How to get steady in the field.

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2014/12/5/ar-basics-shooting-positions/

http://thebiggamehuntingblog.com/2014/09/best-hunting-shooting-positions/

https://www.americanrifleman.org/ar...ing-the-most-out-of-field-shooting-positions/

These articles above are good overviews.

I found nothing to show positions for shooting on very steep ground, but they are adaptations of the standard positions in the articles above.

When I am on a steep slope (which I find myself on a LOT) I sit and move my body until my natural point of aim is as close as I can get it. I am right handed, so a shot from the fall line to the left is more challenging for me then a shot to the right side of the fall line, but both ways are still pretty good.

Sitting with my left foot down hill and my right foot up hill brings my right knee under the right shooting arm or elbow and helps to steady the rifle.

Sitting with my right foot down hill and my left foot uphill will bring my left knee under the left elbow and that also helps steady the rifle. It's almost the same dynamic as a kneeling position on flat ground.

Practice these 2 ways of shooting and in a short time it becomes natural and fast. Not as fast as off-hand, but steadier.
 
At my best I coukd hit a 8x10 plate at 200 yds about 70% from kneeling. Now that would be about 40%. So I am a recreational hunter, not obsessed, with 2 kids and a wife who works and I am 40. Now if you think I am going to suddenly have extra time to go on a shooting sabbatical and turn into Jack O'Connor so I can go on my once a year hunt, then please step in and run all the other aspects of my life as well. Short of that, lets get real and start talking about the equipment that turns a 40 % guy into a 80% guy with about three trips to the range. Like my pickup hood does, but something easier to carry. Thank you.
 
Ok, realistic. With the shooting sticks I described (Cabelas brand that are like the Primos stick but without the trigger adjust), I watched my old hunting buddy sit down on a rickety old patio chair and proceed to put 5 shots into a fist sized group at right at 400 yds (exact amount was unknown but that we as far as the cow pasture went) using a factory stock Weatherby Vanguard purchased from Walmart. That's plenty good in my book. I use mine for both my rifle and my crossbow. If I'm walking around (spot and stalk), I'll have them already adjusted out to the right length for a kneeling shot.
 
An easy, cheap solution is go to local hardware store, Lowe's, Home Depot or Wal-Mart, get 2, 1/2" dowel rods. Then find rubber Orings. Find the size that fits snuggly over the 2 speaks what standing up straight. Buy at least 6 but only use as many as you feel absolutely needed. You will figure this out when shooting at the range.

Now you have easily adjustable shooting sticks from ground level to about 30 inches high. The Orings easily slide up and down the rods but when spread out the are solid. Less than $10 spent.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
 
I hunt in Wyoming on occasion and for me, the best option is a Harris bipod. Using it, I've killed out to 300 yards.

Otherwise, backpack, free hand or bracing the gun on your knee works for closer shots for me.

On whitetail at home in Kentucky, free hand or a knee works perfectly.
 
A sling.
A pack.
Bracing against a rocky outcrop.
'Borrowing' a friend's shoulder.
Etc.

I can remember two shots on antelope where I used a sagebrush crotch as a rest (one shooting through tall grass, because the shooting sticks I was carrying still weren't tall enough), another shot where I used a clump of grass under a coat, and another where I actually used a cactus for a rest. Oh, and another when I spent about 20 minutes carefully stacking flat rocks on a barren hillside about 90 yards from some bedded-down speed goats, with the intent of a dead-solid rest for a head shot, only to have a a buck park himself between myself and the target doe. I ended up crawling forward at an angle, wrapping my arm through the sling (sling use!), sitting up quickly, and popping her in the spine with a snap shot.

The sling, and practice, are the best answer. It has universal applications.


Of course, certain rifle designs and sling mounts don't always play nicely with tight slings.
**Cough** Nearly anything with a tube magazine and/or two-piece stock **cough** especially Marlins with barrel bands **cough**
So, some other work-around may be necessary. ...Or a couple thousand dollars thrown at multiple rifles until a good one is found. :rolleyes:
 
OK,,,so we are looking for a pick up hood kinda thing,,,not a sling or any of that other nonsense,,,

you know with all the suggestions made here,,, i dont think any of these guys were trying to do anything but help you to get where you wanted to be,,,,with that said how about some of these things

Caldwell Stable Table,,prolly around 20# i would guess

MTM High Low Shooting Table,,,17#

Hyskore Portable shooting Bench,,20#

Caldwell Dead Shot Field Pod,,,5#

MTM Predator Shooting Table,,less than 15#

Caldwell Field Chair,,,22#

Mule,,,to carry all this stuff,,,800-1000#

there are more but these should get you started looking

i learned a long time ago not to take everything i owned with me,,good rifle and sling,,,or shotgun (and my G Shorthair),a good knife,,drag rope if i get lucky,,,and sometimes luck is made,,maybe good binos,,,if im gona be out for the day,,small day pack with some first aide stuff,,little water,,fire starting stuff,,,granny bar,,apple,,maybe samitch,,,these thing are all personal choice

if all else fails take your truck.....lol,,,yep me being a SA

but i still believe if you have a good sling and you learn to use it correctly,, that one piece of kit will do 85-90% of what all the other stuff can do,,short of being on a bench it is the best kit going,,,,IF you learn to use it

just my .02

ocharry
 
"...enable shots out to 300 yds..." Know the ballistics of whatever cartridge and load you're using. Sight in high at 100(4" high for most deer cartridges.) and practice shooting off hand at 100 at a 9" pie plate. And learn to use the sling like Scorch says.
Shooting sticks work too though. Don't understand buying a stick, myself. Couple, inch or so diameter saplings, cut to your required length(usually a tick below the height you hold the rifle off hand), in the field. Swiss Army knives have a wee saw blade for such things. Don't use pine though. Friggin' sap gets on everything and is sticky stuff.
Harris bipods(and any other brand) tend to get really heavy after walking all over creation for a whole day. OK if you hunting from a blind though.
 
So....have you found the shooting table...shooting stix...shooting accessory you were looking for???

Curious minds want to know

Ocharry
 
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Shoot sporterrifle or small-bore silhouette in the off season. When you shoot nothing but unsupported (sporterrifle) or supported offhand, any position you get into will feel rock solid.
 
Manfrotto Tripod & Headunit mounted on with a Hog Saddle has served me well the past 2 years. Good out to 300 yards using a thermal. Haven't tested max distance with SWFA scope. Max distance I have to practice is 430 yards and it rings the gong if I do my part.
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In such circumstances a hunter has to improvise or back out and move on.
Sticks bipods and the such are annoying cumbersome and tiresome to tote. Seems to me if a spot such as you found is a dandy. You could reconnoiter before season or during season and enhance the area for your shooting. So long as the animals are not molested during that time they'll stick around.
 
My set up is similar Zen, but I have aluminum Slick legs, and a Sunphoto 40lb ball. The Manfrotto was a bit steep for me. I wanted a pistol grip, but I couldn't find one rated heavy enough to hold my heavy barrel .300WM.

My tripod goes in slung case. It sets up in less than 60 seconds from the bag to the shot. It would be a hassle to use it on a stalk, but it's perfect from a blind or fixed position. I use it more for competitive shooting than for hunting, because I live in wooded hills where everything is close range. A 300 yard shot is a long one. But for those out west that regularly shoot well beyond that it's a game changer.

Again, it isn't as steady as a bench rest,...but it's as close as you can get, and way more versatile.

This mount is a heck of a lot cheaper than a Hog Saddle, but it will only work on rifles with a lower picatinny.

https://aristotle-engineering.com/products/loc-jaw-tripod-mount-black-anodize/
 
Get legs that splay. The rule of thumb is that the closer to the earth you are the more stable your position is. You only want to go as high as you absolutely have to.
DSCN1563__04615.1479099391.1280.1280.JPG
 
Some of you guys are getting pretty far out there...

He's not launching artillery from his truck in a forward operating base.
He's hiking through the 'hills', and needs to carry the item(s) along with all of his other gear.

His original post:
On a spot and stock hunt, in hills and canyons where positions are highly variable, with tall grass that prevents prone, possibly even with a pack, and no rock out croppings to use, I cannot figure out what to do. Sitting Harris bipod? Other? has to be VERY portable, and enable shots out to 300 yd on large deer.
Click to expand...
Emphasis mine.
 
Last year, I tried the Caldwell Deadshot Fieldpod and it is fantastic. We setup on uneven ground and it was fantastic. It is, literally, an adjustable portable bench rest.
 
Last Friday, my hunting partner used my "old school" sticks to make his longest game shot ever (300 yards--OK, he's a shotgun/muzzleloader/X-bow hunter).
The guide was carrying a 3 legged tripod but it was unusable because the height would have skylined the shooter ruining his chances.
 
dvdcrr, I know you want to be more confident in making that shot and you are hoping for an easy solution. But I can only offer a fun solution:

The best piece of equipment that I can recommend to help steady your hunting rifle is another rifle in 22 rim-fire that is as close in weight and function as you can find, with identical scope or sights and sling and lots of ammo. Go ahead and use the bench to get it sighted in; after which the bench is to be shunned, nay, even despised! With the 22, shoot targets that move when shot so you know that they are hit; something the size of a golf-ball at 50 yards and perhaps the size of a baseball at 100 yards. Standing up on your hind legs, shooting like a man, all hits are good hits, and a miss is a miss. Shoot the 22 a lot and shoot your hunting rifle enough. Do 80% of your shooting from the standing, off-hand position; 10% kneeling, and 10% sitting on the ground, that is, enough to be familiar with these other two important positions. For a center-fire hunting rifle, my favorite target is water-filled milk jugs at random distances out to the farthest you would ethically take a hunting shot. If you are willing to take a 300 yard shot at a deer, then you need to shoot targets at 300 yards. On an actual deer, you should pass up any shot that you don't have a lot of confidence in making. Without practice, I don't know how anyone can have much confidence, no matter how much equipment has been brought. Back to those milk jugs....at 100 yards, standing with my scoped 270, they just explode. At 150 yards, I'm still pretty darn good and the more I shoot, the better I am. Somewhere along the way to 300 yards, I need to drop to one knee to be stable enough for a more reliable shot. I have cleared those jugs a 450 yards with no misses, but that required a formal sitting position that takes time to set up. I like the kneeling position for hunting as it only takes a second or less to assume and the increased stability over standing may actually make for just as quick a shot.
So, you really didn't expect to get out of practice, did you? ;) As others have mentioned, if you learn to be a good off-hand shot, then a shot taken at any other more stable position will be more easily made and at longer ranges too.
If I may ask, what kind of hunting rifle and caliber are you using?
 
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