Frenchieboy Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Just a quickie guys. I have been wanting a descent thumb stick for a while but being the tight ar$e that I am I wanted to save a few coppers and make my own. I bought a telescopic Hiking Pole from Winfoelds Outdoor Stores for £6.99 and dug out an old piece of Roe Buck Antler I had. A fter cutting the antler to size and a little filing to make it more comfortable in the hand I drilled into it with a 1/4 inch drill about 2 inches deep. I then drilled into the top of the hiking pole with the same drill about 2.5 inches deep. I got a piece of 1/4 inch mild steel rod about 4.5 inches long and fixed one end of this in to the hiking pole and the other end into the antler, securing it with some 2 part epoxy. Using a bit more epoxy I fixed the wrist strap to the antler and left it to set which only took about 5 minutes. In a matter of 10 minutes I had a nice telescopic Roe Buck Antler topped thumb stick that is ideal for using as a monopod when out lamping for well under £10.00 I then put my thinking hat on and went back to Winfoelds and bought a pair of telescopic Hiking Poles in the sales for £12.00. I extended these a little so that I could drill through just below the handles with a 1/4" drill without hitting the next section. I repeated this on both poles. Then I got a 1/4" bolt and put it through the first stick and then used a washer, a spacer and then another washer before poking the bolt through the second pole and fixing it with a washer and a nut - Being carefull not to overtighten it so that the sticks wouldn't move, then I locked the nut up with a lock nut. All that remained to do was to use one of the webbing wrist straps to fix between the top of the tow havdles to make a rest for the rifle. There you go, a set of shooting poles that can be adjusted for shooting in the standing, sitting or kneeling position for well under £13.00! Pic 1: The Antler Top fixed to my Thumb Stick. Pic 2: Using the Thumb Stick as a Monopod. Pic 3: How my Shooting Sticks are fixed together. Pic 4: Using the Shooting Sticks in the Kneeling Position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 have you thought of a job on blue peter Frenchie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Enter stage left the PW carpet police... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 I was just wondering whether it would be worth money on ebay to a 70's collector Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camokid Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 take it you aint got the 243 yet lol.. looks good pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_commoner Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Enter stage left the PW carpet police... closely followed by the curtain constabulary all joking aside, not a bad idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchieboy Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 OK Guys, as long as you are having your humourous pops at me you are leaving others alone so carry on if you like, but be warned, if the wife finds out who you are you could find that her bite is worse than her bark. (And god help anyone that asks what breed she is)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksdad Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Did a similar job meself Bought a Hama anti shock walking pole, £10, with a standard camera thread mount on the top. I then made a V out of a 15mm copper elbow and 2 short lengths of tube, soldered up. I drilled a hole in the bottom of the elbow and expoy'd on an M6 nut, then covered the pipes in normal pipe lagging, job done! I can adjust the pole right down to kneeling height, stand upright, and even remove the V and use it as a camera or walking pole No need to buy expensive gear, plus its good to make your own tackle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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