hunting rest?

[labnoti]

I was using a bipod on my last rifle and it was ok but it bulks up the rifle full-time and has limited height. I sold the one I had with the rifle.

With a new rifle, I've been using a tripod with a polymer "v" rest on top like most shooting sticks have. It's quickly adjustable in height for sitting, kneeling, and standing. I could reconfigure the tripod to make it work for prone. However, I have a hard time keeping the rifle steady on the rest.

Last range session I took a canvas army duffle bag stuffed full of old clothes and used that shooting prone. What a difference. I could repeatedly get bullets through the same hole. I'm sure I could use a backpack in the field to similar effect, but not so sure I'll get many shots shooting prone.

Will it help to put a softer rest on my tripod? I'm asking in the hunting section because I need a field-proven solution, not something for bench rest shooting. What's worked for you?

 

[.308 Norma]

https://mtmcase-gard.com/products/shooting/hunting-products-sws-1.php
I don't know how long I've been using one of these mtm shooting rest/walking stick things - 20 years maybe? The one I have now is my second one because I tied the first one through the antlers of a large, mule deer buck I'd killed in order to drag him down the hill. It snapped in two when I reared back on it, and I went a** over tea kettle down the hill.
They are not meant for tying through the antlers of a dead deer in order to drag it. But they make great walking sticks/canes, and decent rifle rests if you can find a place to sit while hunting.
Actually, I keep mine in an umbrella holder by the front door. It comes in real handy as a walking stick on my trips out to the mail box this time of year. There's snow and ice in the driveway, and at it hurts worse when I fall these days. So I use my mtm walking stick/rifle rest when I hike out to the mail box this time of year.

 

[jmr40]

I almost always carry a small pack with extra clothes and gear when hunting. If you're in a position to use it as a rest it is almost as good as shooting from a bench. But it is pretty rare to be shooting in a position where it will work. Most of the time my shots have to be made sitting or standing to see over/through brush. I have 2 sets of shooting sticks. One is fairly large with 2 poles that telescope. I can use it as a hiking stick or at it's shortest position is about 2' long and can be strapped to the pack.

I have another much smaller set that uses shock corded poles. It will fold up to about 10" and easily fit in my pack. It almost always goes with me. The larger one just depends.

With practice you can learn to shoot pretty well. I've used mine on targets as far as 600 yards with good results. But it is something you have to practice at.

The 2 I use:


https://www.amazon.com/Primos-Pole-...&sr=8-25&keywords=shooting+sticks+for+hunting

https://www.amazon.com/Hammers-bung...&sr=8-10&keywords=shooting+sticks+for+hunting


Not a great pic, but my rifle resting on the shock corded sticks in a blind.

 

[readyeddy]

I've tried a monopod, bipod, tripod and backpack. The backpack has been the best.

The monopod was not useful in my opinion. It makes a nice walking stick, but for shooting, I do better offhand standing.

The bipod (unattached) is much more stable than the monopod and the two legs plant firmly into the earth. The downside is that the bipod is bulky to carry.

The tripod is very stable, but if one of the legs happen to start floating, then the whole thing comes undone.

A backpack with an internal frame that sits upright makes a solid rest from the sitting position. Fold your arms so that your support elbow rests on the backpack, rifle rest on your support elbow, and your support hand locks onto your shooting wrist. Sit perpendicular to the target. And, of course, if you can shoot prone with your rifle resting on your backpack or rest your backpack on a large rock or log, then you can get near bench rest stability.

 

[IdaD]

Down on one knee with my left elbow on my knee, sitting with both elbows on my knees or with the rifle laid over the internal frame pack I carry hunting. What works depends a lot on the terrain you're in at the time. I.e., prone over a pack doesn't work at all if you're on one side of a steep draw shooting over to the other side, but sitting with your elbows on your knees works very well in that scenario.

 

[BWS]

I'm mainly a varmint/predator hunter these days with rifles. I bowhunt for deer.

Won't say,"I've tried them all" cause that isn't the case. But don't have one system that is checking all the boxes. The rigs with folding bipods work OK..... but they're varmint barrels and big stocks. Have been using arrows lashed together with surgical hose stuck on the top 5" for the last 30 years or so on the sporter rigs. And will be carrying a set today hunting. Back packs are great..... but,they suck on long hikes in the summer months. And in general,where I don't need the kitchen sink to go afield for a cpl hours. A Turkey hunting style fanny pack works better.

Just sayin,there's some work for me to do on this..... but it is fun. Then even more,cause you get to go drag it around in the field,testing.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Way back in the day....fellows used crossed sticks as a prompt bi-pod and taking a sitting or kneeling position since the grassy areas where they were shooting bison would've kept them from being as low to the ground as prone would be (and a pack for them would not have been enough height). Add the the recoil of those old, long, large caliber, black powder rounds, and they probably wouldn't have wanted to be prone in any case.
I've seen fellows use a hiking staff as a sort of mono-pod with very good success, since the area where they were hunting was quite mountainous. The top of the staff was made with a shallow v to cradle the rifle, and a really nifty such staff I saw had an attachment so that a support could be fastened lower down, allowing the shooter to sit but use the same staff as his aiming rest. Pretty easy to construct.

LD

 

[Chuck R.]

I've been using a "Bog Pod" for the past 4 seasons on deer and coyotes.

https://www.amazon.com/BOG-POD-CLD-...6EAJ2GZQ5D9&psc=1&refRID=ECETZFPCX6EAJ2GZQ5D9

It's worked out pretty well so far. Lightweight, sets up quick and is tall enough for kneeling or sitting on a stool. I've made successful shots off it out to 400 yards. This year I used it to take a 5x4 Mulie at just under 300 yards moving. We normally hunt coyotes by calling, so I'll sit with a shotgun in my lap and my AR leaning on the tripod. One cool feature is that the head swaps out quickly, so it also doubles as my Kestrel tripod, but it can also be used for a lightweight spotting scope or binos.

I have bipods mounted on a couple precision rifles, but based on terrain around here, going prone isn't viable most of the time due to grass etc. The sitting length bipods aren't something I've even considered.

 

[jmorris]

Depends a lot on how and where you hunt. Flat grass lands don’t lend themselves very well to prone shooting unless you mow it like a golf course.

 

[Axis II]

I purchased the Primos trigger stick tripod and so far using on a few hunts I'm about 60% impressed. I think had i went with the full length one it would have been more versatile for me. It is rock steady but on hilly terrain in the Appalachian plateaus where I tried using the short sticks i found them to be unleveled and mostly because of the legs being shorter. For flat woods and grasslands i would have no issue using them.

 

[CaptHank]

I added the Bog Head to a Leitz Tiltall Tripod. Very sturdy for groundhog hunting. The tripod does have some weight to it.

 

[Chuck R.]

I added the Bog Head to a Leitz Tiltall Tripod. Very sturdy for groundhog hunting. The tripod does have some weight to it.
View attachment 819428

Sort of did the same, took my extra Bog Pod wide rifle rest and attached it to a QD mounting plate for my Monefretto/Bogden tripod. Doesn't get dragged out much due to the weight, but it is very stable.

 

[der Teufel]

What are you shooting at?
I'm strictly hunting hogs, so I'm generally not walking too far. We just drive to a spot and wait around until we see hogs. If nothing shows, we drive to another spot and wait. When/If we do see hogs we might have to stalk a half-mile or so, but we're not walking all day up and down hills or anything. I've used a monopod with good success, but for this type of hunting a tripod generally works best. I acquired an old but sturdy camera tripod and made a rifle rest to attach on top. It's just a piece of 2x4 with big notch lined with a strip of dense foam. I welded a nut to a metal plate which is screwed to the bottom of the wood block in order to mount the whole thing to the tripod.



In this case, absolute maximum potential accuracy isn't required. If I miss my aiming point by an inch or two it's still good.

 

[MCgunner]

If I'm on foot, I'll use a fence post or tree trunk or something. If I plan to sit on the edge of a wash or something, I take a cheap 10 dollar (winchester brand from walmart) monopod. Usually, though, I hunt out of a stand or a blind that has a gun rest.

I did have a pair of these "shooting stix", cross sticks, but I didn't like 'em except for sitting. Oh, they were rock solid while sitting. Shot my best buck off 'em 150 yards in a wash in west Texas. The cross sticks weren't tall enough to shoot off of standing and the monopod seems to work well for me. As unsteady as I am on my feet, it makes a nice walking stick, too.

 

[.308 Norma]

 

[labnoti]

My setup is just like the tripods shown and mentioned. I was holding the forestock behind the V rest which was at the very front of the forestock under the tip of the wood, and I think I'm going to try holding ahead of it with the V between the trigger guard and my support hand.

 

[redneck2]

I got a couple of Triggersticks. Two legs so they’re stable. We hunt out of pop up blinds and sit in fold up camp chairs. Extremely steady. Nice thing is that they instantly adjust

 

[Loyalist Dave]

If I'm on foot, I'll use a fence post or tree trunk or something. If I plan to sit on the edge of a wash or something, I take a cheap 10 dollar (winchester brand from walmart) monopod. Usually, though, I hunt out of a stand or a blind that has a gun rest.

I did have a pair of these "shooting stix", cross sticks, but I didn't like 'em except for sitting. Oh, they were rock solid while sitting. Shot my best buck off 'em 150 yards in a wash in west Texas. The cross sticks weren't tall enough to shoot off of standing and the monopod seems to work well for me. As unsteady as I am on my feet, it makes a nice walking stick, too.

EXACTLY..., but for some folks either they are out in plains type terrain or in rocky areas without such things as trees nor fence posts to brace upon. A walking stick that doubles as a monopod can present you with some shooting and harvesting opportunities you'd otherwise miss.

LD

 

[MCgunner]

EXACTLY..., but for some folks either they are out in plains type terrain or in rocky areas without such things as trees nor fence posts to brace upon. A walking stick that doubles as a monopod can present you with some shooting and harvesting opportunities you'd otherwise miss.

LD

Well, out in the trans pecos of west Texas, you gotta watch what you touch. EVERYthing has thorns out there. But, the vegetation is sparse except for in the washes, so I always took a rest of some kind. I don't like those gun mounted rests, heavy, and most aren't long enough for anything, but prone. I always took the shooting stix in my day pack. I find the monopod steady enough, though, and don't have to assemble it to shoot off of. I can adjust it to use for a walking stick and I can then deploy it for shooting pretty rapidly.

Around here, though, there's all sorts of natural rests. I am usually hunting from a blind, though. I do have a tent blind I have set up back there in another location, now. I have to use my monopod with that blind, but ranges are short. I have sat back there with a handgun this year, didn't see anything to shoot, though. It's been slow around here this season, not sure why, but everything went nocturnal really quick. I did put some venison in the freezer out in Uvalde, though.