SHOOTING STICKS WERE BORN ON THE AMERICAN FRONTIER
Wayne Guard in his fascinating book “The Great Buffalo Hunt” revealed the colorful history of the Buffalo Hunters and the American West. Using heavy .54 caliber Hawkin muzzle loading rifles, Frontiersmen soon learned the need for a solid rifle rest. Their simple solutions were single elevation forked sticks cut from saplings. Some hunters used two crossed sticks and held them together to control elevation.
In 1848 Christian Sharp invented the paper cartridged .52 caliber Sharps Rifle. Everything changed. It became the buffalo rifle of choice on the Great Plains. Later models used .45-70 metallic cartridges. Now with a 500 yard effective range, all Buffalo Hunters used shooting sticks. Even at close range the heavy Sharps encouraged a rest to avoid fatigue. The Sharps Rifle was made famous in the movie “Quigley Down Under” with Tom Selleck.
The Native Americans soon adopted rifles and Howard Terpning beautifully captured their ingenious shooting sticks in his painting “The Long Shot”. It graces my office wall with its blend of 19th century technology and cultures.