Simple, Inexpensive ‘Pogo Stick’ Rest for Hunters
Forum member RidgeRunner has devised a clever shooting support for field use. He calls it the “Pogo Stick”. It’s simply welded stainless rod with a two-pronged base, and a ‘U’-shaped cradle that adjusts for height along a vertical shaft. RidgeRunner tells us: “It is very solid and made from stainless steel so it won’t rust under sweaty hands. The rifle hook, or support, slides up and down the main stem and secures with the knob. It has two prongs you tramp into the ground and is VERY stable. It is shiny, but I have been using this one since about 1983, and I can’t say I have noticed it spooking any whistlers. Before I had an actual bench to shoot off of, I used it to sight-in rifles. I would lay down and use a sand bag under the butt stock. Worked just fine.”
While this “Pogo Stick” rest was created for varmint hunting, it would work well for hunters of larger game, in terrain where the prongs could be set in the ground. The whole unit is small enough to carry easily in a day-pack. It sets up in seconds, and it stays in position by itself, unlike shooting sticks, which normally require a firm hold with one hand.
Yep, that’s one big Pennsylvania groundhog in the photo below. RidgeRunner reports: “This old boy has been giving me the slip for a couple weeks. I finally got a 52gr A-Max in him before the hay got high enough to hide him again. This sucker weighed 15 pounds. My heaviest to date I believe. The rifle is a Tikka 22/250 with a 4-16X Weaver 1/8-MOA dot scope. Nice and light for carry, nice and accurate too.”
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Tags: Groundhog, Shooting Rest, Varmint Hunter
No “product” pics, no “product” specs, virtually no help. A solution looking for a designer that knows how to communicate.
A $19.99 (free shipping), i.e., inexpensive, alternative solution, available thru Amazon, a decent quality bipod without losing your sling attach stud – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BR4VME/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=33872356075&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=154808103949619401&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_9i8v0artbf_e
For $20 save the grief and get something that actually has utility.
Utility for who? The fellow has been using this for 30 years. Shooting Groundhogs. How many Pennsylvania groundhogs have you shot? With his level of experience I tend to believe the man. Also, we all can over skim sometimes. Evidently you did on this. He made it himself, for himself, and the idea is that others, who actually make some of the things that they use, might want to make something similar, using his as a starting point, possibly incorporating their own ideas. Not everyone is totally dependent on what is made for sale. The best rest that I have for shooting factory stocked rifles is home made, in a configuration that is not available from any commercial source, and it works better than some very expensive ones that I have and have tried for that purpose. If I take pictures and write about it, will you attack that story, and suggest that it did not list a source or price?
Grass can grow real tall in groundhog country so a regular bipod may not work well at all — you’re too low. Also when you shoot from a down-sloping hill across to another hill, you need to get your muzzle quite a ways off the ground. This pogo-stick thing seems to let you get up high enough. I bet the main thing is you can sit down when you shoot, and be more comfortable when you’re glassing between shots. I for one don’t like to spend a whole day laying on my belly.
Boyd:
Presumably the idea (given the article text) was to provide an idea for a simple, cheap solution. Unless you have access to a welding rig AND know how to use it, this particular implementation is not even an option.
I too build items of my own design. But if I was going to try to pass the idea along I’d sure share more than what was shown in this article.
I suggested a $20 alternative. Here is another $20 alternative – http://www.thunderboltcustoms.com/home
Looks a lot like what this fellow is using at the rifle end – without the bulky shaft. As in throw it in your coat pocket or pack and head out.
There is also rope around a couple of tree branches – shooting sticks.
Bottom line, plenty of inexpensive solutions. Just my “comment”.
Go back and reread the first sentence of your original comment and imagine that it had been directed at you, instead of the owner of the site, and the fellow that was kind enough to share his innovation, and experience. In the past I have come up with a term to describe that sort of thing, “Keyboard brave”. I find it particularly irksome when someone posts in that manner.
I agree with Boyd.
Boyd/Gabe:
I absolutely stand by my first post, first line. What is incorrect about a post regarding an article that provides virtually no useful info?
Keyboard brave??? What an AH!
“No Useful info”? Well, Mr. ELR, I liked the fact this story showed me something I’d never seen before, built by a real hunter with his own hands, something that has lasted 30 years without breaking, and has worked in the field. Now, if you don’t understand the utility of this thing (or how to make something like it), well I can. Looks sturdy, simple, goes up and down like no store-bought bipod can. Some of us like doin projects like this. There was useful info for me.
Directions for getting out of a hole:
(1.) Stop digging
“Directions for getting out of a hole:
(1.) Stop digging”
Good one Boyd. It appears that ELR is comparing apples to oranges. If he had linked to a mono-pod or even shooting sticks he might have made a little sense. But nothing would excuse his rude response to a helpful idea from a fellow forum member.
Good job RidgeRunner. One of the best things about this site is people sharing their ideas which sometimes you can get other ideas or improvements from.