Shooting sticks vs Tripod

[Woodcarver]

Great advice guys.

Is there a brand of shooting sticks that you guys recommend?

These. Beat using a tripod by leaps and bounds. Also weigh a tad over 2lb and work sitting, kneeling, or standing. Collapse to about 31" for travel.

GunStix - GunStix

Dealer & Affiliate Enquiries Welcome!! GunStix!! A unique quad leg design of shooting sticks that provides an extremely steady front and back rest for your rifle, providing bench rest like accuracy in the field! Weighing just over 2lbs and compacting down to 32.5 inches allows you to train with...

gunstix.com

 

[fourfive8]

Whatever you take or use make sure your PH and trackers know what to do with them. Things usually happen pretty quickly when it’s time to shoot. The last thing you need is for them or you to be jacking around with unfamiliar gadgets. I just use the ones they have that are normally bamboo or hardwood. They are very practiced in using their sticks. Then the only thing you have to worry about is best height set up for you. Practice with trackers/PH with whatever is used before going out. I’ve never had an issue using theirs plus it saves baggage space and me piddling around with extra gadgetry.

About regular tripods for shooting? They work ok. I use a small cheap aluminum set sometimes when walking and shooting pdogs.

 

[Firebird]

I encourage you to go to YouTube and watch ALL the videos put on there by TIA or This is Africa. Notice in particular that they use sticks. The ph carries the sticks and sets them for the shooter. If the shooter needs more or less elevation, simply raises one of the rear legs back or forward to their comfort zone. My ph used a metal version which was extremely steady.
You aren’t going to teach your ph any lessons or sell him on your favorite sticks-and I came home and tossed the jim Shockley ones I had-having learned what true sticks are capable of and how they are used, I didn’t want the gimmick versions any longer

 

[JimP]

Contact your outfitter and see what they are using in their camp. Then find something similar.

I would hate to bring my own sticks or whatever and have my PH use them. In the heat of the moment they just may forget just how they work and cost you a shot.

On my first hunt I was going to build my own sticks based on what I saw on a number of videos. But then I found some Bog Pods that were not that expensive and purchased them to practice off of. To my surprise when I got to Africa and out in the brush that is exactly what my PH was using.

That along with the fact that I don't use any type of aide when I am hunting here in the US. I learned how to brace my rifle while shooting from a sitting, kneeling, and standing position. I learned to make do with what nature has provided when I take a shot.

 

[Firebird]

Here is a short anecdote I hope you will get a smile out of-I was hunting deer in Wyoming a couple years back. There were several bucks trotting through an open sage brush valley. I threw up my trigger sticks but in the constant Wyoming wind they wiggled and wobbled something fierce. I finally abandoned them and went prone. Shot my buck using a pile of dirt from a fresh badger hole as a rest. Only then did I see the very fresh badger tracks all around the hole. . .
excellent advice to have this conversation with your ph

 

[JimP]

Here is a short anecdote I hope you will get a smile out of-I was hunting deer in Wyoming a couple years back. There were several bucks trotting through an open sage brush valley. I threw up my trigger sticks but in the constant Wyoming wind they wiggled and wobbled something fierce. I finally abandoned them and went prone. Shot my buck using a pile of dirt from a fresh badger hole as a rest. Only then did I see the very fresh badger tracks all around the hole. . .
excellent advice to have this conversation with your ph

That is one shooting position that I have never been able to do. When I get down on the ground I just can't get my neck to cooperate and bend enough to get a good sight picture with my rifle in the same plain or elevated more than my body. Even way back when I was in the Boy Scouts when all the rest of the kids were laying down I was in the sitting position.

 

[TucsonFX4]

These. Beat using a tripod by leaps and bounds. Also weigh a tad over 2lb and work sitting, kneeling, or standing. Collapse to about 31" for travel.

GunStix - GunStix

Dealer & Affiliate Enquiries Welcome!! GunStix!! A unique quad leg design of shooting sticks that provides an extremely steady front and back rest for your rifle, providing bench rest like accuracy in the field! Weighing just over 2lbs and compacting down to 32.5 inches allows you to train with...

gunstix.com

How quick are they to deploy? They look like they might be slower since there’s the front and rear stock rest portions. I know that isn’t the whole picture, but when comparing the various options, I’d just like to know pros and cons. Thanks!

 

[Hogpatrol]

These. Beat using a tripod by leaps and bounds. Also weigh a tad over 2lb and work sitting, kneeling, or standing. Collapse to about 31" for travel.

GunStix - GunStix

Dealer & Affiliate Enquiries Welcome!! GunStix!! A unique quad leg design of shooting sticks that provides an extremely steady front and back rest for your rifle, providing bench rest like accuracy in the field! Weighing just over 2lbs and compacting down to 32.5 inches allows you to train with...

gunstix.com

They look to be a copy of the Rudolph PH sticks.

 

[Woodcarver]

How quick are they to deploy? They look like they might be slower since there’s the front and rear stock rest portions. I know that isn’t the whole picture, but when comparing the various options, I’d just like to know pros and cons. Thanks!

I have found them to be fairly quick in action. You set them up and carry based on most anticipated use. The rear stock rest IS the reason quad sticks are so stable. Getting in position isn't difficult. There have been a few threads about these sticks on AH, and at least a couple videos. With a second person placing the sticks, as you would have in Africa, quad sticks would be just as quick to use as any tripod.
Like any tool, you need to practice with them.

They look to be a copy of the Rudolph PH sticks.

I bet nobody knows which came first....there are several different versions, all using the same basic principles. What I like about these over several of the other designs is the infinitely adjustable legs, rather than the fixed length sections. My kid bought a set of Bushwear sticks. Only useful standing, and felt flimsy. I do find the twist handle interesting on the Blaser version @Philip Glass made the video about.
I've used every kind of BOG and Triggerstik invented, I think, along with several iterations of tripods. None are as stable as the various quad sticks available today, imo.

 

[outwestidaho]

My problem with most shooting sticks and especially the quad and Blaser type is that I think they would be almost completely worthless on anything but flat ground. Plus most I see use them, struggle to get them set right. Don't see how they would work on ground that's steep enough to barely stand on. Granted maybe you wouldn't need them in that type of terrain. But if I'm hauling them around they better work every where I go.

This came up the other day on youtube by Desert Dog outdoors. Interesting test he did on sticks , but still all on flat ground.

 

[Hogpatrol]

One caveat with any type of shooting stick is the rifle's trigger. If it's a typical factory trigger with heavy pull, a lot of creep and overtravel, the most stable stick won't make up for those deficiencies. Add in excessive lock time in some actions and the recipe for a miss or bad hit is complete.

 

[Woodcarver]

My problem with most shooting sticks and especially the quad and Blaser type is that I think they would be almost completely worthless on anything but flat ground. Plus most I see use them, struggle to get them set right. Don't see how they would work on ground that's steep enough to barely stand on. Granted maybe you wouldn't need them in that type of terrain. But if I'm hauling them around they better work every where I go.

This came up the other day on youtube by Desert Dog outdoors. Interesting test he did on sticks , but still all on flat ground.

Carried them elk hunting in Colorado this past season. No issue at all using them on heavily tilted terrain. Which has definitely been an issue using a tripod for the last 6 or 7 years; those took a lot of fiddling with to keep from tipping over (an African style tripod would not have been as much of an issue as the spread of a leg is not stopped as on a camera tripod).
Would have been nice to have been able to actually shoot an elk off them, but as the average daily temp was around 70*, the elk where scarce. I "shot" a lot of squirrels and pine cones playing with these sticks though. Had the same concern about usability with steep terrain. Unlike the link that I posted that showed them adjusting the legs for uphill and downhill shots, I found simply adjusting the spread and the position of the feet from me (farther out or in), I can take a pretty steep angle shot up or down as quickly as a flat one. Or accommodate a kneeling position just as well.
The only time I needed to adjust the legs was for a sitting shot. While the legs will spread a long ways, it isn't enough to enable shooting from a seated position. I intentionally used these for a seated shot on a pronghorn this year at about 300 yards. Normally would have just used the knees and/or a tripod. While not as quick as the knees, the quad sticks were significantly more stable. Felt like shooting off the bench.

 

[KAROO WILD Safaris]

I like quad sticks the best for uniform, flat terrain. They’re not the best for tall guys on steep terrain. The only other issue I have with them is that they can’t be used sitting down. I actually did a short video last week on how I like to use shooting sticks. I have a Vanguard attachment for my sticks that make them very stable.

Using Shooting Sticks

 

[TucsonFX4]

Are the Blasers available in the US? I did a quick search but could only find the manufacturer site with high shipping and eBay, which I don’t care for much or trust, plus who knows if it’s a knock off or not.

 

[Berettaco]

Was hunting in Limpopo and the PH had a set of the bog pod with the y shaped rest on top. Never used that before and wasn’t a huge fan. We drove off and left those somewhere and needed another set of sticks. We stopped for lunch at a ranch house and the tracker grabbed three 7’ wood dowels and a chunk of tire tube. A few wraps and a knot and we were in business. I much prefer shooting off those vs. the big pod type - yes, the newer versions of the bog with the clamp are probably better but probably not super fast for hunting wooded/bushveld areas. But I could see where the clamp version are stellar for prairie/flatlands shooting. When I got back home I ordered a dozen hard wood dowels and got some tire tubes and made set of those primitive sticks for myself and my brother. About $20 - and I really enjoy them.

 

[Woodcarver]

This came up the other day on youtube by Desert Dog outdoors. Interesting test he did on sticks , but still all on flat ground.

This guy tested the set of quad sticks my son had bought and still liked them over the other options. Those Bushwear sticks were flimsier and significantly less adjustable, completely unusable sitting, compared to the other brands of quads such as the Gunstix. Totally agreed with his suggestion to get rid of the string they come with. Told my son the same thing.
Thought his comparison was done pretty objectively. The weights were significant to me as I do carry mine around the mountains elk hunting. Actually another thing I liked about the quad sticks over my old tripod, works well as a hiking stick and is a pound lighter.
That saddle clamp he used would probably be a good option when out calling coyotes. But way too heavy to pack around in the hills.

 

[Sabattiboy]

Great advice guys.

Is there a brand of shooting sticks that you guys recommend?

I bought a tripod set of Jimmy Shockey(?) brand and it has some features that seem like they would be a good thing to have. However, I've only used them on level ground and found it is a wrestling match to get the three legs to stay spread out. If I had a person deploying and adjusting for me it would be very stable. I've shot off of two leg sticks and didn't find them as stable but beat the tar out of nothing.
As others have said, practice various positions and with any equipment you are going to bring. Africa seems to offer adjustments so I'd say mentally prepare for that.

 

[Nevada Mike]

At the recommendation of my PH, I bought the Primos Trigger Stick. It is lightweight, easy to deploy, and has a tripod head attachment that is useless.

Cxurrently looking for a truly portable tripod for my Swaro 15 X 56 binos.

 

[Rickmt]

Call Rudolph in Texas. Great stable sticks. Get the model with wide front . $125 . I can’t believe how stable they are . Really improved my shooting.

 

[BeeMaa]

One thing I can't get over with the quad style sticks is that they don't stand up on their own. So when shooting a heavy recoiling rifle, the sticks loose contact with the rifle and could fall to the ground. I'd like to see someone using the quad sticks with a big bore with full power loads AND getting a follow up shot off the sticks as well.