Ultimate accuracy shooting sticks

[Ole Bally]

These sticks were invented by an Austrian hunter. I used them for the last 12 years of my pro hunting life. I never had a client miss with them. As you can see from the pics, I have the rifle butt leaning against the door and not being held by anyone...how much steadier does it get?!
For quick shooting or at close range, the sticks can be kept together and used in the conventional way, if a little more time allows, they can be opened up a little more and then opened fully if the distance is great or you have lots of time!
Making a short set for use either sitting or kneeling for hunting on the Tundra or open spaces would make them very much more portable for the American hunters. But for African use, they are best left long! The pair I made for my client use has the individual pieces (sticks) about 6'6" long!
Note the end cut away piece on the left side of the sticks by the pistol grip to facilitate the hand and keep the cheek from being scratched or injured.
They take a little getting used to from a handling point of view but they are deadly in terms of accuracy!
I always wanted to make and sell them...just never got round to it!

 

[DOC-404]

Nice idea, old chap. You should have lots of time, now that your'e retired, to make and sell them, of hoe..?
Take a look at this set-up, not bad either..BOGgear.com | BOG-PODï½® Tripods, Bipods, Monopods & Accessories

 

[35bore]

very cool concept... how are they as far as noise (clattering) when traveling with them colapsed?

 

[shakari]

I've had several Austrian clients arrive with similar designed sticks over the years and although they take a fair bit of practice to use properly, once the shooter is used to them, they work an absolute treat and no noisier than any other set of sticks.

 

[Ole Bally]

very cool concept... how are they as far as noise (clattering) when traveling with them colapsed?

One carries them like you carry all other kinds of shooting stix....with fingers between the stix to stop them from making a noise. If made of wood, then the noise is minimal anyhow and a fairly acceptable noise in the bush!

 

[Ole Bally]

, of hoe..?[/url]

I can get the manufacture done....but I really hate selling! I'd be more inclined to give them away than actually ask for money!

 

[Anbessa Gedai]

I was made a believer of shooting sticks in Zimbabwe when hunting with a high volume biltong hunter that made many AMAZING shots with his old battered Bruno .308 using two 1 inch by 2 inch by 7 foot long pieces of 'lumber' held together by a screw, washer, and nut at a pivot point about 9 inches down from the top of the sticks. They were very effective but I preferred something with a little more character and made a set using two well-aged and polished native walking sticks and joined them at the pivot by just wrapping tightly with a long strip of inner tube cut about an inch wide. Wrap the strip in a figure eight around both sticks under stretch and knot it up tight. Being wood and with the rubber strip they are quite quiet, but I eliminate any 'knock' between the sticks when being carried by tying another short strip of inner tube rubber around just one stick near the bottom end. The hard part is to find two nice old patina'd sticks of the right diameter and length. And these non-folding full-length sticks are multi-purpose . . . useful in probing ahead of your steps when wading across a river or marsh, a stabilizing 'walking stick' when encountering terrain of steep or difficult footing, and I've used them numerous times to carry smaller game like small-bodied Warthog and like . . . cut slits in the skin of each leg just below the hoof and weave the sticks through and it makes a comfortable "two man carry" if it's a long walk back to the vehicle or camp. And just a couple of freshly cut thin straight saplings joined with the inner tube strip make a quick temporary set of shooting sticks 'on the spot' when there is an unexpected need for a second set of sticks, or your favorite sticks didn't get loaded in the truck as has happened a few times!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Cool idea.

 

[jeffpg]

Cool idea.

yes, very.
I think I'll play around with making some when I can find the time.
I totally believe in achieving the most solid shooting platform available.
There is no substitute to KNOWING exactly what will happen when one touches a shot off!

 

[Ole Bally]

Jeff, the secret is finding a rigid enough material for the length without it being too heavy. I played with several ideas....stiff fishing rod blanks, old surf rods cut up, the set in the pic's is a special type of pine without knots from Austria! I also considered carbon fibre. For my hunting here, with aesthetics in mind (and just because I couldn't get better materials!!) I just used our local wood cut from the bush by my tracker! This client took this Eland from probably 300m +!View attachment 14222 Notice that I put a piece of ski rope cord between the tops to limit how far it can be opened. Otherwise you have to be careful when opening them that they don't sorta collapse outward if you don't grab the front pair!

 

[enysse]

There was a company in the USA marketing this same idea a few years ago, they went bankrupt and I got a set for $10....very similiar. Very steady!!!

 

[Ole Bally]

There was a company in the USA marketing this same idea a few years ago, they went bankrupt and I got a set for $10....very similiar. Very steady!!!

Any idea what the company was called and where was it based out of? Can you post a pic? I've never seen anything like it marketed!

 

[enysse]

Any idea what the company was called and where was it based out of? Can you post a pic? I've never seen anything like it marketed!

Here is a picture, sorry about the quality, I'm terrible at loading pictures.
They made standing models too, but it was a lot more! I probably bought it 8 years ago. No labels on the sticks at all. The only thing different, is the attachment at the back, really makes it steady.

 

[Skyline]

Hmmmm......... I am all for shooting sticks. But this looks like too much of a good thing for me where I hunt. Maybe with plains game? Perhaps I am not seeing things in the right perspective.

 

[375HH]

I just use 2 sets of shooting sticks (tripod sets). I know that the PH will have a set so I take my own set with me to make sure we have 2 sets. Then I tell the PH "I want 2 sets of shooting sticks every time we get off the truck - every single time." I used this trick to shoot a facing impala in the chest at 245 yards with a .375 bolt gun. I learned this at FTW Ranch and we could hit 12" plates at 300 yards all day long even with heavies like 458 Lott so long as you know your drop dope. So I get the value of 2 supports just question the value of having it in one device vs the flexibility of 2 sets of sticks.

 

[enysse]

Hmmmm......... I am all for shooting sticks. But this looks like too much of a good thing for me where I hunt. Maybe with plains game? Perhaps I am not seeing things in the right perspective.

I agree, for the most part I use a Bog Pod shooting sticks. The above sticks are good for long accurate shots or sighting a gun in for me. I like that the head swivels on Bog Pod.

 

[Ole Bally]

Here is a picture, sorry about the quality, I'm terrible at loading pictures.
They made standing models too, but it was a lot more! I probably bought it 8 years ago. No labels on the sticks at all. The only thing different, is the attachment at the back, really makes it steady.

Serious looking contraption!! Looks like they'd take quite a bit of time to set up! Probably good for a sheep hunt! Benefit of 'mine' is that you can make them up in the field!

 

[GSTONE]

Interesting concept. I think I still prefer the regular tripod sticks for myself, though. They provide a very stable platform and give me the ability to move from side to side quickly. I might like this other option for longer range and less dynamic targeting, such as sheep and goat hunting.