Hunting Washington Forum
Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: helzbelz888 on December 09, 2011, 11:29:04 AM
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I'm thinking about purchasing either shooting sticks or a harris bipod.... i'll be hunting high buck and eastern washington next year for deer. i've been debating whether to try the sticks. they seem to be lighter, cheaper and i can use them on any rifle with ease. anyone have any preference and why?
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I had shooting sticks forever, but they seemed to always get in the way- or I'd leave them in the truck because I thought they'd get in the way. Bottom line: I never killed game with them.
I added a Harris bi-pod to my rifle 5-6 years ago, and I love it!!!! Makes steady shooting SO MUCH EASIER.
I'd never go back.
There are my 2 cents.
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P.S. I have some nearly new shooting sticks for sale....... :chuckle:
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I use a bi-pod and it will ransfer from one rifle to another easy enough, never tried sticks but I like to have at least one hand free all the time and can't if carryling sticks. :dunno:
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i tried sticks for one season a few years ago and what i found with sticks is that both hands were always occupied, one on my rifle sling the other carrying the sticks. eventually i ended up sliding the sticks through one of my belt loops so i could have my off hand free for moving brush around and helping catch my fall when i slipped on a hillside, sticks in my belt loop were cumbersome and got hung up on brush ended up losing the sticks somewhere in a deep canyon.
long story short bought a harris bipod and have never looked back. yeah it adds a touch of weight to the rifle but it doesnt fill your off hand and is always there and ready to go
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Inside 200yds... No support required. Outside 200yds, you should have ample time to use your day pack, rock, tree, sitting position or something else as support. Proper use of the sling to assist in stability will do wonders for most casual or veteran shooters. Sticks are something else to carry. Bipod is added weight on the high hunt. Bipod for doggies/sage rats and such or Antelope.
Bipod on a 50bmg. ;)
-Steve
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I try to always shoot prone over my day pack. Never used sticks or bipod....
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I have a pair of the stoney point sticks that are like tent poles and break down but connected by a string. They fit in a pouch you can put on your hip so you never know their there. Id recommend them. If your going on the high hunt your not gunna want a bi-pod I can tell you that much.
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Bog Pod. Kinda big, but steady. I've got bipods, shooting sticks and monopods. Just depends on how quickly you have to set them up.
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:) I very much prefer sticks. I use them as a walking stick, infinitely adjustable, I hate hunting or shooting prone, use on any angle or slant, killed dozens and dozens of coyotes with them, any height in a second with no clamps screws or other crap. Sticks are the only way to go.
my 2
Carl
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I prefer sticks, my son and I keep a set in each of our packs that we can grab quickly, easy to adjust when setting up on a draw or field. They weight next to nothing.
http://www.stoneypoint.com/products/bp_compact_polecat_bipods.html
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You know, I use both but I'd have to say I prefer a pair of bipod shooting sticks. I have a Harris (52cs?) "swiveling" bipod on my Howa Axiom and I am not really very impressed with it. It is not really stable, a pain to adjust, and it moves around on the rifle. And it rotates or rocks side to side, not swivel left to right like you'd think. My bipods adjust like a camera tripod with the lever lock things, they have a swivel head that swings right/left, and are light and collapse small and have a strap and the bottom of the legs to keep from spreading to far. I just put the strap over my shoulder or stuff them in my backpack and never notice them. I have a mono pod too but never use it. I think I wasted $100+ on the Harris bipod. :twocents:
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I have a bi pod, the type that you carry not the one's on your gun and I love it. It is sometimes a pain carrying them around but when you need a steady shot it's the cat's meow. If I would have had them with me on the elk I got sunday with my muzzleloader then it wouldn't have taken me 4 shots to get him.... Yes I left that out when I posted my pic and story.
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I have a harris 6-9 & 9-13 and I also have 36" sticks that I built out of 2 arrow shafts and some 5/16 fuel line. Of course, I've never hunted deer with them but I do use um for yotes. for me the bi-pod seems to be more stable, love the sticks though. I'd say try both and use what you like.
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I'd like to get one of the Primos Trigger Stick bipod or monopods and try them out. Them seem really easy with the trigger adjust but there's no way I'm paying $70-80 bucks for a plastic bipod!
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I bought some shooting sticks for my son when he started hunting and they work great. We both have a set and we have both taken deer and elk with them. Some times they are a pain in the butt to carry all day but really make up for it when there isn't anything to rest your rifle on, grass or sage to tall to get in the prone, stuff like that. And like the last guy said...I have been looking at the Primos trigger sticks in bipod.
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O.K fine you're varmit, coyote, antelope hunting. But if I see someone when I'm out elk or deer hunting with a rifle in one hand & sticks in the other I don't think I could control it. :chuckle: (uh, what's with the sticks? did you lose your $5000 guide?)
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I've used some kind of shooting stick over the years. Never missed an animal with them in 10 years til this year (I've shot 10 animals). I miss judged the angle both times this year, one I didn't take home the other I had a successful followup shot. I've used purchased shooting sticks and have lost them. Cheapest method is a couple of dowels (size is up to the shooter) tied together with large rubberbands. The rubber bands may need to be replaced every year but losing these is not that costly. Love them, if the shot is not immediate you don't have to hold the rifle for the right shot. Works awesome with young shooters, all my kids used them.
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I used a rock mount bipod on my rifle a few years ago, lasted about one season, was noisy, and a pain to set it to the right hieght.
I bought the primos trigger stick bipod last year and I loved it during hunting season. It was sturdy enough to use as a walking stick when I needed it, if you hold the trigger down completely its virtually silent, and it's the sturdiest rest i've ever had. After stalking my bull for 3 miles and being dead tired and shaky, it made for a wonderful rest to put him down.
O.K fine you're varmit, coyote, antelope hunting. But if I see someone when I'm out elk or deer hunting with a rifle in one hand & sticks in the other I don't think I could control it. :chuckle: (uh, what's with the sticks? did you lose your $5000 guide?)
What's the difference between hunting for an antelope or hunting an elk, why not have a good rest for both, what's wrong with wanting a sure shot? Seems as though I'd laugh at you for not wanting a cleaner kill.
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I've tried both and quick set up and easier to carry go sticks. I've carried a few guns with bipods and don't care for it at all. It throws the balance of the gun off for me too. With sticks you don't have to make noise to set them don't have to worry about turning and have them hang up in cover or having to make a large movement to turn. You can drop the sticks if you have to to shoot offhand and they are quick to set up kneeling.
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I've done both, but sticks are definitely better.
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Thats good to know the Primos Trigger Stick is well made and works good. I just cant seem to pry the kind of dough they want for them out of my wallet! :chuckle:
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Depends what kind of hunting you do. If you spend a lot of time on your belly waiting for game then its a bipod, if you will hunt from a ground blind or sitting next to a tree then a shooting stick works best and it will double as walking stick.
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Some of the shooting sticks are pretty heavy
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I have a harris 6-9 & 9-13 and I also have 36" sticks that I built out of 2 arrow shafts and some 5/16 fuel line. Of course, I've never hunted deer with them but I do use um for yotes. for me the bi-pod seems to be more stable, love the sticks though. I'd say try both and use what you like.
Almost exactly what I have. My shooting sticks are old camo Easton XX75 arrow shafts, held together with 3 green castration bands, and with electrical shrink tubing on the top 6 inches.
The only time I use shooting sticks is coyote/cat hunting. The only time I use a bipod is in wide open country, (antelope) or off the bench.
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I prefer the notch just beween the mirror and the door jam :dunno: Seems pretty handy, don't have to carry it around and it's seems to be the right height every time :dunno: and if the your breathing hard after a long hill you can wedge the weapon simply by rolling up the window :hello: Hope this helps you choice :hello:
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I prefer the notch just beween the mirror and the door jam :dunno: Seems pretty handy, don't have to carry it around and it's seems to be the right height every time :dunno: and if the your breathing hard after a long hill you can wedge the weapon simply by rolling up the window :hello: Hope this helps you choice :hello:
"we're out here on.... someones property... oh theres a deer.. gonna ease my window down...."
:chuckle:
thanks guys i think i'm gonna give the sticks a try. worst case scenario i have yet another piece of gear to add to my hunting gear collection in my garage.
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:chuckle: Good luck with the sticks :tup:
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It's quicker for me to set up my bipod. It's quicker to adjust my shooting sticks. I use the bipod at the range and the sticks in the woods. The biggest reason for that is the grass/ferns etc. in the woods. My bipod isn't tall enough for me to shoot sitting up. Even if it were it isn't as easy to move the gun around on it. The sticks let me sit wherever and however I want and they're collapsible like tent rods. :twocents:
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:) Not only do I use my sticks hunting deer or elk and everything eelse. I even use them for turkey. :dunno:
I set teh gun on the sticks open my right shirt pocket and set the butt of the gun on it I can call use both hands and hardly move to shoot.
Carl
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I prefer and use both. It seems that I'm often in locations where I can go prone so the bipods work very well, then other times, I may sit with my back to a tree or rock and need to deploy the sticks. I also use them for moving rattle snakes out of the way if I encounter one during a hunt.
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i've got a pair of the tent pole type steady-stix and i like them alright. they weigh next to nothing so weight isn't much of an issue.
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I have a bi pod, the type that you carry not the one's on your gun and I love it. It is sometimes a pain carrying them around but when you need a steady shot it's the cat's meow. If I would have had them with me on the elk I got sunday with my muzzleloader then it wouldn't have taken me 4 shots to get him.... Yes I left that out when I posted my pic and story.
Oops, I meant to say tri pod. I have both but like the TRI pod much better.
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most stable is a bipod, easy shooting 300-600+ yards, but, as we found out on your last hunt, how tall is the surroundings? Our large bipods wouldnt put the scope above the grass, so thats something to think about too. Trigger sticks will be my next purchase, so I have something for everything.
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Dan-O; what length Harris bipod do you have? Also, do you have the swivel style? I'd like to get a set but I'm concerned that you always need to be in the prone position to use them. What's your experience?
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Dan-O; what length Harris bipod do you have? Also, do you have the swivel style? I'd like to get a set but I'm concerned that you always need to be in the prone position to use them. What's your experience?
FYI - in case you didnt already know, the swivel style does not swing right to left like a turret or something. The gun mount rocks side to side to account for uneven ground or whatever, which you can do by adjusting the legs just the same. I do not like that 'swivel' at all. And I dont know the length, but mine are short enough to use prone or long enough to use while sitting. :twocents:
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I have the longer harris bipod 3 piece ones, short they are great for prone, fully extended I can sit and use them fine also.
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Haven't used sticks. But for a bipod, I like the SnipePod, light weight and easy to use and carry. Check 'em out...https://snipepod.com/home.html (https://snipepod.com/home.html)
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I have a bipod, it is long enough to use sitting, prone isn't too bad. On a bench I have to remove it because it sits too high, but no one ever hunted from a bench.
