Let’s be honest….accuracy off the sticks

When I shoot from the sticks what I’m actually doing is “rehearsing the entire shot sequence “.
The sticks are set up as though the PH has just set them there, I approach from 2 or 3 steps back, rest the rifle, find the target, safety off, steady, take the shot, work the bolt for an immediate follow up. If no need, safety back on, high five the PH. Works for me. Rinse & Repeat
 
Took this guy at 191m off the sticks last week.

IMG_5380.jpeg


And another one last night a bit further out.
 
Deer hunting last fall gave me a wake up call! I really struggled to be absolutely CERTAIN on a 200 yd shot--and I wanted to be certain as it was a nice buck. Thankfully the deer had not sensed me and I had time to pick my shot when I was really sure. I know I need to practice more and refine my technique. Perhaps small movement onto target and precise trigger release, instead of trying like the dickens to just hold it steady... practice will tell. For sure, my trigger could be better! Shooting off sticks has its nuances that differ from benchrest by a mile. We owe it to the animals to be able to say "I am SURE I was on target." Without more practice, I found my limit for now--200 yds. Then again, there is sometimes an option to get prone with a practiced knapsack rest, but not always since concealment could be compromised by movement and visual identification.
Perhaps squirrel hunting with head shots only would be a good training regimen while utilizing a tripod. People can try to coach you, but you have to learn it by experience.
 
CBeck said:
That’s a good story and relates to me. Likewise I feel I’m a decent rifle shot. Apparently just not as good as I think off the sticks.

Prone, bench, backpack, truck hood, deer stand, etc. I’ve missed one whitetail in my career. An easy 50 yard shot in the wide open. I swore up and down there is no way, my rifle has to be off, I just don’t miss! I was humbled when I immediately rushed to the range to vindicate myself, and dammitman, my rifle was perfect!

15 years ago I still don’t see how I could have missed…..now that I think about it, it was a hornady bullet….i bet it didn’t expand! Yeah, that’s it, I knew I didn’t miss that deer!
Click to expand...
Almost all the shots I have seen miss have gone high--but especially so with iron sights! My brother shot right over some beautiful Auddad sheep with iron sights at about 100 yds. Other folks have sworn the deer was further out than it was and held over intentionally into blue sky.
 
I zero from the bench, then I never see the bench again. I use water jugs and bottles for practice off of sticks. I can consistently hit a 20z water bottle at 100 yards off of the tripod sticks. I shoot gallon sized water bottles at 200/300 yards, and usually practice off the sticks that support both the butt and fore-end of the gun
 
One Day... said:
Making your own steel plates stands





This is really easy, and not too expensive.

The mistake is to set all the plates on one stand at the same distance.

You can start cheaply with one set of plates from Amazon:
  • 3" at 100 yds (3 MOA shot)
  • 4" at 150 yds (2.7 MOA shot)
  • 5" at 200 (2.5 MOA shot)
  • 6" at 250 yds (2.4 MOA shot)
  • 8" at 300 (2.7 MOA shot)
View attachment 667378

Do not waste your time making wood stands, they will not survive. Neither will the stands commercially available.

After a couple trial & error, I designed my own stands, that I make from plumbing supplies. They are foldable and indestructible. All the parts are available at Home Depot.

View attachment 667385

View attachment 667386

I add a ring on the horizontal beam to be able to slide an anti-theft cable when I transport them in the bed of the truck.

You can always, later, buy individual 10" or 12" plates if you want to shoot at longer range or extend your course.

I personally use 1 stand with 4" 3" and 2" 'plates' for 100 yds .22 LR practice, and up to 8 stands with 2 x 6", 2 x 8", 2 x 10", 2 x 12" plates for centerfire practice.

View attachment 667389

View attachment 667390

I could not find a 2" 'plate', so I had to make my own :E Rofl:

View attachment 667391

I hope this helps :)
Click to expand...
I ALWAYS learn something from OneDay!
 
BRICKBURN said:
I consider myself a pretty decent rifle shot.
Most of my practice is from a prone position with a bi-pod on the rifle. I have placed 5 shots into a 4 inch area on a gong at 750 yards. (prone with a bi-pod)
I'm not bad on the sticks. Giraffe, down to Bushbuck etc, etc all taken out to 300 yards with various rifles and calibers. No issues.

After this last hunting season where I missed a deer at under a hundred yards while leaning on a barbed wire fence post. I now sincerely wonder if I still know how to shoot at all.
I may have to be sent to a boot camp to review some fundamentals. Including, using sticks to shoot.
Apparently, the skill requires constant maintenance. :)
Good luck with your shooting.
Click to expand...

After looking at this thread again I was taken back a couple of years to the English countryside where I managed to whiff a shot at a Muntjac off of sticks at a distance that I should have been able offhand shoot. It must have been the Trauma that made me forget that horrific miss.
Thankfully, after giving my head a severe shake, I was able to recover and use the sticks properly at much longer ranges and take a Roe, Fallow and Muntjac.

Practice makes you, somewhat better....
 
Last edited:
steve white said:
Deer hunting last fall gave me a wake up call! I really struggled to be absolutely CERTAIN on a 200 yd shot--and I wanted to be certain as it was a nice buck. Thankfully the deer had not sensed me and I had time to pick my shot when I was really sure. I know I need to practice more and refine my technique. Perhaps small movement onto target and precise trigger release, instead of trying like the dickens to just hold it steady... practice will tell. For sure, my trigger could be better! Shooting off sticks has its nuances that differ from benchrest by a mile. We owe it to the animals to be able to say "I am SURE I was on target." Without more practice, I found my limit for now--200 yds. Then again, there is sometimes an option to get prone with a practiced knapsack rest, but not always since concealment could be compromised by movement and visual identification.
Perhaps squirrel hunting with head shots only would be a good training regimen while utilizing a tripod. People can try to coach you, but you have to learn it by experience.
Click to expand...
Yes definitely @steve white knowing your rifle is a must. My longest shot is 210y off the sticks. High shoulder shot on a young one after I’d been busted and they had all run into the middle of a paddock. Here’s a pic I shot from the tree line over Mo’s shoulder long drag back. Still not confident enough to try head shots at that range maybe neck but definitely more practice needed. For me it’s the set up getting on the sticks that’s most important. I know what my rifle is capable of.
BRICKBURN said:
After looking at this thread again I was taken back a couple of years to the English countryside where I manage to whiff a shot at a Muntjac off of sticks at a distance that I should have been able offhand shoot. It must have been the Trauma that made me forget that horrific miss.
Thankfully, after giving my head a severe shake, I was able to recover and use the sticks properly at much longer ranges and take a Roe, Fallow and Muntjac.

Practice makes you, somewhat better....
Click to expand...
if you started with the Fallow and end with the Muntjac maybe you may have felt a lot better :ROFLMAO:


Edit pic isn’t posting see if tomorrow’s effort works.
 
Since closer is better, I will relate what a friend did in Tanzania when he was stationed there for about 20 yrs and did a good bit of hunting on his own. In a nutshell, he regularly closed the distance on game--and I mean the really GOOD trophies by slinging his rifle over his back and getting down on his stomach to crawl like a sniper. When close enough to see, he would only move when their head was down to feed, and took his sweet time. You should have seen the horns he had on display! He insisted that anyone who hunted with him hunt that way. That was the way he hunted before quad sticks were even invented.

The only thing that infuriated him was the way a group of trackers, gun bearers and water carriers and scouts routinely stood fully erect, making it impossible to get as close as he regularly did. Maybe you have memories of staff standing out like a sore thumb? I sure do.
 
PARA45 said:
I have the Rudolph quad sticks, and it was a game changer for me when I practiced with them. I took them to Africa in 2022 and made an incredible shot on a Nyala with my 375 H&H. I did shoot the 375 for a bit over 6 months and was very confident with my rifle and ballistics of the 375. Oh, and I did not chase any grouping, I focused on the first shot period.

I wish I knew how to post a video to show you the shot. Better yet, I'll text you the video for you to view. (y)
Click to expand...
I use the Rudolph’s too and love them. Easy to use, stable and light! Also very easy to get comfortable behind the scope.
 
CBeck said:
The “stolen valor“ thread got me thinking about accuracy and lies, “off the sticks”

Of course, shot placement is always important and, of course, in Africa shooting off the sticks is going to be important.

I see a lot of hunters practicing before their trips and stressing immensely over their group size. I think a lot of the nervousness and worry is because of Internet snipers.

I see a lot of gentlemen on this forum, claiming impressive feats with rifles shooting free hand or off sticks.

I practice shooting at a silhouette that has a 6 inch center cut out. On my range at the house which is about 120 yards where my tripod sticks are set up, I’m good for 8 or 9 out of 10 inside that 6 inch inch steel. The others land within 8 inches typically… 4 inches from the bull’s-eye.

Maybe I’m a horrible marksman, I don’t know, but I see a lot of guys claiming they are shooting tiny groups at 100, 200, 300 yards off the sticks.

Now the way I see it a good rifle for hunting purposes is shooting a 1.5” group or thereabouts hopefully less at 100 yards off the bench with a solid rest.

That’s 3 inches at 200 yards off a bench with a solid rest… So, my question is this how many of you are actually shooting those kinds of groups off of sticks? Let’s be honest.
Click to expand...
@CBeck
I haven't shot off a tripod but have used stable sticks (quad sticks ) these are extremely stabIe have shot 1.5" at 100 and 2" at 200.
To me that Are like having a bench rest in the bush. From the sitting position with the quad sticks I think I'm almost as good as off the bench.
I know my rifles are extremely accurate but in the field from field positions in more than happy hitting a saucer ( about 6" diameter )at 200 yds.
I know a group that size is going to give me a kill shot.
Bob
 
@
steve white said:
Deer hunting last fall gave me a wake up call! I really struggled to be absolutely CERTAIN on a 200 yd shot--and I wanted to be certain as it was a nice buck. Thankfully the deer had not sensed me and I had time to pick my shot when I was really sure. I know I need to practice more and refine my technique. Perhaps small movement onto target and precise trigger release, instead of trying like the dickens to just hold it steady... practice will tell. For sure, my trigger could be better! Shooting off sticks has its nuances that differ from benchrest by a mile. We owe it to the animals to be able to say "I am SURE I was on target." Without more practice, I found my limit for now--200 yds. Then again, there is sometimes an option to get prone with a practiced knapsack rest, but not always since concealment could be compromised by movement and visual identification.
Perhaps squirrel hunting with head shots only would be a good training regimen while utilizing a tripod. People can try to coach you, but you have to learn it by experience.
Click to expand...
@steve white
With my body if I got prone to shoot I would have to have a sleep after the shot until someone came along to get me up.
The same as going camping if I slept in the ground and wanted to start hunting a 6am I would have to get up at must so I could be upright enough to have my coffee a 5am before hunting. Once upright in fine it the getting up that's hard .
Bob
 
steve white said:
Since closer is better, I will relate what a friend did in Tanzania when he was stationed there for about 20 yrs and did a good bit of hunting on his own. In a nutshell, he regularly closed the distance on game--and I mean the really GOOD trophies by slinging his rifle over his back and getting down on his stomach to crawl like a sniper. When close enough to see, he would only move when their head was down to feed, and took his sweet time. You should have seen the horns he had on display! He insisted that anyone who hunted with him hunt that way. That was the way he hunted before quad sticks were even invented.

The only thing that infuriated him was the way a group of trackers, gun bearers and water carriers and scouts routinely stood fully erect, making it impossible to get as close as he regularly did. Maybe you have memories of staff standing out like a sore thumb? I sure do.
Click to expand...
@steve white my son's long range game shooting that I taught him is if it is over 200yards use your scientifically designed hunting boots to close the distance then shoot it.
From the sitting position and using his knees or a hand in a tree/post as a rest he can hit 1 litre drink bottles at 400 but in game I ALWAYS encourage him to get closer.
Bob
 
In 15 years of guiding visiting clients and guests I have decided that most people claim (and often believe) their accuracy to be 1/3 of what it actually is. In the field, on average, their group size doubles or triples in size.

Very few people practice enough. Closer is not better in my experience - I would rather someone shoot at twice the distance with an excellent shooting position and time to be comfortable and accurate.
 
@CBeck
Sorry I have to disagree with your 2" off sticks.
If you can confidently land a bullet in a 6" circle at that range you are going to take out vital organs and ensure a quick death of the animal.

I would go as far to say that most shooters myself included would have some difficulties getting 2" groups at 200 with the average rifle even off the bench.
Yes rifles have become more accurate than days of yore but a 1" group at 100 doesn't automatically make a rifle a2" @200 or 3"@300.
Good shooting involves an accurate rifle and lots of practice. I can no longer shoot off hand as well as I used to and accept that limitation so I use anything I can to guarantee a kill shot.
Apert from sticks I find the sitting supported the most accurate.
CBeck said:
That was sort of my point here… I think it’s important to establish realistic expectations of Hunting accuracy.

I’m in no way advocating for sloppy shooting on a live animal, but I am trying to garner what is realistic.

I don’t think it does anybody any good to say you have no business Hunting if you can’t shoot 2 inches at 200 yards off the sticks

Now I’m sure there are some that can but I bet it’s not many
Click to expand...
 
dogcat1 said:
Two things.

1. Be sure the PH knows how high you like them set. I am 6' 3" and like them up a bit.

2. Be sure to settle into them with a slight lean forward to steady the sticks. The "long" stick goes out in front and you are basically inbetween the back two sticks. Lean in a bit and use your non-trigger hand to hold the rifle.
Click to expand...
@dogcat1
When shooting of sticks I found I was even better if the PH applied a small amount of pressure to my back. Doing this took all the wobble out and allowed for more stability especially after a long stalk when you are breathing hard and a bit shaky. You would be surprised how that hand helps.
When I shot my black wildebeest at 180 I was a bit shaky but the hand settled that down. The animal was quartering away and I was able to place the bullet exactly where I called. After the shot the PH said don't worry about reloading. I told him I wasn't and thanked him for the added benefit of that hand on my back.
I will take any advantage I can.
Accurate rifle, confidence and a steadying hand.
Bob
 
I have found that using a military type sling adjusted fairly tight where forward pressure can be applied to the sticks helps. A rifle placed on sticks has a tendency to wobble left and right. Using the sling allows one to put not only pressure on the sticks but also enables a shooter to apply pressure on his shoulder. My way is a push push vs wobble and pull if that makes sense.
 
Pole Pole said:
I have found that using a military type sling adjusted fairly tight where forward pressure can be applied to the sticks helps. A rifle placed on sticks has a tendency to wobble left and right. Using the sling allows one to put not only pressure on the sticks but also enables a shooter to apply pressure on his shoulder. My way is a push push vs wobble and pull if that makes sense.
Click to expand...
Interesting I have much more trouble with verticle wobble on sticks than horizontal.

Wondering if others have the same feeling or I’m doing something wrong.
 
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