Any of you guys hunt from climbers or lock-ons with your hoglegs? If so, do you shoot off-hand or have you devised a rest?.

I am not good enough to shoot off-hand unless its a very short shot. I have four of the big Ameristep screw in tree steps. I have covered them with heat shrink. I face the tree in my climber and put two in each side of the tree. Have shot a fair number of deer while resting on those. Still doesn't help when one comes up behind me.

I never shoot off hand unless I have to and the intended target is close, REAL close! I have used climbers in the past and always had the seat(sling style) let out as much as it would go. This allowed me to sit low and have the rail a little higher so I could rest the pistol on it.
When hunting from a lock-on without a rail, I'd cross one leg over the other knee and rest the gun across my leg. Niether of these situations are my prefered method, but they do help a lot.............

I came across something this year that really made handgunning easier...get a set of Stoney Point shooting sticks. Mine is the Polecat Tripod...a little pricey but worth their weight in gold! I used them in a treestand, ground stands and while still hunting. I can telescope the legs to shoot while standing or colapse it to shoot while sitting. They make a monopod and bipod but I went with the tripod. With the mono or bi versions...if you shoot then have to reload or when the gun recoils they will fall over unless you have a hold of them. The tripod will still be standing and ready without having to reposition it. This also allows you to rest the gun on it without holding the mono or bipod...both hands can grip the gun without the front being wobbly. The tri can also be used as a mono or bi if need be.

If your stand has an open grating on the bottom...just set the shooting sticks on the toe of your boot.

TCScout, check out Bipodshootingsticks.com. I picked up the 40" model yesterday at a gun show. Looks to be the ticket for shooting out of the tree or on the ground with pistol or rifle.

At the beginning of each hunting season I cut a maple or willow stick about chest high length with a fork on the top. I rest it on my hanging stand and I can move my grip on the stick up or down depending on where I want to shoot and rest the barrel of the pistol on my knuckle. This works in my platform stands or my ladder stands. On one ladder I rest the stick on the toe of my boot and grip it the same way. I have shot two deer this year like this and one or two each year for five years when I started hunting with pistols.
I got the idea from shooting my flintlocks hunting the last 25 years by using the hickory ramrod for a rest. I pull it from the gun and try to kneel or shot against a tree. From a stand I just freehand it.
Good luck.
I looked at the tripod sticks and I will have one to shoot while setting by next season.

Mike

I too am not steady enough, good enough to shoot Speciality Pistols OFF HAND at game. Until I made myself a set of Crossed Shooting Sticks I spent most of my time Hunting for a Rest. With the Crossed Shooting Sticks I simply sit with my back to a tree (or whatever) get the forend of the Pistol in the crotch of the crossed sticks and usually my left elbow on my left knee for added support. It is amazing at how accurate a person can get with this type of set up after a little practice.

When out walking a shelterbelt of something similar I use an old Sky Pole that I removed the basket from. I drilled a hole in the top of the handle and have attached a rubber covered "Y" to the top to rest the Handgun in. No this is not as steady as the above mention crossed shooting sticks, but does work quite well.

Good luck and I am quite sure you will find something to suit your needs.

Larry

Larry in SD,
I caught myself laughing a little bit when I read the part of your post where you talked about "Hunting for a Rest".

Isn't that the truth.

To me, this whole issue is one that makes pistol hunting somewhat unique.

BTW, have you all seen those tripod rests that are commonly used in Africa. I wonder how those are made? Seems a guy could make a shorter set for hunting while sitting on the ground or in a stand, but I have no idea how those are made. I believe DanB was right though when he said three legs are better than two.

The best setup I ever had was at a place here in Kentucky where I used to hunt. I hunted on the side of a hill along a fence row that ran up the hill and overlooked a wooded creek bed about 75 yards below - that was the mother of all deer funnels. There was a downed walnut tree in the fencerow that fell amidst some cedars. I dug out a flat spot where I could perch inside those cedars and was basically invisble from below. I hauled two small sandbags out there and set them on the downed tree. That was a rock steady rest and I shot seven deer out of that blind over two seasons using my old Contender in .375 Win and my T/C Scout .50 cal pistol.

Ended up loosing that place because the landowners daughter got married and I lost out to the new son-in-law on the deer hunting. It was a pistol hunters dream and as a hunter it will be a place I will always remember as long as I am in this life.

Like I said...the Stoney Point tripod item is a little pricey but man it is awesome!! Adjustable in every manner you can think. If not for it, the one youth hunter I took this year never would have scored...we were walking across a field when a doe popped up along the edge...we were caught in the side open with nothing to rest on but a holstein but she would not stand still! I had the Stoney Point extended to use as a walking stick...simply spread the legs to get it the perfect height for Ian (the young'in) and he made a great shot.

I agree with dan, I picked up the stoney point tripod a few months ago and it is by far the most stable system I've used. Sometimes when I'm hunting steep thick country out here I will also use the stoney point shooting stix since they are very compact and light. Just don't forget and leave them in the truck like I did this year

I bought the Stoney Point Bi-pod with the adjustable legs. It has worked great for me. Dan brings up some great points I didn't think about when I looked at both the tri-pod and bi-pod.

I have used the bi-pod to steady for the shot on all 3 deer I have shot so far this season.

how bout some pics of the tripod rest?