New to HFT: Shooting Sticks

[Fred J]

A while ago I posted that I was interested in Field Target, but I had a bad back. A few of you recommended that I try Hunter Filed Target, which would be easier on my back.

At any rate, I made a set of shooting sticks out of fiberglass garden poles and sat on a 5 gallon bucket and started to shoot. Well... the groups weren't that great and the shooting sticks were a bit wobbly. I went on to the HFT GTA site for more info and made a nice pair of shooting sticks out of the scrap lumber that was laying around, and found myself a 3.5 gallon bucket to sit on. Now my groups are starting to look promising (Dime size at 20 yards, nickel and quarter size at 30 and 40 yards). This was done with a Diana 34 using JSB 8.44 gr Exacts. Since this was the first time I used the new wood sticks, I suspect that my groups will get better with practice.

I have a couple of questions: I am using felt on the sticks were the forearm of the stock rest on the sticks. Is this the best material to use? Also I found  inexpensive shooting sticks on Amazon (Vanguard-Scout-B62-V-Shaped-Yoke). Are these any good?

Thank you for your help!

[Fred J]

Here a picture of the shooting sticks. They are made of two 42" finished 2" X 1" clear fir, stain walnut. The pivot is a 1/4" screw with a two fender washers and a lock nut. Felt is used on the stock contact point.

[Gear_Junkie]

Fred,

When I was shooting my 34 for HFT, I first tried a set of sticks similar to what you listed above.  I found that my 34 was too jumpy for the plastic/rubber yoke combination and that if negatively affected accuracy.  I ended up making my own yoke that completely dampened the shot cycle. 

Your shooting sticks look good.  I would recommend using enough felt to not only protect your stock, but enough to add some dampening properties.

With regards to the bucket, I found that using a milk crate (Staples sells them) put me at a more natural height where I can rest both elbows on my knees.  The forestock rests on the bipod, my right hand is at the trigger, and my left hand cradles the rubber portion of the stock while lightly pressed flat into my shoulder.  For me, it's a comfortable and stable position.  (I too have a bad back, and no matter what I do, I'm still sore at the end of a shooting session.  It's a pain (pun intended), but I take some Advil that night and it's well worth it!)

Good luck!

[Scotchmo]

I like the Vanguard B62 sticks. Not as fast as a trigger stick, but they are more versatile, and once adjusted, more stable. They worked well with my QB58, which is a lower power spring gun. They also works OK with my 15fpe D34, but the 34 prefers no bipod/sticks.

[nced]

A while ago I posted that I was interested in Field Target, but I had a bad back. A few of you recommended that I try Hunter Filed Target, which would be easier on my back.

At any rate, I made a set of shooting sticks out of fiberglass garden poles and sat on a 5 gallon bucket and started to shoot. Well... the groups weren't that great and the shooting sticks were a bit wobbly. I went on to the HFT GTA site for more info and made a nice pair of shooting sticks out of the scrap lumber that was laying around, and found myself a 3.5 gallon bucket to sit on. Now my groups are starting to look promising (Dime size at 20 yards, nickel and quarter size at 30 and 40 yards). This was done with a Diana 34 using JSB 8.44 gr Exacts. Since this was the first time I used the new wood sticks, I suspect that my groups will get better with practice.

I have a couple of questions: I am using felt on the sticks were the forearm of the stock rest on the sticks. Is this the best material to use? Also I found  inexpensive shooting sticks on Amazon (Vanguard-Scout-B62-V-Shaped-Yoke). Are these any good?

Thank you for your help!

"I went on to the HFT GTA site for more info and made a nice pair of shooting sticks out of the scrap lumber that was laying around, and found myself a 3.5 gallon bucket to sit on."
If your FT club has elevated targets (like the THAGC owl in a tree) you'll find it helpful to have a cross stick with adjustable length legs. My cross sticks are made by Stony Point and similar to these.......

The difference between mine and these is that my sticks have only one joint in the legs but I bought mine decades ago and that model has been discontinued. My cross sticks......



"found myself a 3.5 gallon bucket to sit on."
I'm built like a short fat fireplug so I modified my bucket to suit. I shortened the bucket to a length where both of my elbows are supported by my knees when in shooting position. I used a 1x12 pine board to make the new bottom of the bucket by cutting one disk and two rings. One ring is cut to fit inside the bucket for attaching with radial screws. The disk is sized to the OD of the bottom of the bucket so the cut bottom edge of the bucket is supported by the lower disk rather than just screws. The bottom is a ring because I found that on uneven ground at the shooting box the seat would be "tippy" if a flat disk were teetering on a rock (or whatever). The individual rings and disk are both glued and screwed together......




"I suspect that my groups will get better with practice."
Yep, it takes practice to shoot from "bucket with sticks" which is why I occasionally shoot some 100 and 50 bull targets........



Matter of fact, this is the exact same rig I use for still hunting squirrels except the bucket is filled with "eatin'/drinkin' goodies"! 

[Fred J]

Ed, et al,

Thank you for the advice. I went ahead and purchased the bipod that Ed recommended. I have been out shooting off of these sticks on my range just to see what kind of groups I could get, trying out different holds and sitting positions. What seems to work best for me is sitting on a 3.5 gallon bucket, locking my elbows on the front of my thighs. I rest the forearm of my Diana 34 at the balance point in the yolk.

Today I was able to get sub 1/4" groups at 15 yards and sub 1/2" groups at 25 yards. At 30-35 yards, the 13 mph crosswind played havoc with the pellets. If I allowed 1 wind flier per group, I was shooting dime-size groups at 30 and 35 yards.

The toughest part of shooting off of sticks is doing mildot corrections for wind and distance. I know that this should get easier as I get used to shooting off of sticks. I did note that my D34 did not jump in the yolk (which is great), except at 15 yards which produced a noticeable jump. I think that pointing the gun down, which happens at 15 yards, effects the stability of the stock forearm in the yolk. I think that at distances less than 20 yards I will need to experiment with the angle of the bipod.