next county, you are spotting deer before they are aware of you...Doesn't always work, but generally the more I use my bino's the better my success rate becomes...

I like that prone setup too, but rolling sagebrush and shinnery country is 3-4 ft tall......no chance for prone, ever in that stuff.

Anything that helps steady up the rifle is good, with all the usual caveats of positions posible and favorable to the situation, etc.

Mostly I carry a 6' home-made birch walking staff with a padded fork at the top, and have used it several times from the standing position when other options were out. No doubt a "bipod" arrangement would be superior, and a "tripod" one even better - in fact, I have used my spotting scope tripod for a shot, once, after taking the spotting scope off.

If a hunting partner is handy and has a similar walking staff , you've got your sticks. Never quite seems to work out that way for me, tho.... I've not carried "sticks" otherwise, but can see their value. At longer ranges, I usually have the option of a sitting or prone position for the hunting I do, a rock, or a tree, or short-range off-hand, and that staff is more valuable to me as a stout walking/balance aid. I'm not about to carry two, or a folding/telescoping second set in my pack, tho. Compromises....

YMMV

After years of bipods I decided to try sticks and a mono pod this year. Couldn't get used to them even with practice and found myself accidently leaving them at a couple stands this year. While I don't like the weight of bipods they're still me first pick. But then again, I decided to really work on my off hand and field position shooting this year and hope to leave em all behind.

CB

I use shooting stick for most of my calling and i also use them if i'm on a ground stand for deer.

This year was the first year I had tall sticks/bipod. They got used on two antelope hunts and three days of elk hunting. As you state, they were great for steadying the binos.

Alot of good info here guys. Thanks for your coments, very much appreciated.

I use the Bog-pod but I have the marked leg set, with the bottom leg closed up so that it is set for sitting using the padded part of the leg for a rest and for kneeling I use the top cradel. If I need a standing shot the bottom legs are adjusted out to the end marker. I carry them with the sit-kneel leg set and made a 3/4 in leather sling that I tied to the top of the main leg under the swivel base with kangaroo hide lacing and the top of the marked leg the same way. There is a single lace that is threaded through the bottom tie so the three legs can be kept together but seperate with a single pull of the 'tie' lace. The sling stays on permanently and this works great. I was out hunting the past weekend in young forestry palnatation that hasent been thinned yet so there were a few tracks and small clearings that I set up on. Unfortunately no deer but the bog-pod is easily carried this way. I use it extended to standing height for rabbit shooting where the shots may be 20-250 yds with confidence.

Von Gruff.