Whoever came up with the idea of using a vacume cleaner belt to hold the sticks together was dead-on; it works great. The African models are often held together with bicycle inner tube but they have to be wrapped and tied and it just isn't as simple.

Ever since I hunted in Africa and used the tall wooden shooting sticks so common in that part of the world, I've wanted to make a set for myself. There are only a few places I might use these for deer hunting but I would imagine they could be very useful if you do a lot of stalking in areas where there are few natural rests.

The sticks couldn't be simpler to fabricate. I used bamboo because it's light, cheap and very sturdy. I'm sure other materials could be used but bamboo is probably the best natural material here in the USA. Depending on where you live, finding a stand of bamboo may be difficult or quite easy.

Locate three stalks that are about 3/4 inch at the base and cut it off. It's best to cut the bamboo close to a ring to keep it from splitting. Next measure off a length that is about eight or ten inches taller than your height. If you're like me and have a tendency to never throw some things away then you may already have the next component - a round vacuum cleaner belt. Loop the belt over the end of the sticks a few times till it's tight enough that it won't fall down and roll it down about six or seven inches from the top. I taped up the ends of the sticks with black electrical tape but that's certainly an optional touch. Well you're done, you just made a tripod that is very sturdy and is an excellent addition to the handgunner's bag of tricks. I'm going to make a set for sitting too once I have time to stop by the bamboo patch again.

Having three legs offers an advantage that may not be readily apparent if you've never used them before. When shooting, I position the legs such that the forend of the gun rests evenly against the two prongs on the right side (left side if you're left handed). This double point of contact reduces the horizontal wobble to almost nothing. Sticks like the fold-up aluminum jobs are better than nothing, but don't compare in stability to a set of three legs. I have also found they work very well to stabilize your binoculars when glassing something for several minutes.

Shooting in the standing position with these bamboo sticks makes shots out to 200 yards on large game relatively easy and they don't fall over like the two legged models.

The only drawback I've found is that a few granules of powder tend to stick down near the case head when you dump them for weighing. A slight rap on the bench usually clears the stragglers.

The next couple tips come from the reloading room. When sizing bottleneck cartridges I've always used RCBS lube and a case lube pad and I've always thought there should be a better way. I'm sure some of you have already used One-Shot from Hornady but if you haven't, give it a try. It's far less messy than the non-spray lube and it seems to give me better results when necking down 444 cases - I don't get as many crinkled necks when using One-Shot. Just spray it on and let it dry about a minute and you're ready to go. I usually spray one side then rotate the block 180 degress and spray the other side. Choosing a spray angle of about 45 degrees will also lube the inside of the case necks.

Next time you go to the range have a look in the trash can. Chances are good someone has provided you with new loading blocks.

Here is an item that you've probably already thrown away hundreds of times. It's the plastic ammo holders that some manufacturers put their pistol bullets in when they box them up. I don't like buying things that are free and these, otherwise disposable plastic items, make great loading blocks for a number of different cartridges. I've found the 45 blocks work great for cases up to about .308 Winchester. The 44 Magnum blocks work well for the smaller cases like the .223. Once you get up to the 444, which I load a lot of, you'll need to find something in the 50 cal range. I'm using the block from a box of 50 AE that I picked up at a public range.

Good Hunting,
Gary

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