What model of quad stick were you using? I really can’t imagine the sticks folding under recoil unless your technique was that incorrect. I’ve shot 4 stable sticks, viper flex, gun stix, and Rudolph quad sticks. They all deploy and handle recoil about the same. I’ve never seen them fold or even start to fold but with my 458 I do see the rifle wanting to jump out of the front stick because you don’t bear the same weight into quad sticks you do a tripod. I’ve also used them a lot in uneven ground so I’ve yet to understand that comment when it gets made. Their downside comes shooting calibers above 375 but calibers above 375 are also used almost exclusively less than 100 yards so it defeats using quad sticks for added accuracy anyway. The other downside is on ground that prevents pivoting the sticks. I haven’t seen ground in South Africa, Namibia, or Zimbabwe that wasn’t suited to them yet including rocky areas. The worm mounds in Cameroon made them difficult to use there though. The difference between tripods and quad sticks is you have to practice to be accurate with a tripod while you have to practice how to be fast with quad sticks.