Shooting Stick Techniques

olds442man · October 9, 2007, 08:49 AM

I am going on my first hunt in Colorado for mule deer in a few weeks. There will be some high brush so I will need to use shooting sticks. I have practiced a few times at the range and have difficulty aiming with them. It seems a bit wobbly for a while and have a a split second for a clear shot before it gets wobbly again. I am afraid that before I can get a clear shot the deer will be gone. Any recommendations or tips on how to hold and use the shooting stick?

zoomie · October 9, 2007, 12:58 PM

Mono-, bi-, or tri-pod?

olds442man · October 9, 2007, 01:59 PM

Bi-pod

zoomie · October 9, 2007, 02:10 PM

Are you gripping the Y and then resting your forearm on your hand? Or resting your rifle forearm in the Y?

olds442man · October 9, 2007, 03:22 PM

I am resting the fore end of the rifle stock just before the barrel on the y of the bi-pod, I have my left hand olding the rifle stock just behind the y trying to keep everything steady. I have tried just resting it there and I also have tried trying to apply some down force on the rifle againt the bi-pod. Nothing seems to work well.

JJE · October 9, 2007, 06:14 PM

I sometimes shoot a long-barrelled .22 revolver from a monopod. When I first started, I would try to hold it straight up, and it would wobble forward-back and also side-to-side. Eventually I found that if I let the monopod lean forwards slightly (instead of straight up) it really reduced the forward-back wobble. Then I only had to worry about the side-to-side.

With a bipod, you might want to try different forward-back angles to see if you can hold it steadier than when you try to hold it straight up.

taylorce1 · October 9, 2007, 08:32 PM

I use the Stoney Point shooting sticks I can't remember what model. I love them and they really provide a steady rest. I find that if you don't stand them straight up and down but lean them into you, so that when you lean into the shot it provides a really firm rest. I grip the sticks and not the forearm of my rifle as well, letting it rest in the "Y" formed by the sticks.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...icks&noImage=0
These are the ones I use.

olds442man · October 9, 2007, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Eventually I found that if I let the monopod lean forwards slightly (instead of straight up) it really reduced the forward-back wobble. Then I only had to worry about the side-to-side.

Thanks for the tip Julian. My wobble seems to be only side to side, but I will give it a try.

olds442man · October 9, 2007, 10:34 PM

[QUOTE]I grip the sticks and not the forearm of my rifle as well, letting it rest in the "Y" formed by the sticks.
[QUOTE]

Thanks Taylorce1. I see in most of the picture of shooting sticks on Cabela's website they also are gripping the sticks and not the rifle stock. I am trying that at home using some snap caps. That seems to help although hard to tell since being indoors I do not have much distance. The longer distances tend to increase the wobble when looking through a scope.

Fat White Boy · October 15, 2007, 09:23 PM

I'm with JJE- I lean the shooting sticks back a little and lean my body forward, creating a tripod. This lets me steady my aim...

olds442man · October 20, 2007, 11:16 PM

I was at the shooting range today practicing. It started miserably. I started shooting standing up. I had about 35% on the paper at 100 yds. I then decided to sit down and use the sticks. After a few rounds I had 85-90% on paper. Once I felt comfortable and confident with that it was back to standing up, the first shot was a perfect bullseye. Then I was able to keep 90-95% on paper. Most shots were in 4" groups. Not great, but good enough for a kill shot.

I used some of the techniques that were recommended here. I leaned the sticks back and then leaned my body into the shot. That seemed to help a lot. I also move the stick back behind the swivel studs as well. This was a big help as it gave me a marker to make sure I had the sticks in the same place each time

Thanks guys. I'll be off to Colorado in two weeks for my first hunt.

October 9, 2007, 08:49 AM	#1
olds442man Member Join Date: May 22, 2007 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 67	Shooting Stick Techniques I am going on my first hunt in Colorado for mule deer in a few weeks. There will be some high brush so I will need to use shooting sticks. I have practiced a few times at the range and have difficulty aiming with them. It seems a bit wobbly for a while and have a a split second for a clear shot before it gets wobbly again. I am afraid that before I can get a clear shot the deer will be gone. Any recommendations or tips on how to hold and use the shooting stick?

October 9, 2007, 06:14 PM	#6
JJE Member Join Date: November 1, 2006 Location: Vancouver, WA, USA! Posts: 91	I sometimes shoot a long-barrelled .22 revolver from a monopod. When I first started, I would try to hold it straight up, and it would wobble forward-back and also side-to-side. Eventually I found that if I let the monopod lean forwards slightly (instead of straight up) it really reduced the forward-back wobble. Then I only had to worry about the side-to-side. With a bipod, you might want to try different forward-back angles to see if you can hold it steadier than when you try to hold it straight up. __________________ Julian California Rifle & Pistol Association, SAF and NRA Life Member

October 9, 2007, 10:34 PM	#9
olds442man Member Join Date: May 22, 2007 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 67	[QUOTE]I grip the sticks and not the forearm of my rifle as well, letting it rest in the "Y" formed by the sticks. [QUOTE] Thanks Taylorce1. I see in most of the picture of shooting sticks on Cabela's website they also are gripping the sticks and not the rifle stock. I am trying that at home using some snap caps. That seems to help although hard to tell since being indoors I do not have much distance. The longer distances tend to increase the wobble when looking through a scope. Last edited by olds442man; October 9, 2007 at 10:35 PM. Reason: typo

October 9, 2007, 12:58 PM	#2
zoomie Senior Member Join Date: January 23, 2006 Location: GA Posts: 1,863	Mono-, bi-, or tri-pod?

October 9, 2007, 01:59 PM	#3
olds442man Member Join Date: May 22, 2007 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 67	Bi-pod

October 9, 2007, 02:10 PM	#4
zoomie Senior Member Join Date: January 23, 2006 Location: GA Posts: 1,863	Are you gripping the Y and then resting your forearm on your hand? Or resting your rifle forearm in the Y?

October 9, 2007, 03:22 PM	#5
olds442man Member Join Date: May 22, 2007 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 67	I am resting the fore end of the rifle stock just before the barrel on the y of the bi-pod, I have my left hand olding the rifle stock just behind the y trying to keep everything steady. I have tried just resting it there and I also have tried trying to apply some down force on the rifle againt the bi-pod. Nothing seems to work well.

October 9, 2007, 08:32 PM	#7
taylorce1 Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2005 Location: On the Santa Fe Trail Posts: 8,248	I use the Stoney Point shooting sticks I can't remember what model. I love them and they really provide a steady rest. I find that if you don't stand them straight up and down but lean them into you, so that when you lean into the shot it provides a really firm rest. I grip the sticks and not the forearm of my rifle as well, letting it rest in the "Y" formed by the sticks. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...icks&noImage=0 These are the ones I use.

October 15, 2007, 09:23 PM	#10
Fat White Boy Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 2005 Posts: 1,276	I'm with JJE- I lean the shooting sticks back a little and lean my body forward, creating a tripod. This lets me steady my aim...

October 20, 2007, 11:16 PM	#11
olds442man Member Join Date: May 22, 2007 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 67	I was at the shooting range today practicing. It started miserably. I started shooting standing up. I had about 35% on the paper at 100 yds. I then decided to sit down and use the sticks. After a few rounds I had 85-90% on paper. Once I felt comfortable and confident with that it was back to standing up, the first shot was a perfect bullseye. Then I was able to keep 90-95% on paper. Most shots were in 4" groups. Not great, but good enough for a kill shot. I used some of the techniques that were recommended here. I leaned the sticks back and then leaned my body into the shot. That seemed to help a lot. I also move the stick back behind the swivel studs as well. This was a big help as it gave me a marker to make sure I had the sticks in the same place each time Thanks guys. I'll be off to Colorado in two weeks for my first hunt.