The best shooting sticks and tripods for hog hunting

Shooting sticks or shooting tripod: why this is one page

People search for "shooting sticks" and "shooting tripods" as if they were different products. On Amazon they mostly aren't. When we checked listings in September 2026, the same products came back for both: the BOG DeathGrip is listed as a clamping tripod and shooting rest, and it turned up in our searches for shooting sticks and for hunting tripods alike. A search for the Primos Trigger Stick returned a Vanguard carbon shooting stick and a Primos clamping tripod right beside it. So we rank them together, on one list, by what they actually do.

And what they do isn't decided by the name on the box. Two things separate these rests: whether the head clamps the rifle or cradles it, and whether you're standing on three legs or one.

Clamp or yoke: the choice that matters

• Clamping tripods (BOG DeathGrip, Primos Edge, BOG DeathGrip Bantam) grip the rifle so it stays on target hands-free. That's the setup for sitting a feeder: the rifle stays pointed at the feeder while you wait, glass with binoculars or a thermal monocular, or rest your arms. The cost is weight, and a few more seconds to set up.
• Yoke sticks (Primos Trigger Stick Gen3, Vanguard VEO 2) cradle the fore-end in a U, and you still hold the rifle. They deploy faster and weigh less, which suits walking up on a sounder in a field or setting up on hogs crossing in front of you.

Legs come second. A true tripod stands on three full legs. The VEO 2 is a monopod on a small folding tri-foot base: lighter and more packable, and by design never as still as three legs spread wide.

What makes a good night hunting tripod

"Night hunting tripod" is the one term in this group with measured Google search volume, and it describes a real need. The Texas extension publication Feral Hogs in Texas calls feral hogs "usually nocturnal," noting they "may rest during the day in dense, shady areas and move at night to more open areas for food and water" (Feral Hogs in Texas, B-6149, 2004). A night sit can mean a long wait with an optic on the rifle. Three features earn a tripod its place in that setup:

1. A clamp. Holding a rifle up for an hour isn't realistic. A clamp holds it on the feeder for you, and it's why all three clampers rank at the top here.
2. Pan with tension, and tilt. BOG lists 360-degree pan with tension adjustment and a tilt lever giving up to 25 degrees of cant fore and aft on the DeathGrip. Primos lists 360-degree pan and an angle knob with up to 50 degrees on the Edge, and BOG lists 120 degrees of tilt on the Bantam. That's what lets you follow a hog walking off the feeder without re-setting the legs.
3. Adjustments that suit a blind. The Bantam's twist locks and large rubber feet are built for working inside a ground blind; the full DeathGrip uses lever locks and foam grips.

The rest is only half the night rig. For the optic, see our best thermal scopes for hog hunting, and for the zero, our guide to zeroing a thermal scope, which is easier off a clamp. Before you hunt after dark, read can you hunt hogs at night in Texas.

How we scored shooting rests

Rests are scored on the same rubric as blinds and stands: stability and height range (30%), concealment and noise (20%), setup and weight (20%), durability and materials (20%) and value (10%). For a rest, stability means a clamp and three legs score higher than a yoke or a monopod, and the height range has to cover the positions you really shoot from. Concealment and noise means how quietly it adjusts and how well it works inside a blind. We haven't tested these units; scores come from published specs and the rubric on our How We Choose page.

The five rests side by side

Two gaps are worth knowing. Only two makers publish a load figure (BOG for the Bantam's clamp, Vanguard for the VEO 2), and both are the maker's claim. And the Vanguard retailer page we read doesn't list the stick's weight, so the table can't compare it on carry.

The picks in context

1. BOG DeathGrip Tripod (aluminum)

The steadiest rest here on paper, and the top score on stability of anything in this category. BOG's clamp holds the rifle hands-free, the aluminum legs run from 7 to 59 in with no-slip lever locks, and the head pans a full circle with tension adjustment and tilts up to 25 degrees. That 7 in minimum means it works from a low blind chair or prone, which few rests manage. The price of all that is 8.5 lb, more than twice the Trigger Stick, and a slower setup than a one-hand stick. BOG also sells a carbon fiber version; its weight isn't in the sources we cite, so we rank the aluminum one.

Three picks share a 7.5. The Edge, the Bantam and the Trigger Stick all round to the same score. We order them by how many hog setups each covers: the Edge clamps and reaches from sitting to standing, the Bantam clamps but only from sitting to kneeling, and the Trigger Stick covers every height but doesn't clamp.

2. Primos Edge Aluminum Tripod with Gun Clamp

The Edge is the DeathGrip's closest rival and the better choice for tall shooters or high box-blind windows. Primos publishes the widest height range on this list, 9 to 67 in, from 3-position legs for standing, kneeling or sitting. The clamp pans 360 degrees and the angle knob adjusts the shot angle up to 50 degrees. At 5.75 lb it's 2.75 lb lighter than the DeathGrip. What we can't tell you: Primos doesn't list a leg-lock type or a load rating on the product page, and at 33 in collapsed it's a long thing to carry through brush.

3. BOG DeathGrip Bantam

The ground-blind specialist. It keeps a clamping head (dual-action, with non-marring rubber inserts, and BOG claims up to 40 lb of holding) at just over 3 lb, about a third of the full DeathGrip. Twist locks, large rubber feet, 360 degrees of pan and 120 degrees of tilt make it well suited to a chair in a blind. The catch is height: BOG describes it only as sitting to kneeling, and the listing title gives 20 to 42 in, so standing shots are out.

4. Primos Trigger Stick Gen3 Tall Tripod

The fastest rest to deploy. You pull the trigger and set the height one-handed anywhere from 24 to 62 in while your eye stays on the hog, and Primos says you can make last-second micro-adjustments on target. It weighs about 3.5 lb, the leg angle lock handles uneven ground, and the quick-detach yoke swaps for binocular or camera support. It ranks fourth on a hog page because the yoke cradles the rifle rather than clamping it, so on a long feeder sit you still hold everything up. Primos doesn't list leg material or a load rating on the product page. Our Trigger Stick vs DeathGrip comparison goes through the pair in detail.

5. Vanguard VEO 2 CM-234TU

A carbon fiber monopod that stands up on a folding tri-foot base, extends to 64 in and folds to 24.4 in, the most packable rest here. The wide U-yoke rotates and comes off for a camera or spotting scope, the quarter-twist locks are quick, and a rubber-capped top screw lets it double as a walking staff on a long walk-in. It's last because a monopod on a small base never holds as still as a real tripod, and Vanguard's 11 lb load figure is a maker's claim.

Height and carry: the numbers that decide it

Every figure below comes from the spec table above; the arithmetic is ours.

• Height travel: the Edge covers 58 in of adjustment (9 to 67 in), the DeathGrip 52 in (7 to 59 in), the Trigger Stick 38 in (24 to 62 in) and the Bantam 22 in (20 to 42 in). More travel means one rest covers prone, sitting and standing.
• Carry weight: the DeathGrip is 8.5 lb, the Edge 5.75 lb, the Trigger Stick about 3.5 lb and the Bantam just over 3 lb. The DeathGrip weighs about 2.4 times the Trigger Stick; if you walk a mile to the sounder, that 5 lb difference is the whole decision.
• Packed length: Vanguard lists 24.4 in folded for the VEO 2 and Primos lists 33 in collapsed for the Edge. The other makers don't publish it on the pages we cite.
• Fit to a blind window: Barronett lists 35 in from the floor to the Feather Five's window bottoms. The Bantam, DeathGrip, Edge and Trigger Stick all reach that height; the Bantam is the lightest clamp that does. For standing in a box blind, the Edge's 67 in top gives the most room, but measure your own window, since the box makers we cite don't publish window height from the floor.

Which rest for which hog setup

Put the published specs against the places people actually hunt hogs from and the choice gets simple. This is our reading of the specs, not a field result:

Choosing the blind first? Our ground blind ranking and box blind ranking list interior heights. More of the sit is on the blinds, rests and field gear hub.

What to look for in a shooting rest for hogs

1. Clamp or yoke. Sitting a feeder, buy a clamp. Stalking or shooting within seconds, a yoke stick is faster and lighter.
2. A height range that covers your lowest and highest positions. Measure the blind window you'll shoot from and your standing height with a rifle shouldered. The rest has to reach both.
3. Weight against distance. From the truck to a blind, 8.5 lb doesn't matter. On a long walk in, 3 to 4 lb does.
4. Legs and locks for your ground. Primos lists a leg angle lock and extreme leg angles for uneven ground on the Trigger Stick; BOG uses lever locks on the DeathGrip and twist locks with rubber feet on the Bantam.
5. Pan and tilt you can see on the spec sheet. A 360-degree pan is standard here; the tilt range varies from 25 degrees (DeathGrip) to 120 degrees (Bantam).
6. A published load rating, if the maker gives one. Only BOG (Bantam) and Vanguard do among these five, and both are maker's claims. A heavy night-vision or thermal rifle is the case where that number matters most.
7. Heads that swap. The Trigger Stick's quick-detach yoke, the Edge's removable MagnaSwitch mount and the VEO 2's removable yoke let the same legs hold binoculars, a spotter or a camera.

What your budget buys

Every rest on this list sat in our under-$500 tier when we checked Amazon in September 2026. The price gap between them is small next to the gap in what they do, so buy for the job rather than the tier: a clamp for the feeder, a light stick for the stalk. If money is tight and you mostly sit one blind, a clamp that fits the blind (the Bantam in a ground blind, the Edge or DeathGrip standing) does more for your shooting than a pricier optic you can't hold steady. For how a rest fits a lower-cost night setup, see hunting hogs at night without thermal.

Shooting rest mistakes

• Buying a stalking stick for a feeder sit. A yoke means you hold the rifle the whole time. Over a feeder, that's the wrong tool.
• Buying a rest too short for the blind. The Bantam tops out at 42 in per its listing, fine from a chair and too short to stand in a box blind.
• Trusting a monopod for long shots. A monopod on a small base steadies a close shot; for distance, three legs and a clamp hold better.
• Never practicing off the rest. Check your zero and practice from the same rest and height you hunt from. Our thermal zeroing guide uses a steady rest throughout.
• Forgetting the rest is gear you carry. Add its weight to the thermal, light and water on a long walk in before you choose the heaviest clamp.