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I hunt the deserts of California and here it is against the law to hunt from a vehicle.� Because of the often very flat land and the tall brush it is often necessary to stand and shoot in order to see over the top of all that brush.� A mono-pod or bi-pod greatly increases your accuracy to insure a good shot.� Under the conditions that I am using the support, I prefer to use the mono-pod.� It allows me to quickly move and place the pod and I don�t have to worry about placing the individual legs of a bi-pod.

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Many sporting goods stores and websites have mono and bi-pods available, but I was shocked at the prices.� Cabela�s carries a mono-pod from Stoney Creek for $35 plus shipping charges and any applicable taxes.� After seeing another homemade mono-pod I made a trip to Wal-Mart and picked up the parts I will need to make my own extendable mono-pod for under $15!

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In the paint section I got a can of cheap flat black spray paint for $0.94 that I will use to paint the home made mono-pod once I have it completed. (I chose to use black instead of camouflage because I will be using it at night.)� There in the paint section I also found and expandable handle designed to be used as a handle on a paint roller.� To expand it you simply twist the two pieces until you are able to slide the top section within the lower section.� Once you get it to the height where you want it simply twist the two sections in the opposite directions and lock them together.�� I picked this one up for just $8; it is a 3� to 6� extension.

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Right next to the paint section was the hardware.� I picked up a rubber foot intended to be used on a chair leg that was about $2 for two.� I will glue this to the handle end of the paint roller extension handle and will place it on the ground when I am using the mono-pod.� Also in this section I picked up a screw in style prong that I will rest the gun in.� It has two prongs and is shaped like a � U� with the screw at the bottom of the curve pointed away from the �U� making a funny looking �Y�.� (If the fore end of your rifle is wide you may need to go to a different store and get one that is a little wider.)� The one I got at Wal-Mart was about $0.75, if you get a bigger one it will be more expensive.� Another option is to use a pair of pliers and a little muscle and bend a smaller one to fit your needs.� I ended up with a smaller one and am going to bend mine to fit and keep my cost down.

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If you go to any hardware or home improvement stores such as True Value, Lowe�s, �or Home Depot you should be able to find one of the extendable paint rods that are a little fancier (and more expensive) than the one I picked up at Wal-Mart.� The cheaper model I bought works fine, I am using it simply to keep the cost down of my project.

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I didn�t pick any up while I was at Wal-Mart because I have some at home but you might want to pick up some scotch-brite to rough the surfaces of your mono-pod so that the paint will adhere and stay.�� If you have a manufactures sticker on the extension rod that leaves a nasty sticky residue when you peel off the sticker try a little WD-40; it should take it right off.� If you do use the WD-40 you may want to use some kind of detergent to get off the oily residue so that paint will stick.

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�Because the coating is bright red on the screw in prong I am going to try putting black tape on it since my rifle stock is going to be making contact with it; I don�t want to have to keep removing paint from stock.� You might also be able to use shrink tubing to or even find some foam that will work.� If you find something that work well let me know and I will add it to this page.

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