Fellows,

I routinely use a single staff as a support for offhand shooting. My homemade shooting stick is oak, has a rounded chisel point for stabbing into the ground, and a loop of 3/8" rope at the top. If convenient for the shot, I will place my left hand inside the loop before grasping the rifle. If that is too high, I grasp the staff with the two little fingers and use the other three for holding the rifle. This is a hunting expedient. While not nearly as stable as shooting from a benchrest, it is a tremendous improvement over shooting offhand. The staff is easy to transport as a walking stick, or simply carried in one hand.

I've just put the finishing touches on two new staffs (one for a friend), as my old one was damaged. The old stick was made from 3/4" stock. Although I'm still using it, I had to shorten it by about an inch because it was crushed in a car door at the hole drilled for the rope. The new staffs are made from 1" stock, and should be more robust. They are octagonal in cross section, and made primarily on a table saw. The chisel point is free handed on the table saw, then cleaned up on a bench-top sander. After finish sanding, they are stained and then sealed with polyurathane.

I've taken some nice game using the shooting stick. It is a tremendous aid to accurate field shooting.

Take care, Tom