Shooting sticks

[Stumpkiller]

Now some of you are saying "What is there to discuss about two sticks?" Well, some of our newer "viewers" may not have encountered them, yet. A gozillion years ago, when I did a lot of woodchuck hunting, I used a set of dowels to support my Seneca .36 and would surprise the occasional piggy out past 200 yards. After a few recent range sessions, I decided my offhand was out of hand and set about to construct a new set. I found a pair of white oak dowels, 1/2" X 36", at Lowe's for $2.29/ea. Some rounding of the ends with a jacknife & sandpaper and a toch of Minwax and Tung Oil and I had the bacics. I took a 3" x 5" piece of leather and used clothes pins to clamp it on the dowels until I had a hinge point that I could slide for height adjustment (and protect the stock finish from wood-to-wood rubbing). I sewed up the leather and added a second piece as a "flap" to one side that makes a larger padded area.

These are not them, but the idea is similar. This set doesn't appear to have a height adjust with the sling held at the tips.

Just a bit easier to plop my butt down and fire from a seated position in my back-hill range. May even tote them along come deer season.

 

[Dave K]

I made a similiar pair several years ago for ground hog hunting. They work great! I do use them also for deer hunting at times. I think they are great!

 

[RussB]

Stumpy...I have a "Wadding Stick" that is typically used by fisherman in rough water. It is very light weight, works as a walking stick, and it's collapsible. :huh:


I tried to make shooting sticks that would give me a "crossed sticks" support by pivoting at the top 6 inches, but I found out that the foot print was too wide when I used them for any position other than standing.
My wadding stick is somewhat un-orthodox as a "shooting stick", but it works.
I have found that any support beats no support. I can use this contraption kneeling, standing, or sitting, simply by placing the rifle on my fist, or extended thumb while holding on to the stick.
I envy the guys who can stand on their hind legs and blast away....some of 'em even hit something now and then!
:m2c:

Russ

 

[Stumpkiller]

Some years back there was a product made my MTM I think, that was a plastic "cane" with a rugged tent-stake type tip and a secondary handle that slid up and down the cane and locked in at various ratchets formed in the shaft. I went through a Contender phase, and did a lot of hunting with a pistol (scoped and ironsighted barrels). I started carrying a old cane I dug out of a closet and just laying the stock on top of my left hand while woodchuck shooting. What a difference just that much rest makes. I soon learned that I could loop the handle over a branch and grab the shaft while standing for long-range shots in the woods.

My left knee has survived two vehicle dashboard and turn-signal rearrangements, transforming it into a serviceable barometer and occasional anti-sleep aid, and I think I may someday soon return to that system. Stumpy's Shooting Shillelagh.

 

[Claude Mathis]

My sticks.

Just some old pine, whittled down with a couple pieces of metal rod in the ends.

They're about 32" long and give me a range of about 23" to 30" high, depending on how far I spread them.

 

[Tony Lucero]

I knew a fella who used one long stick for shooting offhand. The top end had a natural fork in it (he used a section of tree, not doweling) and the whole thing was big enugh to double as a walking stick, too. He also talked about figuring out a way to split it in half so he could use the top end for shooting while seated but I don't recall what his plan was.

 

[cayugad]

I have a couple of sets of sticks. I made the first one out of treated pine. Took a 2X4 drilled a number of holes 1.5 inches apart, then ripped the thing on a table saw so the holes matches perfect. Drove a big spike into the base, and a bolt with a wing nut acts as the swivel point. All you do is change holes and you can move up or down in the stick. Then the small cord at the base keeps the bottom from spreading out. They work great. If I can sit and get my back into something, and lean out on the sticks, I can get some excellent long range accuracy with them.

When I am walking, I pull the cord tight and tie the one end shut and closed then use it as a walking stick. It is not the best walking stick but it does work, and you can do emergency shooting off it if necessary.

I then made a set to use in the tree stands, and I made a small set to shoot in fields from a prone position. My friend who owns his own saw mill is cutting some oak & maple this season, so I told him to save me out a couple of good oak & maple straight 2 X 4'and I will make a nice fancy set out of some hardwood then oil the wood up real nice to water proof it.

 

[Ohio Joe]

In the morning we're having our 1st Annual Buffalo Cross Stick Match. It'll be interesting to see what folks use? I use Oak Cross Sticks within the dimensions allowed by the NMLRA rules. Mine are; 3/4 inches thick x 1 3/8 inches wide x 40 inches long with a center bolt 6 inches down from the top... I did make three extra sets in case someone forgets their's or they don't have any.

I was never a big fan of Cross Sticks until a few years (or more) ago. My friend always used them and I always shot offhand, kneeling, prone, or setting... He talked me in to giving his a try one day, and I've been hooked ever since... However, my other shooting positions have suffered. That is until hunting season rolls around and your hunter instincts kick in and you make the shot no matter what shooting position you may find yourself in.

Don Davis' - Chapter 5 article in, "Muzzle Loading Shooting and Winning with the Champions, also played a big part in getting me interested in using Cross Sticks and the rifles they use to shoot the NMLRA Buffalo Match. I've built three rifles for that purpose alone.