Shooting Sticks

[Mayhem]

Originally Posted by Chester223

Eodrulz,
i used shootings stick for awhile and had great success with them, use this website
http://www.varmintal.com/abifu.htm
these are good shooting sticks but you dont have to follow everything he has down to a "T". i didnt use the nail in the bottom because we shoot in snow in southeastern saskatchewan and that provides plenty of stability. you can make your joint a little lower if you want in my opinion for where you put the gun, this really makes the sticks work well even if you are sitting on a severe up or down slope, or sitting on top of a snow bank and the ground where you want to anchor the stick on is way down below you, you can just make the sticks narrower and they allow you to put the gun on higher.
like i said, it is a good set to try out but you dont have to do it exactly as it says, mine were a little different but work extremely well.

Welcome to the site Chester, I was wondering if you would ever get around to joining or posting.

I personally don't use shooting sticks if i do we have Cattle sticks here at work. I think i would try something with them. They are light, white, laminated and flexible. I still much prefer the bi-pods as i shoot all my coyotes from laying down position.

Mayhem

[Silverfox]

When I am out coyote calling, I don't leave my vehicle without BOTH my Harris swivel bipod AND my homemade shooting sticks. While I prefer the prone position for coyote calling, there are times when the place I have to set up will just not lend itself to me lying on my belly. For those places, I use shooting sticks. I have two sets--one set is a little taller than the other one and they are built just a wee bit different.

The first set I built I used two fiberglass driveway marking posts that had reflectors at the top of each one. They also had reflective tape on them and I had the unenviable chore of removing all that stuff (I'll never do that again!!!). I loaned that set of sticks to a friend who used them on a once-in-a-lifetime elk hunt in North Dakota and he left them out on the prairie somewhere. Nice buddy!!!! I use 3/8" rubber fuel line hose on the end where I rest my rifle and the sticks already have sharp ends on them.



I place 3 castration bands up about 5" or 6" from the top of the sticks and they serve as the hinge. The castration bands do weather, lose their elasticity and have to be replaced, but you can buy a bag of 100 of them for practically nothing. Here's a photo of the hinge area and the rubber hose area before the camo paining was done.



My other set of sticks were made from fiberglass electric fence posts. Instead of using castration bands as the hinge, I decided to drill a small hole at the hinge spot and used a small stovebolt as the hinge. I place a couple of fiber washers on the bolt at the bolt head, between the sticks, and on the nut end as well. I also used the 3/8" rubber fuel line hose on this set, but split the hose into two pieces.



I painted each set of sticks with Krylon Khaki colored camo paint, including the black rubber hose. That khaki color seems to work well for both fall and winter coyote hunting. I don't use shooting sticks when I am out plinking prairie dogs or gophers.



It was pretty surprising to me that you can get a "rock-solid" steady hold with shooting sticks. I thought I'd have to go to a tripod to get that kind of steady hold, but the sticks I built work just great. They are easy to adjust for height and if you keep your hand just below the hinging area it is easy to squeeze the sticks, lift them up and move them left or right if necessary.

[The Baron]

Originally Posted by EODRULZ

I will have to play around a bit with the monopod idea - I am not sure how stable I would find it, I am mostly looking for something for kneeling or sitting shots.

Kneeling with a monopod = not so great. But sitting with a monopod is very stable. I ram the stick down into the snow and then slant it against my knee. Very comfortable and I used this to hit one of my coyotes at over 300 yards so stability is plenty good. Might not be as stable without snow, because I think the stick being half buried also helps. In snow, I find stix or a bipod to be way too much movement and hassle if you need to make a shift on a coyote that comes from the "wrong" direction. I find another annoying problem with cross-sticks or a bipod in snow is it takes a lot of messin' around to get them to sit properly as you push the into the snow and also they tend to push deeper into the snow just at the worst moment. With a monopod height is quickly adjustable by simply leaning the stick more one way or another.

Like I said, this all applies to hunting in deep snow. On bare ground, I think shooting stix or a bipod would be more advantageous.

[EODRULZ]

Well after getting lots of good advise -

I just made a quick set from two old golf shafts I had laying around, I used an old driver shaft and 5 wood shaft as it gave me the different heights so it was like a hand grip / rest for walking and it will also act a mono pod if needed in a hurry. I simply drilled through the graphite shafts, stove bolted them together (wonder where I got that idea) and away I go...

I drilled through the shafts and bolted them together right below the 5 wood grip with both tips level, Using the grips accomplished two things, first it helps hold them together when used as a walking stick, second they provide a great rest for the rifle, quiet and non-slippery. Total weight is less than 350 grams.

I will be making a few more variations...

Geoff

[oopswasthatyourdog?]

Eodrulz....I think you would get a better lay to the green using a 3 iron.

[Timberwolfe]

Baron how about showing us your MONOPOD. I do know what you mean in the deeper snow, I have made a few different shooting sticks out of broken hockey sticks graphite and wood they work great but in deeper snow they get awkward to shoot the other way when you have too(way to much movement and noise)

http://www.prbullet.com/stix.htm

pretty easy to find broken hockey sticks in our land

Richie

[EODRULZ]

Originally Posted by oopswasthatyourdog?

Eodrulz....I think you would get a better lay to the green using a 3 iron.

I need a scope to hit the green from outside 50 yds

[The Baron]

Originally Posted by Timberwolfe

Baron how about showing us your MONOPOD.

Okey-dokey.

Behold... the Lucky Shooting Stick. Note the finely crafted lines and perfect angle of the top fork. My faithful companion... and it's full of coyote mojo! LOL.

[EODRULZ]

http://www.prbullet.com/stix.htm

pretty easy to find broken hockey sticks in our land

Richie[/quote]

That is a good link, thanks.

The problem with the golf clubs is the taper makes it hard to keep them closed at the bottom for use as a walking stick, they are great as shooting sticks though.

Geoff

[Timberwolfe]

how many thousands of hours would you have to wander around southern Alberta or Saskatchewan to find another one of those?