Tripod Shooting

[Peter988]

Yep. It’s a bit like fishing. Post a photo of a good fish with a new lure and people rush off to buy the lure. Still doesn’t make them fishermen.

[Fester]

For me, standing with my hand on a tree or sitting behind a log will always be the go-to.
Also, offhand shooting is a skill the deer hunter needs.
Some blokes just can't do it, others will never put in enough practice to become proficient enough.

When the local SSAA range was run by a great manager and team, I was allowed to use what he named the all-purpose range.
The pistol and rimfire silhouette range that they wasted lots of time and money on, making it pneumatic, now a white elephant.
Interestingly, only a couple of other blokes used that facility; they all just sat in a line on their benches.
A keen PRS shooter was one, and I nicknamed him Plinkster, after that yank Youtuber.
He could sure shoot, he demonstrated offhand shooting by lifting his .22 and shooting a 100yd ram with 1 shot.
The rams are bigger, but still only a few inches; practice makes perfect is the motto.

I can't take advantage of sitting unsupported, maybe my back, lack of flexibility; I just can't shoot accurately enough.
Same with a single stick; that could be easily carried, and I did try to master it with practice.
The 3-legged trigger sticks can be carried, but like anything in the hands, apart from a rifle, even trekking poles that high country, backcountry hunters swear by, could cost you a snapshot opportunity on a wary forest deer.
My plan was always to drop lower and dump all such items, but still prefer to have nothing further than a day pack.

Unfortunately, as the worn-out body won't be getting better, I will have to consider walking less and carrying the Darchi chair and trigger sticks to sit and wait, move a bit, and repeat.

To walk with my $50 Bummings sticks for a longer shot opportunity is pretty easy, and it takes about half a second to just drop them for a snap shot.
Just another tool in the bag and next time won't be the last time when the only opportunity is to freeze and take that shot that is a bit far for offhand confidence, that's when those cheap Bummings sticks could well bring home the meat.

Would I ever consider paying $700 for such a contraption, not a f__g chance lol.

[JDM9691]

Mate, it's because you're a hunter. Hunters use their rifle and their opportunities, and their skill.
Nobody hunts carrying that stuff around, a hunter knows there is no time or opportunity to even set one of those dead Giraffes up.

I agree with most of the rest of what you said, but this last bit is rubbish. Not everyone hunts deer in the forrest.
I don't call myself a hunter - I'm a farmer controlling pests, but in this context I'm a hunter, so I guess I'm Nobody. I walk around the paddocks of ewes and lambs at night stalking foxes. Time is not a problem, because I often I see them 1km+ away and it can take 5 - 15 minutes to get to the right position for the shot. Even so, It only takes 5 seconds to take the tripod off my shoulder and be in position to take a shot - the sticks maybe 10. If others can take foxes at 200m standing unsupoorted, well more power to you. For me, no matter how much I practice that would be a lottery, but with a tripod or sticks it becomes a certainty..

In our undulating country a fox that can be seen standing, often goes under the horizon when I go prone on a front bipod, or it disappears in the stubble. There are no logs or trees to support yourself on, so if you are serious about taking foxes, you need elevation. A couple nights ago I was taking roos on the sticks from 340m in a crop that was 2ft high - prone, sitting or on one knee you would have seen nothing.

I'm no spring chicken either - I've been controlling foxes for 45+ years, but using tripods and nightvision gear, is far superior and preferable to previous methods I've used. Each to their own.

The point I'm trying to make is that the sight picture from my $5 home made quadstick is not that different to that from a $800 tripod.