which shooting sticks?

I recently picked up this Leofoto MH-35 ballhead with extendable handle for when I pest for ground squirrels. I use a y-yoke attached to a tripod for ratting in my yard, cheapest option. The Leofoto is very sturdy, pans, and tilts with a bubble level built in. If you have a decently sturdy tripod, the Leofoto screws into the tripods base. Will then need to purchase a picatinny to ARCA Swiss adapter that mounts to your pic rail, I purchased a Vanguard Endeavor L2 Quick Release Adapter off of amazon, $40. This ballhead holds close to 40lbs of weight. Most heavy duty ballheads will also work that will hold your PCP's weight. This ballhead was right around $100 on sale. But, that said, the y-yoke (about $10 works really well). The ballhead will hold the rifle without having to put it somewhere. Bog makes a Death Grip rifle cradle that clamps the rifle onto a tripod....many options! Enjoy sniping rats! Ha!

airman_o said:

hi guys,
I'd need some extra stability and height when ratting. I'm mostly shooting between 15m and 40m with a thermal. It's a 3x optic and I'm scanning a whole zone.
What kind of shooting platform would you recommend? I was mostly hesitating between quad shooting sticks (i.e. 4 stable sticks) or a Primos hunting stick. Or any other (better) suggestions? I value stability (of course) and flexibility to scan around most. Is there a big difference between both for horizontal scanning of the farm yard?

Click to expand...

i would suggest, tie two sticks together ( 1x2 ) b4 buying , no it will not be as stable but will give you an idea . Sticks take a bit of practice to master .
If your in a semi fixed location just go for the4 leg kind with a BOG clamp top .

You will be happy with Primos. Love mine

airman_o said:

thanks a lot @Ranchibi for your feedback.
I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of tripod mounts. I had some previous experiences where it was very wobbly. But my guns are not so well balanced in the center, so that might contribute to it. On the other hand it got me thinking when you were mentioning the Y-yoke. I'm into photography so I have a few tripods around. A proper Y-yoke or clamp might be a good solution indeed

Click to expand...

You're welcome! I too do some photography and re-purposed a couple tripods for shooting! I myself haven't found the carbon fiber tripod with Leofoto or any ballhead to be wobbly, but dis take some time to get used to for sure .

cahil_2 said:

You will be happy with Primos. Love mine

Click to expand...

@airman_o I second Primos Trigger Sticks. I have the tall bipod and tripod. I use the bipod way more, but it’s because I spot and stalk hunt in the woods and it’s easier to carry and deploy. The tripod should be useful when ratting in an environment where you won’t be moving a lot.

When practicing I also use the tripod to support my spotting scope.

ARCA rail or PIC plus Fat Boy tripod and you should be putting every shot right through the brain 99% of the time and missed 1% only because you didn't get the wind correct. Why?? it's because one can hold a .3" wobble zone at 100Y with this set up sitting on a bucket and I'm guessing you're shooting at less than half this distance.

Never mind the Skout EVO because any good shooting pcp with good ammo will put the projectiles to the appropriate spot.
It's as close to shooting off a bench without having a bench.
Just set the head for the spanning tension you want and GTG.

Much cheaper but still decently made carbon fiber tripods and heads can be had, you just need to research the subject until you've narrowed that down to a few choices. Though you have to instal a rail on the gun if it lacks one.

airman_o said:

@steve123 sweet set-up
I got out again tonight, testing with a tripod as suggested by @Ranchibi . It worked pretty well actually: I don't have a trigger clamp yet, but I took a tripod with a sandbag over the ballhead. The gun's handrail just resting on it. And it gave a vey stable set-up, while very maneuverable at the same time. So I think I'll add a proper barrel clamp or Y-yoke and keep shooting with a spare tripod.

Click to expand...

Cool! Amazon has many inexpensive y-yokes to choose from FYI!

A lower picatinny rail at the center of gravity with an arca adapter is better than a clamp imo. I use a tripod because my friends table is wobbly. Yoke or clamp is better than nothing on the guns i havent converted.

bubbahotep said:

A lower picatinny rail at the center of gravity with an arca adapter is better than a clamp imo. I use a tripod because my friends table is wobbly. Yoke or clamp is better than nothing on the guns i havent converted.

View attachment 588465View attachment 588466

Click to expand...

Clever

I use the primos trigger sticks tripod. Easy to carry and fairly quick to deploy. My buddy uses a carbon fiber tripod with the ball head. For walking around it just looks awkward to me. I’m of the belief that the trigger sticks are better on uneven ground.

Chasdog said:

I use the primos trigger sticks tripod. Easy to carry and fairly quick to deploy. My buddy uses a carbon fiber tripod with the ball head. For walking around it just looks awkward to me. I’m of the belief that the trigger sticks are better on uneven ground.

Click to expand...

@Chasdog I'm in agreement about the part regarding easy to deploy on uneven ground. I've moved around on night hunts with the rifle mounted on a traditional tripod and it's a loot more cumbersome and puts more tension on the lower back muscles. I also hunt with the Primos trigger stick bipod and find it a little easier to move around with as opposed to the tripod. I've had tripod legs flop out or clang together in the dark. With the Primos Trigger sticks, if you hunt at night in the dark the rubber tether (that holds the legs together) can easily get snagged on something and pull the legs extending them inadvertently. If you remove the tether, then you really have to worry about the legs banging together if you loose your grip or are not mindful to keep them gripped tight as you may be trying to stalk something. You can grab them and hold them together, but sometimes you only need to move over a few feet and may not want to take all of those steps. All-in-all they are lighter and more easy to move with afield. If you need to mount your rifle to a tripod then the Primos Trigger Sticks would not be my go-to. They function as a decent shooting rest.

I started out with the trigger stix monopod years ago but it pretty wobbly. I have also tried the bipod one, which is a bit easier to deploy. Decided on the tripod because it’s much more solid for holding the gun still.