The Best Shooting Sticks!

Tanks said:

I can see it working for PG calibers, I don't see how it would work with my .500 NE or other big bores without holding on to the forend to be able to roll with the recoil.

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I guess you are most likely to be using the big bores in a different way.
The sticks might be better for of and longer range.
The big bore is likely to be used on big game at shorter ranges. Possibly offhand

CBH Australia said:

I guess you are most likely to be using the big bores in a different way.
The sticks might be better for of and longer range.
The big bore is likely to be used on big game at shorter ranges. Possibly offhand

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I don't use sticks for elephants, just a hasty sling. I did use the sticks for cape buffalo at a little over 50 yards on the last hunt with the .500 NE. Same with the 9.3x74R at much longer ranges, but held the firearm the same way even though no perceptible recoil with that firearm.

I just don't see a value in using two different techniques for shooting sticks. Easy to get confused at the heat of the moment.

I just got my blaser carbon sticks and love them. Not especially better for me at reasonable ranges that standard tripod shooting sticks but my kids are better able to steady a full size rifle and use it while hunting. The capability of panning horizontally is well thought out. So far I've only shot my 280 ackley and my savage 99 on it so I can't comment on larger calibers, but I'll shoot the 416 rigby soon to see how it does. I run the ackley with a suppressor and it is quite muzzle heavy so the sticks really help. It also is quite adjustable and numbered makings make adjustment repeatable so at 6'3" I can switch off with my son at 5'6". This is better than my 4 stable sticks.

"The best shooting sticks?" To each his own... I'm of the old school. The best shooting sticks IMO, are the ones your professional hunter provides when you arrive in country.

TSIBINDI said:

"The best shooting sticks?" To each his own... I'm of the old school. The best shooting sticks IMO, are the ones your professional hunter provides when you arrive in country.

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We brought the sticks we had been practicing with (BOG-POD RLD-3) for the previous year and a half. Proved to be a good move because the sticks our PH had were crap. We are now using BOG Adrenaline tripod because they break down to a shorter OAL for easier travel. Dance with the one you came with.

After watching Philip Glass' video I ordered a pair of Blaser's shooting sticks. It arrived last week and I was able to try it out yesterday.

My first impressions are: It is well made, sturdy and doesn't seem to flex as much as some tripods do. I think the thing that impressed me the most is its tensioning system, Blaser calls it a screw closure. I think this may be the best I have come across. I found it easy to adjust and have not noticed any slippage like I have on some tripods and bipods.

I have mixed feelings about the pistol grip. You do get a wide arc of rotation and the feeling was positive and stable. The only thing that felt strange to me was having my hand on the pistol grip and having the butt into my shoulder at the same time. It gave me grave trepidations of things to come so I kept my grip on the for end of the stock. Maybe with lots of practice I will over come that. The good thing for me was I still was able to get a good range of arc while gripping the fore stock.

Overall I am happy with my purchase and look forward to a lot of practice with it.

375Fox said:

I’m interpreting this as a negative comment against quad sticks. I’m assuming it took a lot of practice to reliably hit a 6” plate at 200 and 300 yards from a tripod. With quad sticks the accuracy is much more of a given, a huge amount of practice isn’t really needed. What comes with practice is speed. I’m confident I can send an accurate shot faster off my quad sticks faster than most off a tripod. At 50 yards or 300 yards. The biggest value of quad sticks isn’t the ability to shoot long range, it is the fact the only movement is up or down, so on a broadside shoulder shot there should be no opportunity to wound an animal with a far back shot. I’ve never become comfortable using a tripod. I’ve put my effort into using quad sticks (4 stable sticks) and bring them with me on my trips. If your willing to practice both tripods and quad sticks are both equally practical and fast. This design however I see a big advantage but also a few disadvantages, hopefully I can try the blaser sticks at some point to know.

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I bought some of the first quad sticks. In my flat field they were awesome. In the hills of Africa they were terrible given could never get a flat field platform. I have bought the new two legs touching the ground yet folds out to give same advantage of quad sticks with butt support just on two legs. Does not have the lateral movement Phillip shows which I think is an awesome improvement.

One thing about the design I just thought of, in a lot of the posts above people have mentioned the pistol grip helps with tracking the game and this would definitely help with long distance shots. At long distance shots a very slight horizontal change at the sticks translates into many, many yards of horizontal change on point of aim at the target.

So, I think that pistol grip is a solution in search of a problem for the above reason. Now, advantage of quad vs tripod on flat ground I can see the advantage of extra stability for long shots.

Rare Breed said:

I bought some of the first quad sticks. In my flat field they were awesome. In the hills of Africa they were terrible given could never get a flat field platform. I have bought the new two legs touching the ground yet folds out to give same advantage of quad sticks with butt support just on two legs. Does not have the lateral movement Phillip shows which I think is an awesome improvement.

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I’ve never tried the original quad sticks, but viper flex and 4 stable sticks actually give a lot of movement if you learn how to shoot them. Everyone simply tries to apply tripod methods to quad sticks and it’s not effective. I’ve used them on many hills in Africa with good effect. The Blaser sticks would make going from tripod to quad sticks much easier I believe though.

As I noted in my earlier post, I ordered a set of the Blaser sticks when I saw @Philip Glass 's post. While at DSC, I also picked up a set of the carbon 4Stablesticks that JJ Perodeau markets on his site. https://jjperodeau.com/store/?model_number=New-Carbon-shooting-stick

I am a big fan of Teutonic engineering and the Blaser sticks demonstrate that capability in marvelous precision. They are indeed quite stable once they are set up, and the pistol grip will work fine with a light to medium recoil rifle. For sniping a springbuck or lechwe off the flats with a .300 it would be a meaningful improvement over a plain tripod or the early quad designs. However, they would be a fairly large device to take on an international trip.

The Blaser set, in the travel bag, is approx 46 inches long. The 4Stablesticks travel at 24 inches. Both are a carbon design. However, the 4Stablesticks weigh a negligible 20 oz, and I would estimate the Blaser sticks are 3 to 4X that weight. The Blaser system is still quite light, and they will represent more of a packing issue rather than weight challenge.

Both designs use the two point base, which is far more flexible on any terrain than a tripod design.

The 4Stablestick has a flat forend rest. It is enough to allow some useful left to right target tracking, but the Blaser design does offer quite a bit more. I personally don't think it is enough to be meaningful under actual field conditions, but that is purely my personal subjective opinion. It is obviously much easier to employ a traditional hold on a hard recoiling rifle with the simple 4Stablesticks design. Once assembled, they are like carrying nothing at all.

This is a photo of both sets ready to be packed.



For setting up in a hasty stand here in this part of the country, I would use the Blaser design. For international travel, however, it would be no contest. I would pack the 4Stablesticks.

TSIBINDI said:

"The best shooting sticks?" To each his own... I'm of the old school. The best shooting sticks IMO, are the ones your professional hunter provides when you arrive in country.

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I used to be that way as well. Then I found quad sticks and can shoot 600+ yards accurately and consistently. I could never do that off a tripod. For close up DG hunts the old ones are fine.

My son made a 310 yard shot on a doe this weekend, kneeling, off the Gunstix. He would have passed on the shot if he was still using a tripod, or worse, the Triggerstick he had bought last year. I, on the other hand, blew my shot, through no fault of the quad sticks, lol. (Note to self-need to get a range finder)

I bought a Bog Pod tripod and that was okay especially with my late 70's father shooting, helps him steady the rifle. I then bought the Fenris II quad sticks, worlds apart, culling feral goats out to 400m with 300Win in a Sendero weight Rem700, very very effective in tall grass.

Now I am looking at the Blaser Carbon Fibre Shooting Stick 2.0, with my hunting rifles having rounded fore-ends you notice the don't settle as well as I'd like. I use the quad sticks whenever I can now and they are pretty quick to get into with a bit of training.

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Philip Glass said:

I couldn’t wait for the hunting conventions to handle and purchase the new Blaser Carbon Shooting Stick 2.0. It took some time to get these since they came from Germany but it was well worth the wait. I have to say Blaser has done it again. They have a product unlike any on the market today. The rotating pistol grip front support allows you to follow moving game and has overcome the one downside to quad sticks. Here is my video review.

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These are what I use as well. Very happy with them! Thanks Philip for bringing to my attention