Thread: An oxymoron?

Gidday All

I'm just back from a trip culling goats - my rebuilt foot's first big test in very rough, steep country and yay, it passed all tests apart from a full pack carry.

I took a very light 6.8SPC CZ527 and it went really well, I have masses of free ammo for it, and it shoots extremely well - the goats were very flighty as we were doing maintenance after professionals had mustered and culled several hundred if not a couple of thousand. Most shooting was pretty close but a few cross gully shots in the 300M class were needed.

I don't know if it's me getting older (yes with the associated padding) but I found it bloody hard to be confident about the longer shots with a light rifle in difficult terrain (very steep, rocky as only central Otago can be and a lot of scrub to get above).

So .... . Does one carry super duper bipod/shooting sticks, or a heavier rifle, or piss about till the perfect shooting platform is found and have a few (more) animals get away?

We saw heaps of Fallow (off limits on this trip) mostly at longer ranges (250-400M) and I took a few beads on them but I don't think my positional shooting would have been good enough much beyond 300M!

I just take a super budget bipod. I'm the opposite, I'm not confident on the close shots and have been known to sneak further away....

Spartan is light and quick to deploy from your day pack
Gives you a much better platform to shoot from for those tricky longer shots

Carbon fiber tripod and spartan davros head, that's what i use for hilly uneven terrain especially if shrubbery is a problem

You carry a tripod 5-7km over rough terrain through the Matagouri scrub and bluff systems?

I had a sitting height bipod but on steep downhill shots with scrub it's usually not very useful, I tend to go for my pack on a rock etc

U were in Central foster and u didn't call up for a brew

Bipod and backpack for rear rest
U need to come visit WA to build up your confidence 800- 1000m shots over salt pans on camels - u quickly learn your scope dope.

Sitting/kneeling height shooting sticks are 100% my recommendation for that style of shooting. (Just spent the evening splatting bunnies in country just like you describe, shooting sticks used for all shots bar a few particularly close ones which were freehand standing)

Far more flexible than a bipod, in that you can immediately widen or narrow the spacing of the feet to drop or raise your shooting angle for uphill, downhill, cross-gully. Can shoot along even a sketchy steep hillside by having one stick vertical and the other wedged into the hillside horizontally - angles well beyond where a bipod would allow you to swivel.

Made some shots tonight where even I was having fun trying to stay stable on the hillside, but the sticks allowed me to rapidly turn that into a nice steady shooting position.

Takes a while to get the hang of them, but key points I have found are to have the sticks angled as far forward on the stock as possible, and try to keep the weight of the rifle pushing back towards your shoulder, rather than pulling away from you.

Shoot over a back pack is all that is needed, make sure there is enough volume in it like a jersey.
Also with a light rifle I tend to hold it down with my fore hand resting on top of the scope to stop it jumping.

You might want to consider a primos trigger stick as well. last year I got one after a hunt with someone using one, it goes from sitting to standing and although it's not recommended works as a hill stick.

Originally Posted by Padox

U were in Central foster and u didn't call up for a brew

Haha, we were down by Matangi, the really rocky bit of Central, I suggested moving some rocks down country to see if that improved their wool prices, they'd be ecstatic if they got 1/3 or the fine wools price

Two of my cobbers who are doing full time PD down here use shooting sticks and they achieve amazing results, bunnies consistently at 140-150M. I do have a set but they are pretty fragile to be dragging along as a hill stick.

Maybe I'll try some experiments with slings so I can carry a rifle and hill/shooting stick that isn't a real pain when you have to get through a gully of matagouri and briar

I have had a Primos trigger stick that's been sitting around for several years, it was something I thought I would need one day. Well anyway I took it out three nights ago. After working out how to carry it with all my other stuff, it did become useful as a walking stick. I got onto an animal at the top edge of a steep tussock alpine hill, I watched it mooch around feeding for about thirty minutes in the hope It would feed down closer to me, it wasn't to be.

Later this week I'm having revision surgery on a knee that was replaced nearly five years ago and is stuffed, the outcome I won't know of for at least 3 months. So, with the realization that this could be the last decent hunt its off up the hill I go. I just stalked up in short bursts the scrub was high and thick in many places. I found a spot close the crest of the hill set the trigger stick up rested the rifle sure enough five minutes later the deer appeared in front of me. Bang flop job done but finding it well that's a different story. (i did eventually find it)

Anyway, back to the tripod it was great, easy to set at the right height and steady as. I probably couldn't have done the shot humanely without it. I left it up and it was a good reference point when looking for the deer. Next time I may put a reflector or a cyalume stick on it.

It's not perfect but certainly a great aid for a lot of situations. I have a list of improvements for next time. Reflecting tape, something to secure the legs together, the little plastic clips are ineffective. Maybe tape on the legs as they can make a little Metalic ting when they hit or brush against something hard.

Hmmm, half the problem is defining the problem, and maybe my reduced mobility (I find it quite difficult to both "go to ground" and then get up again) is having a bigger impact on my shooting than I thought.