Advice for shooting off sticks.

[jcampbellsmith]

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated. As usual this forum is a wealth of helpful people happy to pass on advice.

I think practice is the key before buying quad sticks as plenty of people use normal stick effectively. I was planning on setting up in the spare bedroom as you mention goathunter with a crack in the curtains so I can focus on something at about 100m.

My 4 sticks cost less than £10 to make. A spare set is off to a DSC 1 shooting test this weekend. 4 sticks were a revelation to me when I was shown them some 10+ years ago. I use the 4 sticks usually as 4 sticks, but sometimes as twin sticks and very occasionally as a single stick. As the photo of another Forum member demonstrates, old dogs can learn new tricks, and 4 sticks is one of the best I've learnt this century.

Good luck.

JCS

 

[rem284]

I use quad sticks just about every day. They are B&Q green cane type, costing about £12-£15. I fix them together with old inner-tube from a bike and re-enforce this with cable ties. The total cost and effort isnt really much when you take in to account of the cost of all the other things we use. As mentioned all ready make sure the barrel isnt touching the sticks. I recently heard a tale of a guy had got a new rifle but could not get it to group. So a friend of his said he would go with him to try and find the problem. So the guy shot at the target and sure enough the group was scattered all over the A4 paper. His friend then noticed that the guy was resting the barrel on the front set of sticks. Problem solved, it is hard to believe that this fault happens

 

[baguio]

100% Quad sticks. You wouldn't turn up to a maths exam with an abacus when you could have taken a calculator would you? Therefore why make this test, (which you have £300+ tied up) more difficult than it needs to be? I fail to see why anyone who foot stalks (excluding Scottish hill stalking would not have a set. It should be everyone's aim to avoid wounding deer and this piece of equipment is a vital part of that as it will halve the group sizes of the best shots. At £12 a set, money doesn't come into it. At approximately 1.1kgs the additional burden doesn't come into it either!

 

[mcbuck]

this will help if using twin sticks tie some cord to the vee in the sticks longer that the sticks and you can stand on the cord to make third leg and by leaning the sticks forward will help!!

 

[Bavarianbrit]

this will help if using twin sticks tie some cord to the vee in the sticks longer that the sticks and you can stand on the cord to make third leg and by leaning the sticks forward will help!!

There is a made in Poland 5 stick variant available in Germany and is even better for stability.
Practise with them in the garden using an air rifle if one is available.

 

[Mr. Gain]

There is a made in Poland 5 stick variant available in Germany and is even better for stability.
Practise with them in the garden using an air rifle if one is available.

There's also a version of the Danish Viper-Flex sticks with 5 legs available here..

 

[Conure]

100% Quad sticks. You wouldn't turn up to a maths exam with an abacus when you could have taken a calculator would you? Therefore why make this test, (which you have £300+ tied up) more difficult than it needs to be? I fail to see why anyone who foot stalks (excluding Scottish hill stalking would not have a set. It should be everyone's aim to avoid wounding deer and this piece of equipment is a vital part of that as it will halve the group sizes of the best shots. At £12 a set, money doesn't come into it. At approximately 1.1kgs the additional burden doesn't come into it either!

As I said before a bench is even more stable so following your rational then evey one should be taking a bench out stalking with them as after all: .................

It should be everyone's aim to avoid wounding deer and this piece of equipment is a vital part of that as it will halve the group sizes of the best shots.

There are those who want to stalk with less not more equipment just as there are those who do not wish to use sound moderators and those who prefer to use iron sights and just because you are not like them it does not make them wrong or less caring about the quarrys welfare. Of course I also realise that not everyone is capable of shooting with iron sights and there are those who cannot shoot unless the rifle is rested.

 

[finnbear270]

Am trying the remember how we were shown to use a single stick effectively by two experienced shots at the BSRC on Bisley. They had two ways of bracing the single stick one involved a strap or cord the other braced the stick by having it sloping towards the shooter. Dammit just cannot remember exactly how now but have shot of a single stick in the field.

As for this well: ...........................



Why not just carry a bench around with you after all sticks are a compromise surely?

Or radical as this may sound ............................... why not practice and learn to shoot from field positions? Wow now there is a radical thought!

Or you could emulate Bob the FC ranger on Arran & use a single folding jointed stick.?

 

[Jagare]

practice practice practice

Just follow these wise words ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[jcampbellsmith]

practice practice practice

No. Practice follows on from formal training and selection of appropriate kit. Without good kit and a clear idea about how to use it, practice won't get you anywhere.

Regards

JCS

 

[rem284]

No. Practice follows on from formal training and selection of appropriate kit. Without good kit and a clear idea about how to use it, practice won't get you anywhere.

Sensible

As I said before a bench is even more stable so following your rational then evey one should be taking a bench out stalking with them as after all: .................
There are those who want to stalk with less not more equipment just as there are those who do not wish to use sound moderators and those who prefer to use iron sights and just because you are not like them it does not make them wrong or less caring about the quarrys welfare. Of course I also realise that not everyone is capable of shooting with iron sights and there are those who cannot shoot unless the rifle is rested.

MMM! Dont see the sense in making it more difficult than it needs to be. Yes I would love to be able to achieve my cull with out needing a lot of the items I choose to take to make myself more effective. Of course there are practical limits. Quad sticks can be easily carried, where as a shooting bench cannot. I yet to see the advantage of shooting a rifle unsupported. I certainly cannot shoot free hand as good as I can with the rifle supported and I would think it would be the same for most. I certainly cannot shoot as good with open sights as I can with a scope.

 

[baguio]

As I said before a bench is even more stable so following your rational then evey one should be taking a bench out stalking with them as after all: .................



There are those who want to stalk with less not more equipment just as there are those who do not wish to use sound moderators and those who prefer to use iron sights and just because you are not like them it does not make them wrong or less caring about the quarrys welfare. Of course I also realise that not everyone is capable of shooting with iron sights and there are those who cannot shoot unless the rifle is rested.

Lets keep it real Conure! Since when was a shooting bench portable or comparable to shooting sticks? And yes, in the modern climate where we are scrutinised far more than we ever were before, IMO using open sights rather than a scope is not acceptable and is certainly far more likely to result in wounded quarry, so yes, perhaps open sight users are less caring of the quarry's welfare?

 

[Conure]

Lets keep it real Conure! Since when was a shooting bench portable or comparable to shooting sticks? And yes, in the modern climate where we are scrutinised far more than we ever were before, IMO using open sights rather than a scope is not acceptable and is certainly far more likely to result in wounded quarry, so yes, perhaps open sight users are less caring of the quarry's welfare?

Just because you and I may not be very good with iron sights that does not mean that others are not and there are those on these forums who do shoot, hunt and stalk using iron or open sights very effectively.

In my previous post I was meerly pointing out that the way that the way Fursty Ferret put it anything less than the most stable position is a compromise and as they put it why compromise. It is also possibly to buy or make a folding bench in fact I think you find that these are popular in parts of America for prarie Dog shooting.

Now baguio your ignorance is showing may I suggest you tell Muir on these forums that he does not care enough about his quarry! After all he is one that does hunt using open or iron sights as he mentions in the thread about the little CZ527 he recently acquired. Southern is another who mentioned open/iron sight use and then there was the poster who mentioned removign the scope on a driven Boar hunt to use the fitted Iron sights! .............................. care to tell them they do not care enough for their quarrys welfare?

I am sure there are others that use these froums that also use iron or open sights. What we are seeing is shooters trying to make up for their lacking in ability and for their basic lack of practice by using more equipment.

 

[rem284]

Animal welfare should not be an issue if items ie open sights are used within their limits and within the limits of the operator. There may well be a case where open sights have the an edge when speed is one of the key requirements as in driven boar and when the quarry is shot at close distances.

However there is no doubt in my mind that it is more practical and effective in the majority of circumstances to use a scope and some kind of support.

A group of us once done an informal test with a .22. We all shot at targets using the open sights and then we fitted a cheap scope and shot at the targets again. On average the group size halved when the scope was fitted.

I stalk as a pro and carry a scoped rifle with a bipod and also carry a set of quad sticks and I will do so unless I come across something else that will enable me to shoot more deer. Removing my scope, bipod and leaving the sticks at home is not the answer to this for me. However if using open sights and shooting free hand makes you feel more skilful than everybody else that uses scopes etc then so be it. I can fully understand wanting to carry less stuff, I do get fed up of having pockets filled with 1st aid kit, GPS, spot tracker, midge net, gloves etc but I dont think I will be leaving these things in the house either. Well hopefully I can ditch the midge net come October

 

[Cyres]

For years I used a pair of Stoney point Polecats and learnt to use them and they are very good, this was mainly with my .22lr. Then at the SDF Show I saw a pair of Tony's quad sticks, had them made to my height and the rest is history. It took a while to get used to them but now as indispensable as my bins. I would go as far to say as stable as being prone, this year head shooting rabbits out to 200 yds with the .204 that/s how stable they are. Given the chance will try to shoot prone off a bipod but when stalking roe esp in tall vegetation then sticks are the only way you will get a shot.

Suggest you try and see if somebody in your location has pair and give them a try. Then be prepared to buy a set.

D

 

[baguio]

In my previous post I was meerly pointing out that the way that the way Fursty Ferret put it anything less than the most stable position is a compromise and as they put it why compromise. It is also possibly to buy or make a folding bench in fact I think you find that these are popular in parts of America for prarie Dog shooting.

Now baguio your ignorance is showing.

Carry a folding bench to shoot prarie dogs is not foot stalking for stop trying to compare chalk with cheese! Anyone who is of the mind to start calling people ignorant is not someone who we need on this forum so perhaps you may like to rethink your attitude, Conure? It is quite clear to me that all sensible and educated discussion has been lost, the moment someone starts name calling. Most of the characters who were unable to conduct themselves sensibly have now been suspended by the site Administrators and rightly so! Perhaps they haven't finished their cull?

 

[Co1]

Blimey! Thanks for all the great advice, didn't mean to cause as
big a debate! I think for now, practice, practice, practice seems to be the most sensible advice. I have a friend lending me some quad sticks as well to have a play with, so we will see the best of both worlds.

I think for the moment though that it is me that needs the practice rather than the equipment that needs upgrading.

 

[Conure]

Carry a folding bench to shoot prarie dogs is not foot stalking for stop trying to compare chalk with cheese! Anyone who is of the mind to start calling people ignorant is not someone who we need on this forum so perhaps you may like to rethink your attitude, Conure? It is quite clear to me that all sensible and educated discussion has been lost, the moment someone starts name calling. Most of the characters who were unable to conduct themselves sensibly have now been suspended by the site Administrators and rightly so! Perhaps they haven't finished their cull?

Whoop did we hit a nerve?

Now was it not you who declared that unless someone followed your own creed of scope and quad sticks was doing it all wrong even though you used different words and unless they followed your creed that they had not care for the quarrys welfare?

As for being ignorant well we are all ignorant about some things and this state is useally corrected through education and teaching. For instance I am ignorant about the French language but as I can learn it most likely that will sort that out the question then remains can you learn about the way other people like to hunt and shoot? You then go on to make threats about culling?

I am sorry that I did not realise that it was not allowed to have a differing view.

For the record I am not stalking using iron or open sights as right now I am not stalking at all as am still in the process of coming back to shooting and stalking. Yes I am practicing a little with iron sights as I am trying to retrain the muscles using my old air rifle that has irons but do shoot with a scope when I can get to the rifle club and shoot there unless it is with a target rifle and then of course it has target aperture sights on it. It has been many years since I was shooting regularly so am starting over again plus I have to adapt to the effects of the injury that makes shooting prone now difficult the neck no longer moves as it used to and this effects the shoulders.

 

[Conure]

For years I used a pair of Stoney point Polecats and learnt to use them and they are very good, this was mainly with my .22lr. Then at the SDF Show I saw a pair of Tony's quad sticks, had them made to my height and the rest is history. It took a while to get used to them but now as indispensable as my bins. I would go as far to say as stable as being prone, this year head shooting rabbits out to 200 yds with the .204 that/s how stable they are. Given the chance will try to shoot prone off a bipod but when stalking roe esp in tall vegetation then sticks are the only way you will get a shot.

Suggest you try and see if somebody in your location has pair and give them a try. Then be prepared to buy a set.

D

I will bear this in mind for the future but there is not rush it will be a long time before I really need to consider doing so. I hope to be able to reach the position where I can book an outing or two towards the back end of this year.

 

[patrickt]

Co1, what training centre are you going through for your DSC1 ?. I would be interested to know if it is local to both of us, in any event very best of luck, and as well as practicing on shooting from sticks you need to brush up on the course material !