Shooting Sticks - Accuracy Expectations

[Killo]

Lots of great input...thanks! To answer a few of the questions:

The group at the top was shot from tripod style sticks. That is what the PH on my up coming hunt provides and I was not going to take a set with me if I did not have to.

I own a set of the Rudolph PH quad sticks. Have not shot them much but I will, if they tighten up my groups I will take them with me. I just checked they will just fit in my gun case.

I also have BOG Mono, Bipod and Tripod sticks.

Up coming trip is Eastern Cape in SA. My PH says most shots will be 50-150 but there are often opportunities for longer shots.

I have several rifles that would work well for all plains game....308, 30-06, 338-06AI, .338WM, 35 Whelen, .375 Ruger. Have not decided which one or two I am taking but whichever will group for me best off of the sticks will be a front runner.

I don't like a lot of magnification. My 338WM has a 3.5-10X, everything else is less, 1-5X, 1-6X, 2-7X and 2.5-8x.

I would take the 338…

 

[DLSJR]

I prefer Gunstix by far for stable shooting off sticks. They’re much more stable than any tripod sticks. The PH I hunt with the most, Alan Vincent, has not been a fan of quad sticks and we’ve gone back & forth on using his tripod sticks or my quad Gunstix. After I hunted with him in Cameroon last February and made a tough 225 yard shot on a Lord Derby Eland, threading a bullet between some intervening branches and dropping it in his tracks while using my Gunstix, he started leaving the tripod sticks on the truck and taking the Gunstix.

When I left camp to head home, Alan asked me to leave those Gunstix behind for his next hunter to use.

 

[Rare Breed]

My two cents given I think I have used just about all types from bi pods tri pods to quad sticks. I really like my Blaser 2 quad sticks due to the hand swivel. this means I don’t have to pick up the sticks if the animal is walking horizontal to me

 

[Green Chile]

I need to check out the Blaser quad sticks with the swivel. I like hearing that Alan Vincent, a very respected PH, was learning some new tricks. I love my PH friends but they are stubborn sometimes!

 

[WAB]

I am confused by the appeal of these new 4 pt sticks. Conventional sticks are much faster, easier to adjust to a moving target, and with a little practice, easily capable of 300+ yard shots.

 

[Deepfork]

I would take the 338…

The 338-06AI or the .338WM?

I shot both today from the bench, 1/2 inch group from the 338-06AI 3127fps with a 186gr Hammer. 5/8 inch group from the 338 WM with a 212 gr hammer at 3038fps. That is better than the 338WM usually shoots for me. The 338-06AI with the 186 gr Stone Hammer is the most accurate load I have ever worked up.

 

[DLSJR]

I need to check out the Blaser quad sticks with the swivel. I like hearing that Alan Vincent, a very respected PH, was learning some new tricks. I love my PH friends but they are stubborn sometimes!

If you wanted to see stubborn, you should have hunted with Alan’s father, Roy! He’s one of the very finest PH’s alive today (retired now), but OMG is he one stubborn fellow. Probably one of the reasons he’s so exceptional a PH.

 

[shootist~]

Sounds to me like the 338-06AI should "probably" get the nod. Jeez, what a shooter.

Have a shoot-off from the sticks, rotating rifles each week or range trip. Before my Limpopo PG hunt I rotated rifles each trip using the 225 Yard steel as the test. My 30-06 made the trip. 9 animals, none lost, and everything was on the ground after one shot except a BWB (frontal chest shot).

 

[Deepfork]

I would take the 338…

I am pretty sure the 338-06AI is going with me. I have spent the last 8-9 month working up loads for plains game in various calibers. I did not quit with a rifle/cartridge combo until I was happy with the result so I have put myself in a situation where its hard to choose! My .35 Whelen load is a 245gr Hammer (Stone Hammer) at 2800 fps. Its also very accurate and that is a thumper! The 338-06AI load and the .35 Whelen load have been the stand outs for me. I am going to shoot them both off of the tripod and quad sticks and see how that goes.

 

[Nevada Mike]

It takes some gun time to sort out shooting off sticks. I have a target .22LR (rem 513T) with a 1.5-5 Leupold scope and I would go out every morning to my courtyard and fire 10 - 20 shots at a target about 30 yards away. Foot position and balance takes a while to workout, but I was finally able to accurately shoot off sticks to about 200+ yards. I was very glad I took time to practice often.

Prior to my safari I would also set up small targets on my property and walk with my sticks and 404J stopping at various distances and firing a couple shots at each target. This paid dividends in confidence when setting up to shoot buffalo.

Learn to get on the sticks and fire QUICKLY. The last thing you want is to spend shooting time thinking about what to do with your rifle, sticks, body, eyes when game is in sight.

 

[matt vejar]

Quad sticks eliminate left and right movement. Up and down is only movement. Once you find the the sweet spot-200 yard pokes are chip shots. That’s a long shot in Africa!

 

[375Fox]

I am confused by the appeal of these new 4 pt sticks. Conventional sticks are much faster, easier to adjust to a moving target, and with a little practice, easily capable of 300+ yard shots.

I could say the same about quad sticks. I can get on quad sticks equally as fast but take a more accurate shot than a tripod. Tripods take practice to be accurate. Quad sticks take practice to be fast. The difference with quad sticks is left and right movement while pulling the trigger is eliminated. The chance of wounding an animal is significantly less. I cannot get comfortable on a tripod beyond 150 yards. The shot typically goes where it should but I’m not confident that’s where it will go using a tripod. With quad sticks I have that confidence.

 

[375Fox]

I need to check out the Blaser quad sticks with the swivel. I like hearing that Alan Vincent, a very respected PH, was learning some new tricks. I love my PH friends but they are stubborn sometimes!

Every time I return to Africa I see more PHs using quad sticks. My Namibian PH now uses them. Alan Shearing in Zimbabwe used on my first trip in 2021 but I see more CMS PHs are adopting them now as well. I think the change is slowly coming.

 

[Bush Buck]

I agree that practicing from sticks is important. I also suggest that you consider both tripod and quad sticks for practice because PHs change their sticks all the time (due to breakage, change of heart or someone giving them a new set).

Bench accuracy of a rifle builds confidence but I have found that not all accurate bench loads are accurate from sticks. The sharper and "jumpier" the recoil the more likely you are to throw a flier from sticks (and other field positions).
This tendency can be related to the rifle or the ammo.

I take the rifle and ammo combination that shows consistent point of impact when shooting from a front bag rest, sticks and sitting on the ground.

 

[sgt_zim]

One of the tricks with tripods and bipods is to get as much of the rifle behind the fulcrum as you can. In practice, this means an inch or 2 of fore end in front of the fulcrum.

If your rifle is 48" long, and you have 32" of it behind the fulcrum and 16" in front of it, each 1" movement of the buttstock means a 1/2" movement at the crown. Hopefully you're not moving THAT much, but the ratio on movement is the same as the length ratio fore and aft of the fulcrum. If 3/4 of the length of the rifle is behind the fulcrum, then the movement ratio is 3 : 1. I don't believe you could get 3/4 of the length of the gun behind the fulcrum without a Mannlicher stock, though.

 

[khesser]

One of the tricks with tripods and bipods is to get as much of the rifle behind the fulcrum as you can. In practice, this means an inch or 2 of fore end in front of the fulcrum.

With a bipod this statement is accurate because you’re supporting the rifle at two spots. Bipod in the front and your shoulder or sand bag in the rear. Further forward you can mount your bipod the better. However when shooting off a tripod where your only support is the actual tripod you want to place your rifle on the tripod at the balance point of the rifle so the tripod is doing the support. If you place the rifle on the tripod as far forward as the stock allows then you have to support the rear and that will never be as steady as if you place the rifle on the tripod at its balance point.