Quad Stick Rifle Rests

We can all get carried away with the latest gadgets and trends, but the reality of life is that keeping it simple and really getting the best from your kit is the key. More and more I find myself cutting down or throw out the kit I rarely or never use; ‘travel light’ is my motto on any hunting journey.

Nevertheless, there are several essential items that I would never be without. Forget the rifle ammunition, binoculars and knife, they’re a given, but I feel naked without gloves, roe sack and a good set of shooting sticks. The latter are essential to me, to the extent that I get furious if I leave them at home so I always keep a set in the car.

Not only are they essential to steady your rifle when you take the aim but if like me you tend to stalk in steep hilly terrain the asset of sticks to keep you steady on your feet is very handy too. I have also been saved on many an occasion from disappearing up to my boot tops in boggy terrain.

Made in Britain

Differing types of sticks come onto the market all the time, often poorly made far east copies of a European design, but Quad sticks are really different and are made here in Britain. As their name suggests instead of the usual one, two or three legged support that you usually see, with Quad sticks you actually have four – giving two ‘V’ supports that cradle the rifle front and back. It may sound awkward but is in fact unbelievably steady to use and allows a very precise aim from a standing position (with the Standard length set) or from a kneeling position (with the shorter Highland set).

They are made from hardwood so instantly feel nice to the touch and have fitments in metal for longevity. The four legs have a diameter of 15mm long and secured to each other in pairs 11mm from the top or bottom with a metal securing bolt. This allows the paired sticks or shafts to scissor out to form the V shape. How much you angle the V determines the height, the short Highland set is 1.1 metre tall whilst the larger Standard set are either 1.6, 1.7 or 1.8 metres (to customer’s order) to tailor the sticks to suit each stalker.

With the top and bottom of the shafts secured together there is a elasticated cord that keeps the sticks from flopping open and allow your to splay the sticks to the correct height and then push them apart to form the crux to support your rifle. This cradles the forend in the foreword two sticks and the butt stock in the rear most sticks.

This incredibly simple idea allows really precise aiming. The Standard long sticks are great for general stalking where a standing shot is needed, whilst the shorter Highland set are great in Scotland where you spend most of your time on your belly and then gently raising to take the shot. These short ones get you above the heather and marram grass.

The sticks are light weight, hard wearing and soon become indispensable to a good days stalking or lying in wait with a vermin or fox rifle. They are not height adjustable but you can splay them further apart to adjust height to a degree. Their biggest asset I found was that even if you rested the rifle directly onto the wood surface there was no change in impact for the shot. Usually if you rest a rifle directly onto a hard surface the shots will invariably go high, these Quad Sticks keep your zero because they have a degree of give in their structure, a real asset to get off that perfect shot.

PRICE: £65 per set (regardless of length) plus £15 p&p