Offhand vs. Sticks

[russ473]

I have electrical heat shrink where the rifle rests on top for a bit of protection for fine stocks

 

[Green Chile]

Agree with Tally-Ho, and if needed you can use 1 of the legs while sitting or kneeling to rest on for a lower shot

I did exactly that for a tricky shot through a bush on a croc with a 375. It made a low percentage shot much easier. Another trick is I had the PH sitting with me so I could use him as part of the rest.

 

[Fatback]

Agree with Green Chile, if you can get some support to your “off” elbow it can almost be like shooting off a bench. I have made some shots off of sticks with that extra support that I doubt I would have even attempted without the PH supporting me. Also, often times you are a only able to see a small portion of the animal in thick cover and being able to precisely place that first shot, especially on DG, is critically important and every advantage you can provide for yourself, the better. The more your practice off sticks the more comfortable and natural it becomes.

 

[Firebird]

-I also use a .375 wby and shoot it really well. My last safari the ph had “Rudolph” brand sticks and at first I thought-oh for guys who can’t shoot. But after about two shots from them I realized what an advantage they were. I bought my own when I got home and carry them on all my hunts now. They are also wonderful for resting your Binos on while glassing from a standing position.

 

[SFRanger7GP]

With the exception of wing shooting, I always try to use some type of rest, regardless of where I am or what I am hunting. My favorite walking stick is forked for use as an improvised rest. Overall, I prefer African Sporting Creations tripod or a BogPod tripod, in that order.

Safe hunting

 

[shootist~]

Bogpod Adrenaline tripod. Compact and light enough to take along, and works very well for me.

Practice enough and you will be confident when it matters - at much longer distance than you can shoot freehand.

 

[BeeMaa]

Quick note - People are creatures of habit. Creating good habits while shooting is important. When it comes to using sticks and how you set them up, do it the same every time when you dry fire and practice at the range. Then when you get to Africa have a short conversation with the person who will be setting them up and explain how you like it. Then practice it with them a few time so everyone is comfortable.

Trying to figure this out when there is a monster trophy animal to be had could result in less than optimal results.

 

[Green Chile]

There are some really great replies here...lot of hard won wisdom that can help anyone. Learn to use the sticks in a variety of situations. Get away from the bench! Your success will increase in the field.

One thing that really matters is being ready as the shooter when the sticks get set up. Don't be 3 steps away...be right there ready to go. Set up quickly and quietly and get ready for that shot. Let the PH locate the animal and guide you to it. Be able to find an animal and that's not always simple! So often the PH will be spending precious seconds or minutes trying to tell the client where the animal is. Lots of wasted opportunities. Get faster and more efficient with all of it. I can tell when my PH or tracker is setting up for a shot and I am right THERE waiting for them to move to the side. They don't have to talk or signal to me...I'm on the sticks smooth and fast. I'm not messing with the scope...I'm not making noise or movement...I've got my feet in a good place with some ability to move or rotate a bit if needed. I'm slowing my heart rate and calming the breathing...it's all important and it's all on me to get it done.

Another important thing is being ready to move if the sticks need to go left or right or forward more. Many times you get on the sticks and the animals move...or the wind changes...be ready to adjust quickly.

 

[BRICKBURN]

When you're in the zone, offhand can be magic...but jet lagged in Africa, with unexplained jitters, while shooting at expensive animals--the sticks cancel some of the jitters IMO.

Great comment. These are some of the major factors that are not easily duplicated at the range during your training.

• Jet Lagged - Stay up all night, get two hours sleep then head to the range. Do that three days in a row.
• Just plain old excited and nervous in a new place.
• Shooting game you have never seen before. So many different sizes of plains game.
• Buck Fever - Jitters - That once in a life time animal you have been dreaming of heading into the bush at last light.
• Expensive Animals - wounded. When you go to the range put $300 to $9000 on the table and if you don't shoot perfectly have someone walk away with it.
• Wounding Animals - How many days at $350 to $1200 per day do you want to use up finding that animal you shot poorly. A cost no one seems to calculate when at the target range.

Hunting in the forest my entire life time has me well practiced at finding the proper tree for a rest and the barbed wire fence post comes in handy too.
Watch what you use in Southern Africa. They have lots of thorns there.

Once you get used to and practice with sticks you will see the advantage.

It's your hunt and your wallet. Enjoy it in the manner you choose.

 

[Green Chile]

Good points. Being able to find a rest or make a rest from whatever you have available is an important field skill. I've used a tracker or PH standing a certain way or sitting next to me. One thing about fences is the posts are useful but the wire is NOT a good rest. It bounces in recoil and you will throw the shot.

 

[BRICKBURN]

The toughest rest I was offered was the PH's shoulder. (Fingers in ears for protection)
Shooting a rifle that close to someone else was off putting.
It worked but, ....

 

[fourfive8]

Yep. Especially true after bragging up your off hand shooting ability before even starting your trip. Big audience- PH, skinners, trackers, other hunters… Expensive trip, time and energy planning. Impressive animals you’ve never seen or hunted before. Sure, what could go wrong.

 

[Nyati]

I´m not comfortable with these quadsticks, and prefer those shown by Tally Ho, just keep it simple.

I have also shot offhand, at running animals, off my PH´s shoulder, kneeling, off a backpack, depends of the situation .

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I had never used sticks before going to Africa. Like you, I either shot off a bench, leaned against a tree or, most of the time, offhand. In South Africa if you lean against a tree, you'll probably require stitches. No joke. So it's offhand or portable rest, i.e. sticks. For plains game the shooting frequently involves distance. As the name implies, plains game are found on the plains. It's not really ethical to shoot offhand at an animal 250 yards away. Often the stalk is long and in rough terrain. When the target is finally in range to shoot, it's generally not going to hang around till you get your wind back. You'll need a rest to stabilize and you'll need it fast. Dangerous game is typically very close and vitals are large target but when 1700 lbs of angry black death is looking down his nose at you from 40 yards and blowing snot ... well, that tends to elevate the heart rate of even the most experienced hunters. Tends to dampen the shorts of uninitiated. Even the most experienced will still get on the sticks if they can for the first shot. Watch any of J. Alain Smith's scores of buffalo hunting videos. He's always on the sticks. However, he never shoots off quad sticks, usually tripod type. And I understand why. Quad sticks are indeed very stable ... if the animal will stand long enough for them to be set up ... if the terrain is suitable ... and if the animal is not moving. To follow a moving animal requires literally picking up the whole contraption with the gun in it and resetting. Ugh! Tripod offers much more flexibility because the shooter can move on the target without moving the sticks. They are also very quick to set up. Also, and this is extremely important when hunting dangerous game, the shooter can disengage from tripod or bipod sticks MUCH more effortlessly than quad sticks. Slings in particular can get tangled up. For dangerous game I always remove my sling for final stalk and hand it to the tracker.

 

[BeeMaa]

My wife got upset with me staring at her when practicing at the range. I explained that there will be at least four people watching her much more closely than I am so it’s time to get comfortable with performing in front of an audience.

She shot like a champ on the trip! And I will not take any credit for her performance.

 

[Puddle]

Perhaps if you've been doing High Power rifle matches you might be able to sling up lickety split when just the right animal offers you that narrow window for a shot.

But I doubt it.

 

[UpNorthMI]

I spent decades culling deer in the hills of Scotland, at least 100 deer a year, you learned to shoot fast and accurate, uphill, downhill, close and far shots, prone, kneeling, sitting, standing freehand and all positions from a single stick.

I believe that you should take every advantage possible to ensure a solid clean kill on an animal. As commented above by Ontario Hunter, shooting opportunities often come after a long tough stalk, I'll take those sticks and try to get my breathing under control if time allows.

I took a few friends from Michigan red stag hunting in the Scottish Highlands, I insisted on making them spend a few summer afternoons practicing shooting from many positions and shooting from a single stick. I had them shoot out to 250 yards, most of them had spent their whole hunting lives shooting under 100 yards in the woods. They were all amazingly successful in their hunts and all thanked me and commented that they learned so much that summer with the practice that we did. They were extremely confident and capable of the very varied shots that occurred during their hunt in real life. Every shot taken that trip was a kill.

I'm taking my son of 21 this summer to cull buffalo and hunt plains game with his new Blaser R8 in .375 H & H and a spare barrel in .300 Win Mag, he has hunted a lot of Michigan woodland deer growing up but South Africa will be way different. For practice, I expect him to fire at least 200 rounds shooting from 30 yards to 350 yards, none of which will be shot from a bench. It will be a lot of stick use, some prone, sitting and freehand standing. I plan to shoot the same practice, I think it is so important to see what real bullet drop is over distance and to build confidence and experience. After all you are investing an awful lot of money and time on such a hunt. No matter how much experience we all have I think a little real world type practice is a good thing for us all before a big trip.

 

[Rubberhead]

Short version: Nothing but a quad-pod for me. If my next PH doesn't have quad-pods, I'll insist he buy or borrow some before I get there...here's why...

The longer story: I practiced on "sticks" before I left for Africa. Since I didn't have any real sticks, I used a camera tripod with a gun clevis. Point being that this set-up only supports the forearm of the gun, not the buttstock. I was terrible and it worried me. I went back to the range several times and got a little better but knew it was going to be an issue. When I got to Africa my PH had quad-pods. We never lost sight of a single animal that I shot off of quad pods.

To each his own but I'm sold on the idea of a set of sticks that supports the forearm and buttstock. You pay your money and you take your chances. Lost game and lost time looking for lost game is the cost of not making a quality shot. Bored trackers is the benefit of making good shots. My tracker never tracked...at least not anything that was wounded.

 

[lawrence_court]

Short version: Nothing but a quad-pod for me. If my next PH doesn't have quad-pods, I'll insist he buy or borrow some before I get there...here's why...

The longer story: I practiced on "sticks" before I left for Africa. Since I didn't have any real sticks, I used a camera tripod with a gun clevis. Point being that this set-up only supports the forearm of the gun, not the buttstock. I was terrible and it worried me. I went back to the range several times and got a little better but knew it was going to be an issue. When I got to Africa my PH had quad-pods. We never lost sight of a single animal that I shot off of quad pods.

To each his own but I'm sold on the idea of a set of sticks that supports the forearm and buttstock. You pay your money and you take your chances. Lost game and lost time looking for lost game is the cost of not making a quality shot. Bored trackers is the benefit of making good shots. My tracker never tracked...at least not anything that was wounded.

100%

I also have a few mates who are professional deer cullers in the UK. They won't go out without the quads unless it's open hill and prone is a given. If you practice with quads they're very fast to set and adjust for a walking animal.

Each to their own, but they're a magic development in standing shooting.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Lots of good suggestions. Just don't wait until Africa to learn how to hunt Africa.