[Leica] shooting with long lenses

[Gerd.Hechtfischer@t-online.de (Gerd Hechtfischer)]

I am trying to find the maximum focal length one can shoot
reasonable pictures. Some time ago I had a 500 mm f/8. 
It was a very cheap lens (equiv. $99) but the design was so
primitive and it had extremely good results in a lens test (I
think BAS). I found this lens near to useless, because even
with a tripod, I could not avoid the whole thing to shake when
the shutter was released (I used Canon SLR then). A little
bit of wind or touching the release and you could see the
image in the viewfinder shake.
I think it is a mistake to believe what is written in teaching
books about photography: You CAN use a shutter speed
up to one over the focal length in mm. I noticed that pictures
taken at shorter speeds are considerably more sharp.
Most people that complain about the quality of their lenses
only need a better tripod (or even just a tripod) than
another lens.
To improve my own pictures, I aquired a monopod recently.
This weekend, I tried shooting a Meyer-Goerlitz 300mm f/4
lens mounted to my Canon SLR with the monopod. If the
results are convincing, I will go for converting the lens for
Visoflex use.
What is your experience with long teles? What focal length
do you use for handheld shooting? Experiences with
monopods? Are those gun- or pistol-grip gadgets of any use? 
What tripod to use for extreme teles? I can't imagine
shooting a 800mm Telyt even with a good tripod!

Gerd