Allen Company Axial EZ-Stik Shooting Stick – Adjustable Rifle Rest – Monopod for Hunting and Scope Zeroing – Portable Rest for Rifles – Extends From 33″-61″, Green

I’ve hunted most of my life but have only recently realized the use of a shooting stick. This shooting stick beat all expectations with the ability to raise and lower the upper half, even if it does seem sort of gimmicky. I’ve had it out on two deer hunts so far and have had my crosshairs on half a dozen bucks in case I wanted to shoot. It’s very stable and the gun height, even when resting on the sticks, can be adjusted very easily (and silently – see below) with some light assistance if raising the height. If you’re trying to get a sense of what this stick feels like, think of a ski pole with two joints — and it’s not much heavier than a ski pole to be honest. I have put some light weight on it scrambling around and so far it’s held up fine. However, I can’t see it lasting as a stout walking stick that you can put lots of weight on if hiking over really uneven terrain with a pack, or if you’re not sure-footed. The reality is that it’s a shooting stick, not a walking stick. I don’t think you’ll be satisfied if you think you’re going to lean all of your weight on it stepping over a deep puddle or climbing over a log, simply because it’s not a walking stick.As you’ll see below, I did make some modifications to correct the shortcomings of this stick relating to other reviews:1. A few reviews have complained of the noise when using the spring slide. It’s thin metal on thin metal; of course it will make a scraping sound. Note that some reviewers claimed it was the spring making all of the noise, but this is untrue; it’s the metal on metal contact. Mine did this too out of the package, but I put silicone lubricator on it (the stuff for rubber gaskets on cars). Problem solved, but I expect I’ll need to put a few dabs of it on every once in a while to keep it silent. No big deal.2. Several reviews point to the gun rest piece being prone to unscrewing, potentially leading to losing it. I can definitely see this as a distinct issue given how easily I could spin it when it arrived. The reason it loosens is because it’s a double ended screw and likely needs some more threads. My solution was to put blue Loctite on the threads. Problem solved, and it hasn’t budged one bit after many miles of bushwhacking through some tough terrain.3. At least one person complained, and gave 1 star, because the lower section apparently slid down (or really up into the middle tube section) under the weight of a gun. As one of the item pictures CLEARLY shows, the cam lock tightens with a few twists of the screw to prevent this from happening. There’s really nothing complicated about this at all. It’s a cam lock; they are specifically designed and used to allow tension adjustment. To leave a bad review because someone can’t figure out how to turn a freakin’ screw one or two rotations is beyond ridiculous.In short, I did make some minor modifications to correct the apparent, common problems, but this doesn’t bother me one bit. So far, it has greatly exceeded my expectations.