shooting aids

geoffrey

Well-Known Member
DSC_0042.jpgI Was looking to purchase a shooting tripod but could not decide on which model, looking on the forum i noticed that a lot of stalkers use B&Q poles, as i am living in france at the moment i went to my local garden centre and found 2mtr alumimium plastic coverd poles at 2.4 euros each, i soon made up a tripod and went off to my local range to try it.
my results were poor to say the least i got a 4inch group at 50 yards and a 7inch at 100 so back to the drawing board. I found a mention of quad sticks on the forum so i added two more sticks. i placed the rifle so it sat between the fore and aft supports and fixed the distance between them using twine. today i went back to the range with my new contraption and put six rounds of 58gr vmax in a half inch group at 100 yards which is far better than i can do on the bench, at the moment i find it a bit of a fiddle to set up but i am going to take it out rabbiting when i am back in the uk to see if i can get quick at it.

cheers Geoff
 
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hi 375win i will take a picture tomorrow and try to post it

regards geoff
 
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View attachment 1140I Was looking to purchase a shooting tripod but could not decide on which model, looking on the forum i noticed that a lot of stalkers use B&Q poles, as i am living in france at the moment i went to my local garden centre and found 2mtr alumimium plastic coverd poles at 2.4 euros each, i soon made up a tripod and went off to my local range to try it.
my results were poor to say the least i got a 4inch group at 50 yards and a 7inch at 100 so back to the drawing board. I found a mention of quad sticks on the forum so i added two more sticks. i placed the rifle so it sat between the fore and aft supports and fixed the distance between them using twine. today i went back to the range with my new contraption and put six rounds of 58gr vmax in a half inch group at 100 yards which is far better than i can do on the bench, at the moment i find it a bit of a fiddle to set up but i am going to take it out rabbiting when i am back in the uk to see if i can get quick at it.

cheers Geoff

I am always of the opinion that positional shooting should not be done at a zeroing target with the aim of getting a group but at a roe target with a view to 'would that have been a dead deer', 'how would it have reacted', 'what would the damage have been' or a empty baked bean can with a view to hitting it anywhere is fine. What i'm saying is that shooting off sticks is about one good shot taken quickly and confidently with the minimum of faffing around. To be honest, if most of us shot for a group off sticks at 100m then you would see plenty of 7'' groups and more than a few 2 foot groups! All the wannabe snipers will pitch in now and talk about MOA's etc whilst those that shoot enough wild woodland deer will be nodding! JC
 
Hi JC275 thanks for your comments, at the age of sixty four i find my shooting both shotgun and rifle shooting lacking i can no longer pick clays out of the sky with ease neither can i regulary shoot less than a one inch group at 100 yards. so any piece of equipment which enables me to shoot better is good, i know that this contraption i have made takes a while to get on target but when you are it is super steady, and you can still use it as a bipod or tripod. if i find it too clumbersom i will stick it in the garden and grow sweet peas up it,

regards geoff
 
Hi JC275 thanks for your comments, at the age of sixty four i find my shooting both shotgun and rifle shooting lacking i can no longer pick clays out of the sky with ease neither can i regulary shoot less than a one inch group at 100 yards. so any piece of equipment which enables me to shoot better is good, i know that this contraption i have made takes a while to get on target but when you are it is super steady, and you can still use it as a bipod or tripod. if i find it too clumbersom i will stick it in the garden and grow sweet peas up it,

regards geoff

Yep I will go along with that one they will make a good climbing frame if nothing else:D

I just use a thumb stick racked at arms length with the bottom of the stick hard against my foot the fulcrum is ideal and ridged enough to shoot from whilst standing if sitting i use it in a 3 positional fix using the rifle resting on my grasp hand whilst locking into by thighs with my elbows completely ridgid, rarely do i get the chance to shoot prone as the height of the grass prevents it so choose sitting to all my shooting positions , Best thing you can do with your praying mantice contraption is like you say , use it for supporting sweet peas in my opinion
Stu
 
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I use just 4 sticks as do many others,they are quick enough to put up if you practice,light enough to carry and at least 5 times steadier than 2 sticks especially in a wind, it's not a faff when you are used to them and they are much more likely to ensure a humane kill it is worth it in my opinion.
You can shoot to 150 M easily.
One complaint is that they are hard to align, but if you add the webbing as in the photo this is no longer a problem.
IMG_1266.jpgIMG_1268.jpg
 
hi riverman i will add some straps and give it a go, i have been using it recently when working up loads as i find it much more steady than anything i have used in the past.
regards geoff
 
Well done, any pictures of your new contraption. I am a firm B&Q man but somehow persuaded myself that I need one of these http://www.browntroutsporting.co.uk/pages/yorkshire-shooting-kit/shooting-sticks.shtml. They'll be here on Monday, feel slightly unwell at the price.

Oh, my giddy aunt! I've just followed your link and seen the cost. Nonetheless, would be keen to hear how you get on with them. A recent client had sticks like that and I tried a dry shot off of them. Very steady, as people here have already noted, but I wonder how long it would take to be proficient at swift set-up?
 
I use just 4 sticks as do many others,they are quick enough to put up if you practice,light enough to carry and at least 5 times steadier than 2 sticks especially in a wind, it's not a faff when you are used to them and they are much more likely to ensure a humane kill it is worth it in my opinion.
You can shoot to 150 M easily.
One complaint is that they are hard to align, but if you add the webbing as in the photo this is no longer a problem.
View attachment 1580View attachment 1581

ive been using quad sticks for a good couple of years now , and never thought about putting webbing on !

now off to the shed to play :D

cheers lee
 
I use these which are actually a lash up of two different sticks to make one good one.

The main body is a bog standard cross top bipod which cost me about £20 and the rear assembly is taken from a pair of X3M1's which are without a doubt the worst sticks ever designed which were again about £20.

However put the two together and you have a very solid rear supported pair of sticks which I can highly reccomend for about £40.

IMG00065-20100626-1235.jpgIMG00067-20100626-1236.jpgIMG00066-20100626-1236.jpgIMG00064-20100626-1235.jpg
 
By adding the webbing you can pan the rifle to shoot but you loose out on stability which I thought was the idea of using quad sticks?:stir:
 
I do not notice any loss of stability they are still very steady, the ability to pan is a huge advantage too.
One thing I should mention is that I have found that if you pull the front sticks towards yourself you will shoot low, it is very easy to do this subconsciously so I never hold the front sticks, this may well happen with double sticks to. As to being slow to put up they are quite quick if you practice, you need to get the string between the sticks the right length so that they fall open to exactly fit the rifle, then you should be able to get into a solid aim more quickly than with 2 sticks, so you may not find them any slower in practice.
 
Hi all i thought i would give you a little update on the contraption, i am back in the uk and have had a few trips rabbiting using the sticks and .22lr and so far i am impressed, i think that the main advantage is that i can take much longer shots using them, so when walking up to a rabbit by the time it is aware of your presence it is in range, so i think accuracy outways the extra time getting setup. but it may be very different for deer.
cheers Geoff
 
I see bushware now sell these, even do I tripod version. I had a go at making some and with a little fine tuning I think it will be very good!
 
sticks

I use a bi-pod ready made extending sticks but I have added a length of para cord connected to the top of sticks about five foot long with loop at the end put up sticks stand on cord loop push forward steady eddy nice and quick solid and quiet
works for me :lol::lol:

bally
 
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