Shooting off sticks

[migrabill]

Scheduled for my first African Safari in June of 2024. Although I am an avid hunter here in my US home, I have never shot off sticks. Of course I plan to practice that (a lot) before I head over. Any advice for someone who has never shot off sticks before? Anything different I should be "feeling" or doing?
Love this helpful community. Thanks in advance.

 

[John458Lott]

Scheduled for my first African Safari in June of 2024. Although I am an avid hunter here in my US home, I have never shot off sticks. Of course I plan to practice that (a lot) before I head over. Any advice for someone who has never shot off sticks before? Anything different I should be "feeling" or doing?
Love this helpful community. Thanks in advance.

Have a look on YouTube for Craig Boddington videos. He demonstrates well the use of sticks.

Also demonstrated in Boddington on Buffalo video Part 1.

Here's a tip: Practice dry firing on your own sticks in your own living room. Pick little targets like light switches a vase etc. It will benefit you more than you think. If you are going to RSA they use something very similar to Pimos Trigger Stick rather than those wooden ones you see in the videos.

 

[JimP]

Have a look on YouTube for Craig Boddington videos. He demonstrates well the use of sticks.

Also demonstrated in Boddington on Buffalo video Part 1.

Here's a tip: Practice dry firing on your own sticks in your own living room. Pick little targets like light switches a vase etc. It will benefit you more than you think. If you are going to RSA they use something very similar to Pimos Trigger Stick rather than those wooden ones you see in the videos.

After 2 safries I would say that Bog Pods are quite popular. Haven't seen a Pimos Trigger Stick yet.

 

[SETH RINGER]

I TRAVEL WITH MY OWN FROM AFRICANSPORTINGCREATIONS.COM, IF THE GUIDE HAS TRADITIONAL WOODEN STICKS I JUST SHOOT OFF HIS BUT IF HE HAS PRIMOS I LOAN HIM MINE TO USE.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

I don't have the links, but use the search feature here: there is good, solid advice on this site that I made use of when I was getting ready to go over for my first safari. Also, maybe it doesn't matter but for me, psychologically, I wanted as close to what my PH would be providing as possible. I took a look at photos - he has some custom made tripods. The closest I could find commercially was the Bog Pod style tripod, so that is what I bought. I guess my advice would be to give it time. I did NOT take to it like a duck to water. The first few times I felt more or less like a big, fat failure; I had never shot off a tripod before. I know I've read some other folks say start with a rimfire to focus on the sticks and form. That makes sense but I jumped right in with my guns I took with me.

I will say this: for me, they have been an awakening. I was successful on 10 out of 10 animals. Far and away the worst was my first - it required a follow-up and I was nervous shooting off sticks for real for the first time. That said, I take my own tripod with me everywhere now. I have used them to: shoot critters here (moose and caribou), to hang camp gear from, to hang a water filter from, as a hiking staff, and I use them allllll the time to brace my binoculars when glassing. I even used my tripod to hang a caribou from. My tripod goes with me everywhere.

The top photo was minutes before I called in my bull moose last fall and shot it. The bottom photo (sorry for the blur in the middle) was my daughter getting ready to shoot a caribou off the same tripod last fall.

 

[375Fox]

Ask your PH what type of sticks he’s using and you can get an exact or close copy to practice with. Tripods are usually standard but quad sticks are getting much more popular. They both require a different shooting method. Tripods require more practice to be accurate. Quad sticks require more practice to be fast.

 

[NTX]

Learn your natural point of aim on the sticks. Mount your rifle, close your eyes, and feel where your body wants to point your rifle. When you start to get a feel for this concept you can add a few shooting techniques and do very well. I think one of the most common mistakes I see is trying to mount your rifle on the sticks at the balance point. That position is not forgiving. Mount the rifle with weight to the rear and lean in slightly, as if loading a bipod.

 

[Inline6]

My fist trip (and only, will be going back next year), packed my own (the three legs from Africa Sporting) and a tripod RRS anvil 30 head. My tripod that I brought I'm very familiar with spent a lot of money on it and used it in matches. (I bring this up to show my thoughts, I had a vest interest in using what I brung).

Our PH had a pair of viper flex shooting sticks. I put my rifle on his sticks and immediately knew we would be using his sticks over what I had packed. Once we returned home I purchased a set of viper flex sticks for us.

 

[shootist~]

Time is short. I'm an old competitive 3-gun shooter and standing behind tripod sticks was harder to learn than I expected as I moved beyond 100 yards.
Your goal (IMO) is all shots inside a 5" maximum radius from POA. (Mean radius will average much closer.)

+1 on dry fire practice and lots of it. I was doing several sessions per day at home on light poles at ~100 & 200. At the range, mix in one dry fire between live rounds. (Or whatever works for you.)

Breathe. A NGA trainer and master class shooter friend caught me holding my breath. Keep the O2 flowing.

Feet about shoulder width and relax. Dry firing will help you find what's comfortable.

Got a 22 or low recoiling rifle - use those for more live fire - preferably on freshly painted steel. An inexpensive 6" swinger at 50, then 100+ works great for the 22.

 

[R.M.C.]

Try some kind of quad stick , I tried 4 stable sticks and they were a game changer for me. I was supremely confident in my shooting for my first safari. I tried regular tripod shooting sticks and did what I'd consider okay but the quad sticks were magic, two or three inch groups at 100 yards was the norm from day one. In my experience they take about the same amount of time as regular sticks to set up and get on target. Good luck and happy shooting!!

 

[Cam300]

This is what worked for me: dry fire, dry fire, and dry fire more.

I also like to lean into the sticks. More stable. Also play around with where your rifle is most stable in the V, depending on the balance of the rifle it might be more stable forward or rearward. You might only have a split second, so practice shooting quickly. And dry fire some more. If you have a shooting partner, something that helped me greatly was to have him “load” the rifle and then I’d pick it up to shoot, but 2/3 of the time the rifle was unloaded and it was a dry fire. Do that a few hundred times and you’ll be shocked at the results. I can shoot off sticks better than most hunters I know can shoot off a bench.

 

[Sthoko]

A big factor is speed. Of course, it is important to train everything slowly until everything fits. However, it is essential not to neglect the time factor. Last year I only had 2-3 seconds to shoot. On oryx 180 meters, on eland 60 meters.

 

[Rickmt]

Get quad sticks ! Then get used to them and experience a vast improvement over all other sticks.

 

[375er]

My fist trip (and only, will be going back next year), packed my own (the three legs from Africa Sporting) and a tripod RRS anvil 30 head. My tripod that I brought I'm very familiar with spent a lot of money on it and used it in matches. (I bring this up to show my thoughts, I had a vest interest in using what I brung).

Our PH had a pair of viper flex shooting sticks. I put my rifle on his sticks and immediately knew we would be using his sticks over what I had packed. Once we returned home I purchased a set of viper flex sticks for us.

I did the exact same thing! Love those Viper Flex!!

 

[Inline6]

This is what worked for me: dry fire, dry fire, and dry fire more.

I also like to lean into the sticks. More stable. Also play around with where your rifle is most stable in the V, depending on the balance of the rifle it might be more stable forward or rearward. You might only have a split second, so practice shooting quickly. And dry fire some more. If you have a shooting partner, something that helped me greatly was to have him “load” the rifle and then I’d pick it up to shoot, but 2/3 of the time the rifle was unloaded and it was a dry fire. Do that a few hundred times and you’ll be shocked at the results. I can shoot off sticks better than most hunters I know can shoot off a bench.

Weather you lean or not is personal preference, what is important. You have the rifle sucked I to your shoulder. If you just let it touch your shoulder, the bullet will not hit where it should have.

 

[375Fox]

Get quad sticks ! Then get used to them and experience a vast improvement over all other sticks.

Easily available in the USA finally now too $140

4 Stable Sticks® - Classic Light 4 Point Bipod Shooting Sticks - Norma Shooting

Total length: 36”Widest point: 10”Micro-Fiber Plush Interior Pockets Carry Handle Adjustable Carry Strap Leather Reinforced tip and carry side

normashooting.com

 

[sgt_zim]

As a matter of physics, when your rifle is mounted on the sticks, it becomes a class 1 lever. There should be more length of gun between the sticks and your shoulder than between the sticks and the muzzle. Practically speaking, this means your rifle should be resting on the sticks as near to the cap on the fore end as you can get it.

Suppose the total length of your rifle is 48", and you have 16" between your shoulder and the sticks. A vertical change of 1" at your shoulder translates to a 2" move in the opposite direction at the muzzle (I think i have the math right there). Conversely, if there are 32" between your shoulder and the sticks, a vertical change of 1" at your shoulder means a vertical change of 0.5" in the opposite direction at the muzzle. The same opposite translation applies to changes in windage.

It isn't quite that simple because we're talking about arc length movement, and they don't translate exactly to linear length movement, but close enough at those lengths that it doesn't make any difference.

 

[SFRanger7GP]

Practice will build confidence. I have probably owned most all of the tripods and a set of quad sticks. I personally prefer the African Sporting Creations and a Bog Pod with the wide V head on it. I always carry my own sticks. I can find no love for the quad sticks but to each his own.

Safe shooting

 

[BeeMaa]

I owned a set of Jim Shockey Primos Tripod Trigger Sticks and I never warmed up to them. Sold them to another member here about a year ago, because I much prefer the BOG-POD design

I currently have 2 sets of BOG-POD sticks and prefer the Adrenaline tripod over the RLD-3. I reviewed them in a thread started by @Philip Glass a couple of years ago. Here's a link to my post.

https://www.africahunting.com/threads/shooting-sticks.59363/post-719358

Since then I've acquired a set of 4-Stable Sticks and I believe I like them best for doing bench work without having to use a bench. They are incredibly stable for this application. I don't have much experience with them, but will report back on what I prefer in a hunting situation. For what it's worth I'm using the Adrenaline sticks on an upcoming turkey hunt because I don't have enough experience with the Stable sticks to use them confidently.

@migrabill - If you are like most hunters, you will go through a few sets of sticks before you find what's comfortable for you. Stick with it, practice dry fire drills and then take them with you on your safari. Use what you are comfortable using.

 

[Sideshow]

Some interesting reading here. Here in the UK I use the pimos trigger sticks. It’s all woods hunting, Fallow, Roe and muntjac. I like that you can adjust the height with a squeeze of the trigger. I can be set up with in 5 secs. Rifle slung on right shoulder sticks in right hand bins in left. That way I can also use the sticks to steady the bins.