Finding and Edge Shooting From Stix

[370bc]

I saw a video from a group of hunters on a steep mountain side trying to improve their field fundamentals when using shooting sticks while hunting mountain sheep/goats and they had a bungee-like strap either from the top of their scope or the area from the sling swivel. It draped down so the shooter could increase or decrease the amount of straight downward pressure with their foot, helping to stabilize their shooting platform when aiming high or low angels. Looked good.
I tried to improve my own shooting platform when I hunt still hunt yotes from a blind-chair positioned on loose rocks. Over the years this method works well enough, but continuos misses over the last few seasons made me realize I needed improvements.
I set up in my backyard with a ratchet strap to get an idea of how long my strap needed to be. After getting the strap dusted to the proper length, I went to the garage looking for rope or a bungee cord that would get the job done. I found a rope , but it was 'entirely' too short. That's when i saw my bicycle rubber 'tire' tube. Went bak to the rifle on the bog-pod tripod and laid the tube it onto of the front scope rings of my leupy, hanging down infront of the v-rest. I Put my foot through it and it happened to be the perfect size i needed. Bringing an increase of downward pressure to the stix, while not interfering with the barrel harmonics. I haven't test fired my invention yet tho. Anyone else try something like this? Im Feeling like MacGyver right at the moment.

 

[fredo]

Which Bogpod tripod are you using?
Possible that the tripod itself is the weak link in stability?

I've been messing with camera/video tripods for quite a few years now, to shoot coyotes both day & night. I have one I use for night calling:

and another I use for the day:

I use a fluid video head a night, because it allows panning of the light attached to the cradle.
In the day, a ballhead or panning base offer enough range of motion. If you're in steep country alot, sitting on side hills, the ball head would be advantageous. Important part is to set two long legs out front, and shorten the rear leg closest to you. That way, you can re-position quickly & easily. Just let the ball head level the rifle out...

Either of my setups are plenty steady to shoot coyotes from. Have practiced & hit a coyote silhouette @ 1,000yds using tripod from seated position. Then, had a friend sit down and do the same. And a third, too. Its that stable!

It does take a bit of finagling to get your position right & not induce stress into the system. IMHO, that's the key to making good hits.

P.S. I've seen that same video. There are all matter of ways to use a sling to 'snug' the rifle against the tripod/shooter. I just haven't bothered with much of that, while on stand...

 

[370bc]

Thx 4 reply.
Cost of setup??

 

[fredo]

Prices vary. And same as with guns, quality don't come cheap!

Dependant on priorities, one could wind up with a decent setup for less than $200. Or, easily spend triple that amount.
Slik, Manfrotto, Feisol, Sirui , Gitzo are all brands to look at in tripods & heads

With my setups, I tried to strike a medium between weight, stability, and cost.
Carbon tripod are more rigid & lightweight, but you'll pay for the weight savings in dollars. If you're walking alot, the extra initial investment might be worth it after miles & miles. If you're not, then a cheaper (heavier) alternative might suffice?

As for ballhead & panning bases, the smoother & more weight capable, the more they'll cost.
My night tripod has a Mnafrotto 700RC2 mini fluid head. It doesn't tilt, but pans smooth & easy. At night, I can get away with moving behind the light to get into position...
Day tripod has a Sirui K-10x ball head. It'll hold my 20 lb. big boomer locked in place, so its plenty for a 10-12 lb. varmint rifle. Pans & tilts smooth, great for angled terrain.
Been experimenting with a panning base, and like it so far. But will reserve judgement, as I'm not hunting steep terrain here in cow country, and haven't used it very long.


Then, there's your choice of whether you want a rifle cradle, or clamp.
Lots of different cradles, and clamps made by RRS, Hog/Pig Saddle, Triclawps, etc...

All this stuff is luxury for general <200yd coyote killing on stand. Side by side, I can hit a coyote just as easily off my Bogpod stix as with these tripods. But the ability to hold a rifle in place & offer stability for longer shots makes the investment a fair option to consider...

 

[370bc]

Great Info Thx a Mill Fredo! i'll check them out!

 

[K22]

Prices vary. And same as with guns, quality don't come cheap!

Dependant on priorities, one could wind up with a decent setup for less than $200. Or, easily spend triple that amount.
Slik, Manfrotto, Feisol, Sirui , Gitzo are all brands to look at in tripods & heads

With my setups, I tried to strike a medium between weight, stability, and cost.
Carbon tripod are more rigid & lightweight, but you'll pay for the weight savings in dollars. If you're walking alot, the extra initial investment might be worth it after miles & miles. If you're not, then a cheaper (heavier) alternative might suffice?

As for ballhead & panning bases, the smoother & more weight capable, the more they'll cost.
My night tripod has a Mnafrotto 700RC2 mini fluid head. It doesn't tilt, but pans smooth & easy. At night, I can get away with moving behind the light to get into position...
Day tripod has a Sirui K-10x ball head. It'll hold my 20 lb. big boomer locked in place, so its plenty for a 10-12 lb. varmint rifle. Pans & tilts smooth, great for angled terrain.
Been experimenting with a panning base, and like it so far. But will reserve judgement, as I'm not hunting steep terrain here in cow country, and haven't used it very long.


Then, there's your choice of whether you want a rifle cradle, or clamp.
Lots of different cradles, and clamps made by RRS, Hog/Pig Saddle, Triclawps, etc...

All this stuff is luxury for general <200yd coyote killing on stand. Side by side, I can hit a coyote just as easily off my Bogpod stix as with these tripods. But the ability to hold a rifle in place & offer stability for longer shots makes the investment a fair option to consider...

Wow - I've been shooting from a shooting stix and chair for years now but yours setup is far superior to mine. Can you provide more details. How does it work with the rifle clamped and recoil? Thanks.

 

[fredo]

Sure, K22!
this tripod deal really started from trying to build a better mousetrap for calling at night. In my state, night calling is legal, but cannot use motorized aid for rest, or light source, so I'm stuck with whatever I can carry. That, and the fact that I tend to make longer stands is what drove the desire. The fact I can mount a mini Cree ELD torch to a fluid head makes panning for eyes just soooooo easy! Rifle stays across my lap. When eyes/target is confirmed, I just nestl the rifle up into the rest and get centered up on the predator. Easy peasy to do, under the cover of darkness...

Then I figured I'd start taking the tripod on day stands, just to keep my hands free. Boy, what a joy that allows when its friggin' freezin' cold! And it sure is solid to shoot from...

Beyond the added stability a tripod w/clamp/mount offers while shooting, the comfort & convenience of having your rifle already positioned 'at the ready' is a wonderful thing! Your hands are now free to blow a hand call, operate e-caller remote, or just stuff in your pockets on a cold sit! When mr. coyote shows up, I just slowly lean up into the rifle, acquire coyote in the scope, settle in and execute the shot...
I don't shoot particularly heavy recoiling rifles, and get a solid position built with good shoulder contact, so spotting hits thru the scope is the norm. Last thing ya wanna do with any positional shooting is muscle the rifle onto target! With a little practice getting the legs set up properly, it becomes very natural to get eased up behind the rifle/tripod from a relaxed, seated position...

As for that smaller tripod, its a (discontinued) Manfrotto 732-CY. Weight under 2 lbs, and have 'flip lock' leg extensions.
The bigger Feisol is a CT-3402. ~3/4 lb. heavier, but with extra mass & wider footprint make it quite a bit more stable. Can really see where the 40 lb rating improves over the tiny 732-CY...

The clamp is a Triclawps cradle. Surely not a 'bullet-proff' as a Hog/Pig Saddle, but almost 1/2 the weight.

And have messed with all kinds of different ball heads, fluid heads, and a panning base. You pretty much want to stick with one that is rated to handle the weight of your rifle, to insure smooth operation & lockup.

Key point is, the fluid video heads only pan, but don't tilt! This is where a ballhead becomes more advantageous to daytime calling. The pan/tilt of a ballhead makes leveling the rifle off easy, without having to get the tripod legs perfectly level, first...

Here's that little Sirui K-10x holding my 20lb Norma Mag in the Triclawps, locked solid & no slip!

Here's a Manfrotto 055 magnesium head holding my 11.5lb. .22-243AI, after a successful stand.
Sooooooo nice to sit back & relax until mr. wiley shows up!

Have since found that little Sirui 10x head will do the same work as the 055 head, for ALOT less weight carried!

I also have an Arca Swiss QD clamp made by RRS, and will be testing out how mounting an Acra Swiss plate direct to the rifle's stock might work. Will be doing this on a couple rimfires first, before I drill into my Mickeys! I suspect that it might be an improvement over the clamp. It'd save a few ounces of weight, and hope it to be very easy to secure/release...

But for now, quite happy with letting my tripod/clamp 'do the work' on stand, while I sit back in my chair in comfort. As I said above, lots of options to ponder, regarding tripods/heads. Toting 3-4lbs. of tripod on stand is surely extra effort, but I believe the dividends it allows make it worth it...

Happy to help!

 

[TikkaSporter]

I use this set up in the field.

It's light and portable. I use the Bogpod sticks as walking sticks when they are not supporting the rifle. If you need to steady up more, you can remove the rear of the sling from the rifle stock and connect it to your belt with a carabiner and snug the rapid-adjustment part of the sling up. I use the Rifles Only sling with the bungee built into the sling now. Longest shot to-date with this set-up was an elk at 889 yards, shooting from a steep hillside across a canyon to the other side.

 

[370bc]

Fre

I use this set up in the field.

It's light and portable. I use the Bogpod sticks as walking sticks when they are not supporting the rifle. If you need to steady up more, you can remove the rear of the sling from the rifle stock and connect it to your belt with a carabiner and snug the rapid-adjustment part of the sling up. I use the Rifles Only sling with the bungee built into the sling now. Longest shot to-date with this set-up was an elk at 889 yards, shooting from a steep hillside across a canyon to the other side.

Awesome posts!! Exactly which rifles only sling? Carbine or multi use bungee sling would you recommend? Thank you!

 

[K22]

Thanks for your extensive post and detailed information. You got me thinking - on my homemade cross sticks, sitting on a chair with elbows resting on the knees I'm about a 1.5 moa shooter out to 250 yards about 90% of the time with a heavy varmint rifle. Would like to improve the moa and % by going to a more stable system.

Bipods don't work for me - too low to the ground and I've give up to many opportunities due to limited field of view. Also laying the ground is difficult for me due to back problems.

 

[Mark W]

Has anyone here tried the Caldwell Field Pod? I played with one in Cabelas a few days ago and it was a lot nicer than I expected for money.

 

[TikkaSporter]

Fre

Awesome posts!! Exactly which rifles only sling? Carbine or multi use bungee sling would you recommend? Thank you!

I use the RO carbine sling with the bungee and the slide/adjustment loop section. I also called in my order and had them sew in a loop at the back of the sling to attach a carabiner (carry my rear bag and/or attach the sling to my belt loop). Full disclosure, because of the length of the sling I bring it around my waist and connect to a belt loop on my opposite side to be able to pull the adjustment tab and tension the sling (stretch the bungee) while the rifle is on the tripod. This helps steady up the horizontal movement of the rifle, while the Stoney Point tag-along arm helps greatly to steady the vertical movement of the rifle.

Unfortunately the Stoney Point Tag Along Arm I use is now discontinued (probably because of the poor quality tripod it was made as an accessory for). I use them with the Bog Pod Tripod and wrap a little bit of electrical tape around the leg to build up the diameter to fit the Bog Pod. As of a few weeks ago there was one place that still had the tag along arms in stock (at a heavily discounted price). When I called they had 40 in stock. I bought 10 ...

My buddy has the Caldwell Field Pod. I shot it side-by-side with the set up I use for comparison. Groups on paper were measurably smaller with the set up I use. Maybe because I am more familiar with it?

 

[370bc]

I use the RO carbine sling with the bungee and the slide/adjustment loop section. I also called in my order and had them sew in a loop at the back of the sling to attach a carabiner (carry my rear bag and/or attach the sling to my belt loop). Full disclosure, because of the length of the sling I bring it around my waist and connect to a belt loop on my opposite side to be able to pull the adjustment tab and tension the sling (stretch the bungee) while the rifle is on the bipod. This helps steady up the horizontal movement of the rifle, while the Stoney Point tag-along arm helps greatly to steady the vertical movement of the rifle.

Unfortunately the Stoney Point Tag Along Arm I use is now discontinued (probably because of the poor quality tripod it was made as an accessory for). I use them with the Bog Pod Tripod and wrap a little bit of electrical tape around the leg to build up the diameter to fit the Bog Pod. As of a few weeks ago there was one place that still had the tag along arms in stock (at a heavily discounted price). When I called they had 40 in stock. I bought 10 ...

My buddy has the Caldwell Field Pod. I shot it side-by-side with the set up I use for comparison. Groups on paper were measurably smaller with the set up I use. Maybe because I am more familiar with it?

Good Info. Now, if you would be so kind, have a pic of your set up in practice, ready to shoot mode?
Your set up sounds just like I need. Having a little difficulty correctly visualizing 100%.
I have that rear support arm from stoney pint on another tripod set ups I use to use for standing shots at night.
Thank you for your help.

 

[TikkaSporter]

Good Info. Now, if you would be so kind, have a pic of your set up in practice, ready to shoot mode?
Your set up sounds just like I need. Having a little difficulty correctly visualizing 100%.
I have that rear support arm from stoney pint on another tripod set ups I use to use for standing shots at night.
Thank you for your help.

Hmmmm, hard to take a picture of myself behind it... Look at the top picture and envision sitting up to the rifle and mounting it. That's pretty much it. For sitting shots I usually sit cross-legged/indian style with the rear facing tripod leg either between my knees/legs or just to the right of my right hip. I brace my right elbow on my right knee to help steady up, this usually works better with a Weibad Pump Pillow wedged between my elbow and knee. Depending on the sling I either grab the sling with my left hand and wrap it around the front-left tripod leg, tensioning it enough to pull my point-of-aim a bit to the left, then push enough with my right hand to bring my POA back to center. Or if I'm using the RO sling, I clip it to my belt and pull the adjustment loop with my left hand until everything tightens up.

As far as technique goes, I just tried everything I could think of while shooting paper and and let the groups tell me what works.

If sitting on a steep hillside I extend the two forward-facing tripod legs as long as is necessary, and keep the rear leg shorter.

 

[370bc]

Hmmmm, hard to take a picture of myself behind it... Look at the top picture and envision sitting up to the rifle and mounting it. That's pretty much it. For sitting shots I usually sit cross-legged/indian style with the rear facing tripod leg either between my knees/legs or just to the right of my right hip. I brace my right elbow on my right knee to help steady up, this usually works better with a Weibad Pump Pillow wedged between my elbow and knee. Depending on the sling I either grab the sling with my left hand and wrap it around the front-left tripod leg, tensioning it enough to pull my point-of-aim a bit to the left, then push enough with my right hand to bring my POA back to center. Or if I'm using the RO sling, I clip it to my belt and pull the adjustment loop with my left hand until everything tightens up.

As far as technique goes, I just tried everything I could think of while shooting paper and and let the groups tell me what works.

If sitting on a steep hillside I extend the two forward-facing tripod legs as long as is necessary, and keep the rear leg shorter.

Thx for the further details of your setup. I guess Im a little timid spending about 3 times the amount I was use to spend for a sling. I will call RO and see if they can set me up like they did you. The strap back to the belt loop sounds really good.
Im employing sitting on a ground blind tripod chair for the near term while using my bog-pod tripod.
I cut the thickness of my iPhone on a short 4x4 to hold my phone for selfies. Seems to work for this old broken down carpenter.

 

[ARW]

I really like the Caldwell dead Shot field pod, I've been using it for several years now, mostly when squirrel hunting. It doesn't weigh much, about 5 or 6 lbs., and really helps to steady the crosshairs on a squirrels head. I believe they are still under a hundred bucks.

Alan

 

[TikkaSporter]

Thx for the further details of your setup. I guess Im a little timid spending about 3 times the amount I was use to spend for a sling. I will call RO and see if they can set me up like they did you. The strap back to the belt loop sounds really good.
Im employing sitting on a ground blind tripod chair for the near term while using my bog-pod tripod.
I cut the thickness of my iPhone on a short 4x4 to hold my phone for selfies. Seems to work for this old broken down carpenter.

You ever try using a sitting/kneeling height Harris Bipod and putting the tripod chair under the butt of the rifle (stacking bags on the chair as necessary for the correct elevation)? We did this at the Snipers Hide Cup PRS match this year and built some mighty stabile positions... Until someone broke the chair

 

[Immike]

I shot competition cross sticks in the NMLRA for 20 years. The sitting position Don Davis perfected was the norm and is very stable by using yourself as the solid anchor of the settup. He wrote a few articles back when that may be found if searched for. The key to stick shooting accurately is position your chest 90 degrees and not facing the sticks but shoot hard left if right handed. This frees your chest for breathing in the sitting position with your ankles crossed forming a tripod of yourself. You hook each knee with elbows and place left thumb under the butt with fingers on bicep. The wrist and ankles cross each other and should be touching heavy against each other with dominant side over left side.

 

[fredo]

I can see how that position would work well for fixed position targets. But on a coyote stand, one must be able to smoothly (read:quickly) re-position stix/tripod to get on an ever fidgety & mobile target. To that end, I definitely favor the strong side, just not as radically as 90°. I'd swag it more @ 30-45°, tops. That adjustment allows me to comfortably cover the widest field of view, without having to re-position the rifle's support. I can swing left, to well beyond 90° and shoot, or swing all the way back to the right & shoot square to the rifle...

To accomplish smooth manipulation of bipod legs, I keep my weakside hand under the cradle of the bipod stix. This allows for easily lifting the rifle/stix (together) straight UP in one motion, and setting the legs back down where they need to be. Lifting straight UP avoids snaggin' the bipod legs/feet on grass, rocks, etc...

With tripod, that same weakside hand is on the ballhead, itself. That allows the same ability to lift straight UP and re-position legs without catching on terra-firma. Also, that affords control of the ballhead's tension knob, which I can easily adjust while getting on target. Just picture my left hand on the ballhead's tension knob, pic below. Make for a VERY solid position, especially if you can hike your left knee up under your elbow...

I can see where using a sling for tension would help while shooting standing from a tripod. But haven't seen a benefit to doing that, while seated. Although not shown in that pic, most times, I'll go so far as to pop that front/left flush cup swivel & take the sling off the rifle, before starting to call. Just one less thing to get in the way & flap around when you're trying to get on a coyote, undetected...

One thing is for sure, whatever works for you, is what works!
Have fun & good shooting...