Anyone made their own Bush Hawk?

I have been considering a Bush Hawk for flight shooting, but saw the price for the unit. I wondered if anyone here has made their own and how they went about it? I have seen lots of people in the past using a gun stock for hand hold birding scopes, but none for photography. I guess the tricky part would be configuring the remote trigger. Any ideas or advice?

Thanks

I think the remote trigger wouldn't be so tough. You can trigger the camera through the ten-pin connector and that connector is a standard part.

The remote trigger is a hard part to do. It is a 2 stage switch, first stage being auto focus & exposure, second stage being shutter release. I tried to find such a switch and could not find one. Also the adjustments the Bush Hawk has would be difficult to reproduce in wood. It can be done, but the hardware (from skeet & trap shooting guns) would cost more than the Bush Hawk. I have built gunstocks from both wood and fiberglass and I ended up buying a Bush Hawk because it is cheaper to buy than for me to build.

My bushkawk collects dust in the closet. Pretty much useless with a 600, imo. I can handhold a 600 or a 500 better and more stable than with the Bushhawk. A light lense like a Canon 400 f/5.6 like Jody uses is another story. That is a great setup.

Yes- you can do it.

A few years back, before I'd heard of the bushhawk, I tinkered and made something similar with a broken stock class paintball gun (specifically a "phantom"). These are made of metal, but weight reduction is the goal, so it's light.

All you're really after is the vertical grip with a horizontal frame to attach a camera (add the support accessory arm if you want it). I removed the "gun" parts (barrel, cock, some internals, etc.), drilled into the chamber and bolted a QR mount. Even happened to have fancy "gel" grips on the vert for cushion. No reason you can't use the cable release...I'm sure you could disassemble it further and cleverly affix in "trigger" position, if you want the full rambo effect

I'll search my drives at home and see if I can produce a picture for you. No idea how easily you can track down a retired stock class phantom these days, either. Google around...there's lots of interesting options. Most of the intact camera gun stocks are quite old, but they're an easy ebay find.

Just FYI- the updated bushhawks are quite nice. For some reason, they never addressed the arm pad and it falls off soon after first use. I wouldn't bother to use a bushhawk for anything longer than a lightweight 400mm.

c.w. moynihan wrote:My bushkawk collects dust in the closet. Pretty much useless with a 600, imo. I can handhold a 600 or a 500 better and more stable than with the Bushhawk. A light lense like a Canon 400 f/5.6 like Jody uses is another story. That is a great setup.

I agree. Tried the bushhawk briefly with the 600...extremely awkward to use. Aligning your eye is tough to begin with, not to mention holding any posture, balancing the setup, etc. Would not consider for use with your 500, Tim!

I got a ten pin release from ebay, from some company in China. It works great.

There are lots of different releases out there.

You might want to check out Instructables.com. Lots of hand made items over there.

Thanks guys. I may just give up on the idea, since I do very little flight shooting anyway. FWIW, the Phottix wireless remote cable should work fine for the trigger. If you just use the cable end and not the remote piece, it works fine as a 2 stage switch.

Tim,

I'll donate a rifle stock(wood) to the cause if you want to go the do-it-yourself route

dougc wrote:Tim,

I'll donate a rifle stock(wood) to the cause if you want to go the do-it-yourself route

Thanks Doug. That's what I was thinking of using as that is what I had seen birders use in the past. However, this would be for use with my 500 VR, and from what others are saying, it would be a waste of time for use with that lens?

Tim,

I use my Bushhawk with my 500 all the time. It took some tinkering to get it to work for me and I don't use a trigger. I have the shoulder pad taped on with some extra padding underneath it and I put it in the centre of my chest rather than into my shoulder. I have a 300 2.8 IS but I am not able to use it on the Bushhawk as well as the 500.

I had a lot of trouble doing BIF from a tripod and decided to try the Bushhawk and make it work. Also, I have back problems and do most of my photography sitting. I went out with Jim Neiger one day a few years ago and knew I wanted to handhold the 500. As I said, it took some fiddlying but it works for me!

BushHawk shoulder mounts are not designed for the big glass, probably the use of 300 F2.8 would be the largest, but really designed for the 100-400/80-400/70-300/400 F5.6 type lenses, I do not have one, but a friend uses his alot with a Canon 100-400 IS lens and he really loves it.
www.impressionsofnature.net

John P wrote:BushHawk shoulder mounts are not designed for the big glass, probably the use of 300 F2.8 would be the largest, but really designed for the 100-400/80-400/70-300/400 F5.6 type lenses, I do not have one, but a friend uses his alot with a Canon 100-400 IS lens and he really loves it.
http://www.impressionsofnature.net

Whether or not it's designed for the larger lenses, I don't know. But, you see folks using them in the field, and BushHawk also pushes the sales for use with long lenses just as well. Here's an image they sent me via email a few years back.
Looks halfway reasonable...enough to make me buy and try it, but I soon found it extremely awkward to use as shown (notice the strain on his face!). Given the length (alignment) of the lens, you almost need to support the arm in the center of your chest. Once you get it up there and your eyes aligned, it feels like you're balancing $10k+ in equipment on the top of two closed fists, while standing in an awkward position. Carrying the equipment with BH intact is equally awkward. Steadiness comes much easier (and cheaper) for me handheld.

I'm kind of surprised by a lot of the comments made in this thread so far. I've been using the same type of shoulderstock to handhold my 500/4 for 23 years now and wouldn't dream of doing BIF any other way. It gains me at least 2-3 stops of stability. The guy who used to make them quit many years ago, and it could stand being remade with better materials, perhaps carbon fiber. Here's what my rig looks like:
It looks tiny, and it is, but it works for me. I've even held the 600/4 with it successfully, albeit for short time periods. The stock portion is adjustable in length, I've got an Arca Swiss mount on top that can be rotated slightly to the right angle, and I crudely taped on Canon's remote electronic release cable thingy to the grip (removing the original button and covering over the original connector for manual Nikon bodies). My non-trigger hand supports the lens directly, rather than indirectly via an extension on the shoulderstock.

I also have an old model BushHawk, but it's so large and heavy that I've never even tried to use it.

I built one a while back. I got a sheet of 1/4" foam board and laminated it with several 1/4" sheets of lumber. I found a template of a gun stock on the internet and cut it out. It worked pretty good, but the angle of the lens to the stock was a bit off. I eventually ended up getting the real deal.