In my opinion backpack hunting is about going backcountry with minimal gear. With that said it is a lot of effort to get yourself in position to get a shot off, especially when in pursuit of high country animals.

I have bet that I can use my pack as a rest when needed. I have heard others saw a bi-pod is the only way to go. They figure they worked hard to get there and that a bi-pod helps them make the shot.

I can see their point, but when counting ounces a bi-pod has never made my pack list. What do you use (or not use), and why? Your pack, sticks, bi-pod, etc??

http://www.turnersling.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TS&Category_Code=HPCG

One of those... But then I use one even on short hunts as well. In fact, I just like using a sling.

I'm discovering that their use is getting to be a pretty much lost art among hunters though. My Grampa was a peace time Vet (between WWII and Korea) and no grandson of his was going to be ignorant in the ways and uses of the 1903 sling.

In the backcountry, over the pack is the best there is IMO. Been there done that, it works.

Pack and a Stoney Point Rapid Pivot Bi-Pod will do for most situations. I used a pack for many years, but there were times when the angle just didn't work out well. The bi-pod only weighs 8 ounces and is rock solid. I will probably always carry it now. And if you shoot the bi-pod and pack together you can't miss.

I'll weigh in on the opposite side. If you are there, you've spent the money and burned the shoe leather, might as well get it in focus. I've always been a steady-handed guy, and can use 10X binocs off-hand without trouble, but if I go to the effort of carrying a spotter, I've gotta have a tripod. I personally have never seen a professional guide NOT use a spotter with a tripod, and these are no-BS types of guys that don't do things just cause they look good.
Don

I was referring to my rifle. I agree with you; Spotter and Tripod are a given, at least in my book.

What size Stoney Point do you use? Do you have any better links or pictures of it than what I found? A quick Google shows me 3 sizes, of the the three the kneeling one looks to be the most useful for backpacking. ???
http://www.opticsplanet.net/stoney-point-polecat-rapid-pivot-bipod.html

How does it clamp to the stock?

Stoney point monopod, it doubles as a walking stick so why not?

Don had a long day at the hospital

Stoney point monopod, it doubles as a walking stick so why not?

Because the Stoney point stuff is a POS. The joints won't hold and for sure will slip if they get wet. If you put any weight on it, it will fail. Almost killed myself with one on a goat hunt a while ago. As far as shooting off a pack it works about as good as anything you could carry. Actually some LW rifles will not shoot worth a darn off a bipod. At least that's my experience.

Lefty C

Usually shoot over sticks. Use my pack though in a pinch.

For forty years I've relied on a walking staff and just upgraded same. I tried bipods but our pucker brush is too tall and I didn't like all that equipment hanging on my rifle.

The collapsible shooting staffs do just that...collapse when you need em. I like the staff one piece and solid. I recently bought a set of those very long cros country ski poles and added fishing rod hypalon grips at right height for me.....I simply grip the shaft and extend my thumb for a rest for standing shots....prone, I use my pack.

I have the prone and the sitting one. They attach to the rifle at the sling stud. The have a little piece that attaches to the stud and is sill useable. The bi-pods just push on and pull off. Simple, efficient and rock solid.

I carry my trecking poles and they work great as a bipod when sitting for shots out to 300. Just loop the straps over the opposite pole and use your lockin devices to adjust height. No point humping a bipod on your rifle. Beyond that go prone off your ruck.

I use some collapsible sticks, and my pack.
Depends on the shot, amount of time, and angle.

prefer my pack to shoot off of as that's the way I practice and it's always handy. One of the very big reasons why it's hard to forgo my external Barney's frame pack. the other is hauling stupid heavy loads.

but I use a trekking pole in a pinch, I like a light nylon sling on my rifle even though I use a gun bearer. drop to kneeling, grab the pole with my offhand and the sling and it's pretty dang steady.

though that means I didn't have time to take my pack off, so I might just shoot offhand, either way I dislike shooting with my pack on me.


but I can unazz my pack sling rifle across it and be on target PDQ, it ain't a motion I'm unfamiliar with.

and to me that's the key, familiarity, if you're used to using a bipod then I could see why you would want one with you, though my experience with them mirrors Verns.

the only wrong way is the way that leaves you feeling uncomfortable, it just has to work for you and your needs.

What Vern and 1ak said.

For myself, I am almost never without a forked (padded) walking stick to my height, which I can use as a monopod if i have to. In most situations, however, I can find a firmer, more solid rest or positions, including using my pack, or a hat/hand placed across a rock, etc.

Whatever you plan- you'll probably use something else. A bipod, in my experience, just isn't worth carrying around.

Sorry, I completely got the post wrong. Should have known better! In my defense, a stomach-bug has left me vanquished; signs of life are returning, though.
Don

Dan Adair, I use the same sling, for the same reasons. It works, and I enjoy shooting with a sling for stability. You're right, using a sling is a dying art anymore. Shame really, a good sling is a very worthwhile tool.

Sometimes I also use a sling by Mike Miller at Tactical Intervention:

http://www.tacticalintervention.com/

His slings are very tough nylon jobs that do the same thing as the good old Turner, and more, but weigh less.

Regards, Guy

My pack is my main shooting aid/rest when backpacking. In addition, since I started using trekking poles (at least on my approach hikes) a few years ago, I keep trying positions with one or both of them and sooner or later will shoot something off the poles.

I had to smile at the comment that a bipod only weighs eight ounces. A comment of equal weight after packing it steep up for days is, "Dang! That thing weighs half a pound!" Bipods always seemed cumbersome to me, but our mileage do vary, to paraphrase Stick. Flat, sideways, scrunched, on end, on top of a bush, in the fork of a tree, padding a rock: a pack has a lot of varying options for height etc. and is quick to deploy.

Prone off the pack, assuming time to assume that position, is probably the most stable platform. Second choice for me is a proper seated position. If you practice it (doesn't take much) and do it properly, you will be as stable and effective as you would using any support aid in the field.

So true.

Varmint Al's is the finest kind:

http://www.varmintal.com/abifu.htm

I've practiced alot with many shooting systems in an effort to compare them.
After several years, in and out of the field, and shooting with time restrictions, I've concluded that bipods are only really practical for the guy that shoots small varmits with a heavy rifle. I've shot, for instance, just as small a group at over 500 yds with a heavy rifle, a tight shooting sling and a sitting position as I have from a bipod. I've found that I'm just as fast, and shoot better groups with a combination of a shooting sling and a pack.
Bipods put you very close to the ground. Too close for a clear shot at times. The taller models, used from a sit, are too wobbly. I can do better with a shooting sling.
I've made and used a tripod out of oak dowels. It works but doesn't offer anything. They are much lighter however.
I find, that with practice, I can deploy my pack and use it about as fast as I can a bipod. If I have to shoot on a slope, to the side, a bipod can be pretty wobbly, and it puts an unaccecptable cant on the rifle. With a pack on a handy rock/log, it's a snap.
Ditto on the light rilfes shooting differently with and w/o a bipod.
I much prefer a shooting sling. My favorite being a Cobra Sling reversed using the 3 pt. CW system. Much faster than the military models. They also work very well for carrying the rifle upside down on my off side when still hunting or tracking while using my binoculars.
On the other hand, I can't imagine anyhting worse than trying to shoot quickly at a running buck or carrying with a sling a bipod equipped rifle. About as awkward as trying to eat rice with chopsticks. E

If one can assume the prone position considering the terrain, I would prefer the pack to a bipod or shooting sticks. Since I do a lot of glassing off a tripod, I have found that the Leica bino rest (similar to the Webster bracket) to rest the rifle forearm on, coupled with a set of cross sticks under the butt, makes for a real steady rest. The tripod and stix combo beats the bipod or shooting sticks alone by far, imo. Even the StoneyPoint/SteadyStix tripod beats the 2-legged SteadyStix.

I have the Stoney Point tripod with rear rest, and find the rear rest to be a PITA.

A friend is associated with "The Gun Claw" which he says is great for LR, keeping a rifle on a bedded buck, or helping a youth find the deer in the scope if you line it up and then let him look.
http://thegunclaw.com/

I've always been able to find something to use as a rest when shooting at game. Be it a rock, tree limb, pack, rolled up jacket, whatever and it hasn't failed me yet. My pack is heavy enough as it is without adding crap to my rifle or carrying a shooting stick. I've carried a trekking pole for the last 3-4 years now but have never used it as a shooting rest.

If it's a short hike to my hunting spot, say a mile from the road, I'll carry a bipod. If it's more than a mile or so, I'll shoot off a pack or use trekking poles.

Stoney point mono pod. I use it as a Treking pole when hauling gear into the high country. Then it goes for the kill with me. I retract it to what is a comfortably kneeling height shot and it slips into a custom spot on my pack. I can easily reach it for a quick shot. I'd prefer to have time to use the pack, but..

Rifle sling stays at home. I run the Kifaru gun bearer and absolutely love teh Gun Bearer.

http://www.stoneypoint.com/products/mp_explorer_monopod.html


I love this thing!!! It's my Treking pole! It's a shooting stick!!! Can remove the yoke and screw it onto either a digital camera, or a video Camera!!! Also make a killer rest for a set of Bino's during intence glassing periods!! Use it to help me balance a heavy load on the way back to camp in steep terrain!!!

In the off season the video and digital cam sit on it at my kids sporting events!! Filmed many a basketball game with it!! I use it year round. I'm 220lbs and it easily hands my fatass and 100plus pound loads in steep rocky terrain!!

Best part is I picked it up at a sportsmans show 10 years ago on the last day of the show for $10.00! It's a must have!

I've got Gun Bearer's on both of my Kifaru packs. While they work fine, a shooting sling works much better for still hunting or tracking. "Works better" means it's faster, quietier, and carry's the rifle out of the way better. When I'm on the go, I usually use neither, prefering to change positions as to how I carry the rifle which makes carrying it less tiring.
Where I really like the GB is when I'm carrying a load and need both hands free to use trekking poles. Like going down hill on a trail covered with loose rocks.
I always carry a trekking pole when I hunt. But I only use it when the going is tough. Say a steep slope, covered with ice and snow. I've tried them as a shooting aide and found them not as good as a shooting sling and a sitting position. Or using my pack from prone. They tend to be no faster and not as steady. I will not take the time to readjust them. If I did, they'd be way too slow. E

Shaq does that Stoney point have a carbide tip underneath the rubber foot?

and what about snow baskets, does it come with them, though I use a summer basket on all mine

I used a basket off on older brok down treking pole. Simply sandwich it between the last section and the tip. Works great.

And yes it has a carbide tip under the rubber foot.


This combo pack has the basket.
http://www.stoneypoint.com/products/mp_hunt_n_hike_combo.html

tks Shaq

I'd send ya a pic of my basket but for some reason our computer won't recconize our camera tonite.