Author Topic: Need Help On Rifle Holder For Still Hunting  (Read 1099 times)

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Offline Snareman

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Need Help On Rifle Holder For Still Hunting
« on: October 12, 2008, 04:14:43 PM »
never mind.

Offline Graybeard

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Re: Need Help On Rifle Holder For Still Hunting
« Reply #1 on: October 12, 2008, 09:17:28 PM »
No help from me. I'm a firm believer that if you are HUNTING the only place the gun belongs is in your hands. When you stop hunting and are just walking a sling or other carrying device is fine but when hunting it belongs in your hands.


Bill aka the Graybeard
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I am not a lawyer and do not give legal advice.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life anyone who believes in Him will have everlasting life!

Offline Snareman

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Re: Need Help On Rifle Holder For Still Hunting
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2008, 09:25:09 PM »
x

Offline 1sourdough

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Re: Need Help On Rifle Holder For Still Hunting
« Reply #3 on: October 14, 2008, 01:24:17 AM »
 That's how I mostly hunt too. 1st I gravitate toward lighter guns. My favorites are 20" almost youth models. At times when I plan to stay in one spot for a while I may put the gun down, securely. I may or may not sit down myself. I only sling when I'm walking to get somewhere & never when solid footing is an issue.
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Offline Graybeard

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Re: Need Help On Rifle Holder For Still Hunting
« Reply #4 on: October 14, 2008, 01:39:08 AM »
The type of hunting you mention just happens to be my very favorite method of hunting altho for health reasons I am really no longer able to do it very well. But I totally disagree with your comment about keeping the binoculars to your face. If you are doing that then I suggest you are NOT a very effective still hunter.

If you aren't on the look out to right and left ahead and even behind you as you slowly slip along still hunting then you are not being very effective at it. Yes I use binoculars also to peer into places I can't see with my naked eyes but ONLY after I've looked with naked eyes really well at each new spot my travels take me to. If you slip along at a pace of 100 yards or less per hour looking first at each new step with your naked eyes then and only then using the binocular to see what your eyes might have missed or to check out anything suspicous you might see with eyes alone then you are effectively hunting and using the binocular. If you keep it up to your face all the time you are blocking your most effective view of the area.

Yes I've done it and it is my favorite method of hunting. Back before I had the shortness of breath issues that make it difficult for me to even walk 100 yards I did it a lot. If you can't hold that rifle then you need a lighter rifle or a handgun in my opinion.


Bill aka the Graybeard
President, Graybeard Outdoor Enterprises
256-435-1125

I am not a lawyer and do not give legal advice.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life anyone who believes in Him will have everlasting life!

Offline Terry1

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Re: Need Help On Rifle Holder For Still Hunting
« Reply #5 on: October 14, 2008, 02:18:58 AM »
Still hunting is also my favorite way to hunt, and I agree with Graybeard. I won't even put a sling on my gun because its too tempting to use it if its there. I make do just carrying it in my hands.

But, if you must have something, i seen a guy once who had on a strap system that held his gun. It went on like a harness around his chest and back. I believe it had some kind of Velcro system for the stock and a hook that held the barrel up. Both your hands where free and the gun was in position for a fast shot. i don't know the name or who makes it, but this might give you a start.

Offline Terry1

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Re: Need Help On Rifle Holder For Still Hunting
« Reply #6 on: October 17, 2008, 01:13:52 AM »
I emailed the man who was wearing the harness I was talking about, here is what he said:

"The one I had was made by Hunt-All Enterprises out of New Milford, CT. It
was call the Tri-Tote and there phone number was 1-800-231-1443. I'm not
sure if they are even still in business."

Hope this helps!

Offline rebAL

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Re: Need Help On Rifle Holder For Still Hunting
« Reply #7 on: October 20, 2008, 01:29:41 PM »
I second the  "Boonie sling" Also called a "Safari sling"  Cabela's has them among others  and it works great allowing you to carry your firearm across the front of you allowing you to rest your hands on it.  Mine is made of nylon camo.  By using your shoulders to carry the weight it all but eliminates hand movement when still-hunting. 

Offline Snareman

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Re: Need Help On Rifle Holder For Still Hunting
« Reply #8 on: November 01, 2008, 02:14:58 AM »
x

Offline buck460XVR

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Re: Need Help On Rifle Holder For Still Hunting
« Reply #9 on: November 01, 2008, 06:19:51 AM »
Yeah, right!  Come with me and still hunt for a few hours and leave the rifle in ONE hand and don't change it to the other when your hand gets tired or cold!



.....for the last 40 years I have still hunted with a slightly sporterized M1917.  It's like carrying a railroad tie around while still hunting......but it hits where I point it every time. I still/sneak hunt large tracts of public land where a days hunt may last from sunup to sundown....distance when going slow enough to be effective is not important. Still the only time I use the sling is when I'm done hunting. Many has been the time when I have jumped a buck in is bed @ 10 yards and only have a split second to get off a clean shot. Having the gun on my shoulder on the sling or any other contraption that takes even a split second to shoulder the gun would mean no shot. To me, it's very similar to hunting grouse. The second you ain't ready is when the opportunity will arise. When your hand/arm gets tired or cold, it's time to take a break. The ten minutes of rest will give the woods time to quiet down and often will reveal deer you may have walked past.

 
Hence the reason I'm looking for something to keep me comfortable and hunting efficiently.  This also mainly gets me to keep the binoculars at my face... where they belong to spot deer.



I know many scoff at the idea of using the scope to spot deer. But over the years I have used binos and find for ME they are too much bother when still hunting. Sitting in a stand or blind is different, and maybe out west where distances are greater they may be more of an advantage. But where I hunt, 100 yards is a very long ways. Even tho my eyes are gettin' old, they still work to pick out things in the woods that just don't look right.....bringing up the rifle to confirm or to verify my suspicions puts me on the target if my suspicions are correct. Again, in many instances putting the gun down to raise the binos makes more movement that just raising the gun...and it also takes the gun outta my hands. I have tried many types of rigs to hold binos securely while hunting, but they still allow too much movement and tend to get in the way when transversing thru the thick brush I like to hunt.  I do not use the scope to check out other hunters, nor do I use it to scan other things other than area's that may hold deer....and as always, my finger is outta the trigger guard until I am ready to shoot. It has become automatic for me to crank up the power to observe things at a distance and then to crank it back down before proceeding. Again, this is just MHO and what works for me........you do what works for you. That is a major part of being a hunter....the adaptation of methods and strategies, and to use them in your specific situation.
"where'd you get the gun....son?"

Offline yooper77

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Re: Need Help On Rifle Holder For Still Hunting
« Reply #10 on: November 01, 2008, 07:02:02 AM »
My rifle or pistol rests in my hands.

Still Hunting is my top favorite type of hunting and sitting in one spot is my least favorite.

I hope everyone realizes that still hunting is slowly slipping your way through the woods and stopping often, takes extreme amount of patients.

I cannot hunt with another person, because whom ever it is, is always very noisy and impatient.

yooper77

Offline buck460XVR

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Re: Need Help On Rifle Holder For Still Hunting
« Reply #11 on: November 01, 2008, 07:33:22 AM »
.

I cannot hunt with another person, because whom ever it is, is always very noisy and impatient.

yooper77

same here....altho my youngest son may be the exception.


One strategy that has worked for me over the years  is to shadow some of those noisy brush stompers as they walk thru the woods looking at their feet, and talkin' on their two-way radios.  I do this safely and at a distance that does not affect the quality of their hunt. Most of the time, even tho I'm wearing blaze orange,  they never know I'm there. I'll sometimes catch the glint of sunlight off an antler or a ear as the deer turns it's head to make sure the stomper is safely past before they get up and sneak back to where the stomper has come from....offering an easy shot. Or I'll wait till the stomper is safely outta range and use the deers focus on where he went to sneak up close enough for a good shot. Several times the stompers have come back to claim I shot "their" deer or  that I shot dangerously in their direction. Most of the time after a brief but civil discussion of the circumstances, they acknowledge the fact that the kill was safe and ethical. Occasionally tho,  there will be the horses butt that needs an excuse for his failure, but then that happens in all aspects of life.
"where'd you get the gun....son?"