SHOOTING STICKS BY 4DEADHOLD

By Johan van Wyk

INTRO: A quality product for the hunter

Shooting sticks have become indispensible, must-have items for every hunting operation and game farm, and with good reason. Shooting with the aid of shooting sticks makes life much easier and allows a hunter to make accurate shots under circumstances that would simply not be possible otherwise.

A new entry onto the shooting stick market is 4DeadHold shooting sticks. 4DeadHold is owned and managed by Pieter van den Berg from Hermanus and his sticks are manufactured from lightweight, fluted aluminium shafts that can be lengthened up to 1,77 metres to allow shots from standing positions and, by the same token, can be easily shortened to any desired length (the minimum is 77 cm) to allow shots from kneeling and sitting positions, as may be required.

The 4DeadHold sticks have four legs that are joined at the bottom to provide two resting points on the ground and the rifle is supported behind the pistol grip as well as under the fore-end by sturdy rubber insets. In addition, the legs are joined by a canvas sling that can be adjusted as well to fit an individual shooter’s height and shooting style.

I tested the 4DeadHold shooting sticks during a hunt in the Northern-Cape during September 2020, and I am happy to report that they came through for me with flying colours. The first shot taken from them was at a Hartmann’s mountain zebra stallion at just under 200 metres. Before setting off on the hunt I adjusted the height of the sticks to suit my 1,75 metre length and when the moment of trutsh came, it was simply a matter of putting up the shooting sticks, resting the rifle on them, and taking the shot. They provided a very steady rest and I had no problems with making a good heart shot on the stallion at the given distance.

The second animal I hunted whilst using the 4DeadHold shooting sticks was a very fine red hartebeest bull. This time around, we had to hide under a fallen thorn tree to get close enough to the bull and the shot had to be taken from a sitting position. Again, it was merely a case of adjusting the sticks to the correct height and putting up the rifle, an open-sighted 9,3x62 Mauser. The distance was close - 23 metres – but with the sticks in place, the shot was the proverbial piece of cake.

There are other shooting sticks on the market which are broadly similar to the design of the 4DeadHold sticks, but they tend to be imported and hence much more expensive. In my experience, most of them are not as sturdy as the 4DeadHold stick, however, and the 4DeadHold is therefore my shooting sticks of choice insofar as my own hunting is concerned.

4DeadHold shooting sticks are available from a number of outlets, including the store of the SA Hunter’s and Game Conservation Association at Inyathi Park in Pretoria. For trade enquiries, they can be contacted via e-mail at info@4deadhold.com