Let’s be honest….accuracy off the sticks

[fisherofmen]

I shoot fair off the sticks until I have a 450 lb Nilgai looking at me from 150 yards. Then I am able to achieve a clean miss. I've done this on both Nilgai hunts. No blood or hair, thank goodness. Second oppurtunity resulted in some tasty meat on both hunts.

 

[Flewis]

I can hit the ground every time at 400 yards off sticks.

 

[Sideshow]

Found this and thought it might help for those in the market.

So I brought the sticks the PH Jagar sticks that the guy in this video recommended. One fault that has come to light whilst using these is that once you have set your normal height it is hard to splay the legs to take low shots, for instance under trees. Or in my case under the browse line. So something to look out for when buying sticks and if your hunting is in a wooded area.

 

[PARA45]

This year I made my longest shot off the sticks with the 375 H&H on a Kudu. This hunt took place in the Eastern Cape, and this Kudu was quartering away and across this valley, with no way to get any closer. The PH gave me the distance (312 yds), I adjusted accordingly and took the shot. The bullet impacted on the last chevron, and bullet exit on the opposite front shoulder. Kudu expired with 10 yds or so.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

This past winter, I lost my tripod sticks due to a brain fart. Was at the range and loaded up but had leaned the tripod sticks against the shelter and failed to load them back into the truck. When I returned to get them one of our nice club members had appropriated them. So, I went on the search for a better option and settled on a set of 4-Stable quad sticks (Amazon). They worked much like a large bipod and while a slight bit slower for me to set up and mount, I found them to be significantly more stable and I could shoot almost as accurate as off the bench.

The week prior to this years Safari I took both my rifles to the range to shoot a few shots and chorno some ammo. While getting the chrono results, I shot all of my shots from the quad sticks at a 8"x8" steel plate at 200y. Both the 7mm/08 and the 375HH hit that plate with every shot using five different loads and all shots from both rifles fit inside of a 6" cluster. Considering the range of ammo used that day, I was very pleased with that level of accuracy. The 7mm is a little bit more accurate but it is a true 1/2moa rifle and a later string shot at a 6" round gong all connected. I travelled to Africa confident that I could hit most anything I needed to with either rifle.

A couple of things to note. When mounting the sticks from my Rhodesian carry, I place the sling to the left of the front cradle and the sling swivel in front of the cradle. I then grasp the sling and the cradle in my left hand and pull it tight to the front of the cradle. For me, this pulled the front of the rifle tight to the sticks and prevents the recoil from dislodging the rifle from the sticks. I can slide the front of the rifle from side to side to adjust aim within the width of the cradle which is usually enough range of movement. Rocking fore and aft gets us the vertical adjustment of aim. Since there is no solid rear support accept for the rear cradle, it is not fully as stable as a rear bag on a bench but as long as the shooter is not moving on his/her feet, it is pretty darned close. The quad is harder for a shooter to carry and set up himself but it can be done with practice. Far better when a guide/PH sets the sticks for you. Unlike a tripod the quad will not stand alone by itself but that is only a small problem. I have seen some with a 5th stick in front to do that but so far, I have not found it to be a handicap to use without the 5th support stick.

 

[VertigoBE]

I actually find that quad sticks are easier to setup yourself if you carry them, then when someone else tries to set them up for you.

What I do:
With strong side barrel up carrying of the rifle (right), my weak side hand (left) carries the sticks horizontally pointing forward. When coming up to my quarry, i square up to the target and open the sticks in a V resting the cradles against my chest, the feet forward pointing to either side of the target. I unsling my rifle, gripping it with my right hand at the normal place behind the trigger and with my left hand I push both cradles forward. I let the forearm of my rifle fall into the front cradle and then use my left hand to put the rear V just behind my right hand, behind the pistol grip. Taking one step to angle myself a bit better, my left hand goes to the forearm and I'm ready to rock.

When someone else set's it up for me, it is never going very well. They are usually not looking at the sticks, but the animal instead. The quad sticks are not very stable, until there is weight on them, so when someone else does it, putting the rifle in the front or rear cradle tends to swing the whole thing one way or another. Which makes putting the rifle in the other cradle much more different. As there is also less lateral movement possible than on three sticks, the "direction" when putting up quad sticks is also of more importance in the beginning, because it will be a bit more complicated to adjust. Doing it yourself assures you of getting the "direction" right.

Yes, one day I'll make a video about it, I just need to find a way not to get my ugly mug in the video.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

This year I made my longest shot off the sticks with the 375 H&H on a Kudu. This hunt took place in the Eastern Cape, and this Kudu was quartering away and across this valley, with no way to get any closer. The PH gave me the distance (312 yds), I adjusted accordingly and took the shot. The bullet impacted on the last chevron, and bullet exit on the opposite front shoulder. Kudu expired with 10 yds or so.

View attachment 712660

Almost identical animal to my first bull shot off TWO sets of sticks just before dusk on the last day. Long shots were anticipated on that property so the owner also brought his sticks. Both were three legged variety with gun cradles. First shot was about 250 yards but the bullet dropped under his belly, fortunately just missing a front leg. I had switched to a rental rifle because the scope (brand new) broke on mine. Foolishly, I was using my ammo, not the lodge's. Luckily the bull gave us another chance forty minutes later and they set the rifle up on both sets of sticks, one cradling the fore end and the other just behind the pistol grip. We waited for more than a half hour before the bull's younger partner finally stepped out of the way. My bull stepped downhill a bit about the time they said to shoot, I put the crosshairs up between his horns, and broke his neck. I really don't think I should have taken that shot. Too many variables and too near end of daylight. But it worked. Thankfully. The sticks setup was somewhat unique. Probably the most stable variation but relatively inflexible and complicated to set up.

After it was down I asked my PH the range. 330 yards!
"Jeezus! Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I knew you wouldn't take the shot that I knew you could make."
My PH definitely had some psychiatry skills. I suspect all the good ones do.

 

[EarlsSon]

Never had any issues, and I hunted in some uneven terrain in the Eastern Cape. I shot the Nyala from one ridge to another, and I had to readjust the sticks, but otherwise I was solid. The same with the Bushbuck, but no issues adjusting. Practice makes the difference.

I as well never had any major issues making minor corrections in the uneven terrain while hunting in the Free State or any other of the provinces that I've had the fortune of hunting. My PH and I tracked / followed a nice Waterbuck for over 45 minutes and on several occasions we were up on the quad sticks only having to remove them and relocate due to his moving and knowing of our presence. He finally gave us the opportunity for an uphill shot at 272 yards, my PH put up the "Stable Sticks" / quad sticks and after minor adjustments for height I was able to take a well placed shot. I could hear the bullet impact and watched him go about 45 yards before going down for good. It should be noted that I took several other animals with those same sticks on my trip back to the RSA in 2025. Knowing full well that they were going to be used abroad I bought a pair of the carbon graphite quad sticks from Raven Rocks in the US and practiced with them until I felt comfortable setting them up and shooting them from 100 to 250 yards accordingly. I'm not a good shot by far but by practicing off of them on a weekly basis I felt that I'd be able to take a shot off of them responsibly.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

When placing the sticks for myself, I have been carrying them with the strong hand (right) with the rifle slung on the weak side muzzle down. I square up to the tgt, spread the sticks from left to right and push the front cradle forward enough to just separate them a little. I then lean the sticks against my right leg and slide my left hand down and grasp the forend of the rifle pulling it forward in a smooth motion and off of my shoulder. holding it with the left hand only at about a 45deg angle from verticle, I then reach out with the right hand to steady the front cradle of the sticks as I place the foreend upon the front cradle, making sure the rifle sling is draped in front of the cradle as opposed to in it. I thn slide my right hand to the pistolgrip and my left then grasps the forend, cradle and the sling all forming a stable front grip as my eye is settling to the cheek weld still looking just above the scope for confirmation of alignment and elevation. If elevation is off too much, I can either rock fore or aft or if necessary open the sticks further with my front foot. It sounds complcated but with practice you can deploy and mount them in about 3-5sec.

I like the muzzle down carry because it is safer than the horizontal Afrikaan carry and faster to deploy than the traditional muzzle up military carry. If you find yourself having to negotiate slick, steep, muddy trails where you fear jamming the muzzle into the dirt, it is easy to switch carry methods for short periods of time until back on better ground.

 

[Lancaster]

So I brought the sticks the PH Jagar sticks that the guy in this video recommended. One fault that has come to light whilst using these is that once you have set your normal height it is hard to splay the legs to take low shots, for instance under trees. Or in my case under the browse line. So something to look out for when buying sticks and if your hunting is in a wooded area.

Which is why I went for Viperflex, they can even go down to prone (bipod style)