quad sticks or tripod

Quad sticks, lots of practice deploying them. Once you’ve got the hang of them a quick flick of the wrist and they are ready to use. Swivelling on one leg is something else to practice too. Once mastered they give you a superb platform to shoot from.
 
Quad sticks, lots of practice deploying them. Once you’ve got the hang of them a quick flick of the wrist and they are ready to use. Swivelling on one leg is something else to practice too. Once mastered they give you a superb platform to shoot from.
Indeed so but do please see Post #60….
🦊🦊
 
I prefer a pair of sticks. If the range is bit further then you either move slightly to get additional support from a tree, fence post etc. or drop down into a kneeling or seated position.

But there is no substitute for practice. Get a spring powered air rifle and shoot it off hand lots and lots. 22 lr also very good, but bit more expensive to run and more restricted where you can use it. Dry fire is also really good.
+1
And Maybe even use the air rifle for iron sight shooting training too.👍

The, or at least My spring powered air rifle even comes pretty close to a hunting rifle in weight and size, and in Denmark you're allowed to shoot a 4,5 mm air rifle outside of designated gun ranges (though still with proper thought to Safety, of course)


So in countries where gun ranges are expensive and are quite limited as to the possible shooting positions and distances allowed (vs those you might face in the field) an air rifle might actually offer us the best and Very economical chance of training good technique (target behaviour) in field like conditions (target environment) and thus to become stronger performers when and where it matters.

The standard air rifle targets even have a Central black area of around 5 cm. So if you can hit that at 20 yards standing it's pretty much like hitting your Classic lunch plate/terminal area on a deer at a 80 meters. Likewise the bullseye Plus the 9 and 8 circle is around 3 cm or so I believe , so if you can consistently Hit that at 15 meters it's somewhat equal to your lunch plate at just over 100 meters.

Now of course there are also limitations to Training like this, for example you don't really have recoil, there's no bolt throw, external ballistics arnt like a hunting cartridge, and your meat plate vs The target is oversized vs a hunting caliber on a deer chest, but there is still quite a lot of positives to get from training this way imo. And naturally sticks can also be incorporated into This sort of training too, though I'd encourage it to not be done exclusively so.
 
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So I guess you have the legs open all the time and the rifle clamped in the saddle ready to go
No, my description included only tripod deployment. Contrary to sticks, it stays erect on it's own (of course you can rest sticks against your shoulder or something).

Then I can use it for steadier view with thermal or put rifle on top. Or do something else both hands free. I mostly use 3D printed light clamp and keep it opened enough that it will take rifle w/o touching the mechanism.

And yes, I mostly walk (tripod) legs open, and also use center column since it gives rapid height adjustment and helps to get tripod balanced while carrying. I know center column is no-no for some people, but it's all about making compromise with stability, shootability, deployment, portability and so on.

I know some people walk around with rifle clamped, and I could never do it. Usually they have rifle vertical (barrel up) behind the shoulder, and tripod legs are pointing forward.
 
One problem with sticks deployment is, that you effectively need to keep one hand on the sticks. So deployment works OK as long as you can control the rifle with strong hand around the pistol grip area. If you have heavier rifle and weight is forward, you need to come up with alternate solutions. Switching hands might be an option, but needs just about as much extra practice as using the sticks in the first place (support hand around the middle of rifle, deploy sticks with strong hand, place rifle with support hand and finetune / assume shooting position with strong hand).
 
What sort of shooting will you be doing ?
If your on the move quad sticks, if your set up in a static position calling foxes etc then a tripod is good.
I use both but my viperflex sticks with the 5th leg is steadier than any tripod .
FWIW Im a novice stalker and tried quads after making my own, shooting standing with a set at 100m i found them really, really good. Accuracy no issue. Have shot my one and only deer form my homemade and was on target no issues.

I use a tripod for holding my air rifles when shooting at the feeder, excellent for that, cant see them being useful in the field when stalking.

I am aware that you can get bipod sticks, used them on the pre-DCS1 day, didnt like them at all, but i am guessing i one practices they can work ok and as others have said a set of quad sticks (or at least my homemade ones ) can be used in bipd mode too if that suits.
 
One problem with sticks deployment is, that you effectively need to keep one hand on the sticks. So deployment works OK as long as you can control the rifle with strong hand around the pistol grip area. If you have heavier rifle and weight is forward, you need to come up with alternate solutions. Switching hands might be an option, but needs just about as much extra practice as using the sticks in the first place (support hand around the middle of rifle, deploy sticks with strong hand, place rifle with support hand and finetune / assume shooting position with strong hand).

Place the sticks in front of you, with legs spread. The viperflex ones have a handle to make this easy. Lean the sticks back and rest the top against your chest. Both hands are now free to take your rifle and mount it on the sticks - pushing the front rest away from you as you do so.

So no, you don't need to keep one hand on the sticks.

I was shown this technique when struggling with sticks and it makes things much easier.
 
Quads. I have 3 pairs of Limulus ones. Original lightweight pine used for air rifle .22lr and 204. Oak heavy for .243 and above.
Panning is easy just lift left legs up and pivot on R legs. Takes a while to perfect but now second nature.
23 rats off sticks this evening with air rifle all sorts of ranges angles and elevations.

When I go out its thermal rifle and sticks in that order.

D
 
Place the sticks in front of you, with legs spread. The viperflex ones have a handle to make this easy. Lean the sticks back and rest the top against your chest. Both hands are now free to take your rifle and mount it on the sticks - pushing the front rest away from you as you do so.
Impossible by the description, but I have to try some variation of this (if you rest the top of sticks on your chest, it's impossible to bring the rifle to the front rest and push away). Probly offset the sticks so that weak side leg will rest against your chest, similar to shooting position.

Just for reference, only time I've struggled with "overweight" rifle has been zeroing session on range. Rifles in actual use with sticks are lighter and the one I use most is carried on chest (so this technique is not applicable).

Also all sticks are not created equal, I don't have my 4 Stable Sticks at hand but I'm quite sure the geometry is such that it's impossible or at least very difficult to use rifle forend to push the front part away from you (front is not positioned high enough compared to rear V-yoke). No problem in the field but on the range when you try to create consistent position time and time again it's a PITA. I have a faint recollection of trying to shorten the rear legs, but I guess it wasn't so straightforward.
 
I like my Vanguard T62 tripod.

It came with a normal V/U shaped rest but I've fitted a Spartan "Davros" head instead. It's not a "true" tripod, more like a bipod with a 3rd leg. Just as easy to carry as quad sticks. Quick and easy to deploy and self-supporting whilst you sort it/yourself/the rifle. The third leg swings through 360 degrees around the yoke, so it doesn't matter how uneven or messy the ground is, you can get it somewhere near. The beauty of the Spartan head is that you then have tilt in all directions to get the rifle level and pointing the right way without moving any legs. Major elevation adjustments are made by moving the third leg closer or further, minor tweaks come from your stance. Obviously you get 360 degrees of tracking without moving the sticks at all, and if you fancy a sit down you can shorten the legs accordingly using the cam locks.
 
Obviously you get 360 degrees of tracking without moving the sticks at all
I've fitted panorama bases like this (I paid only tenner or so) between my tripods and whatever is attached to the top (clamp, V-yoke, sandbag from adjustable range front rest etc). It's a bit heavy (just weighed 130 grams) if using with midsize carbon tripod and 3D printed clamp, but panning is quite essential many times. Anyway I'd prefer separate panning and tilt (vs. full ball head) if there were suitable products in market.


Btw tripod is not well suited to panning while in ambush, since you need to dance around it and it's cumbersome and creates lots of movement if seated. I've toyed with idea using two panorama bases and maybe 20cm length of flat aluminium bar to create extra lateral movement to tripod head if in ambush. Usually I just have light and flexible bipod if seated, but it requires attachment point in rifle (Stoney Point Rapid Pivot Bipod, currently under Primos brand).
 
never tried a tripod but shoot a lot off quad sticks
as someone said back in the thread getting the rifle onto the sticks is a bit of a skill to start with but once mastered there great to shoot off
i tend to tuck myself under them a bit so the back left leg runs up my chest i find this stops any movement for me
all i can say is what ever you choose practise using it/them till it becomes second nature
 
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