Hunting with tripods

He's already ordered what he wants, right??, so....

Other than quickly adjustable for height the trigger sticks are toys in comparison to the tripod Dairyboy ordered. BTW I've had the TS bipod and the TS tripod so I know what they are all about. You wouldn't understand unless you've tried a RT90C, or the RRS equivalent. They aren't in the same league nor are meant to be. Not being mean but that's the truth.
 
I agree, you’ll be very happy with your choice if stability is your concern above all else.

Here you go Steve... A few different tripods and heads, yes it can be sturdy from the bench or prone! I like shooting off of it more than a bipod anymore!

Below... Innorel 52mm ball head, Gimbal head, and a Hog Saddle head.

Stoti
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Thanks for all the ideas guys but like Steve did mention I bought my tripod before I started this thread. More of a thread just seeing what you guys use and such vs a recommendation thread. 

My tripod will be here today but that's just the base. It's an extremely stout tripod rated for 88lbs. The head and adapter should be here Friday. 

The reason I went with the setup I did is it's meant to be a standalone solid base. No problem easily supports a 10lb rifle plus the weight we put in them when shooting.

Definitely not for everyone but looking at my shooting areas it would be much easier to use than trying to find spots to use a bipod. So I sold my Accutac FC-G2 to help fund it. Great bipod but too big and bulky to always be carried on the gun. Also this will get me off the ground in my backyard. No more need to hold off shooting if the grass is wet or covered in snow or something. And it's portable. Was going to build myself a solid bench for shooting in the yard but was gonna build a cover over it also which would have been a very time consuming thing, plus with building supplies going up not cheap. And having 2 spots I like to shoot at 50yds and around 75yds I'd like to be able to go between both but with a bench that wouldn't work. 

And I have a Yeti bucket my brother in law got me for Christmas a few years back and thought of using it for fishing but couldn't fit my boxes that hold my tackle. With that bucket though I can use that as my seat and it has dividers and such that I can carry my pellets, magazines, range finder and whatever else I may need with me. 

Lol those last 2 paragraphs I'll be copy and pasting when my wife asks why I needed this!
 
I haven't taken my tripod out hunting (yet). For stationary shooting I designed and 3D printed a picatinny to 200PL/RC2 adapter to mount my JSAR Raptor Mini on my camera tripod. The center of gravity of this gun is within the bottom picatinny rail section so it balances very well. I wouldn't trust the 3D printed part on a gun that has a strong rear weight bias. I originally made the printed part as a test to see if the tripod would work for this, with the intention of machining a metal version, but the plastic one worked so well I called it done. 

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You’ve got the same idea I had a couple years ago. I got a Caldwell Deadshot heavy duty. Like you, I move from vantage point to vantage point and shoot from there. None of my ground squirrels are within 50 yards anymore. A tripod is a great tool to make the longer shots. If I’m stalk hunting, I carry a Primo trigger stick. My tripod is heavy duty, but I’m only lugging it from spot to spot. Not worried about the ground or grass or anything because you’re above it. I’ve moved the entire setup a few feet to shoot round trees, obstacles etc. So pick your spots carefully to get the best possible, widest possible shooting gallery and have fun! I know you will. Plus you’ll be surprised at how far you’ll be able to shoot with a tripod.
 
I've got a question. 🤔

I use tripods but they aren't attached to the gun.

But these other systems are different.



🔶System A:

Tripod, directly and tightly attached to the gun (Dairboy's, Gun-Blue's):

How do you make fine adjustments to the gun to get your crosshairs centered on the quarry? Do you loosen a bolt to make the gun move on its ballhead?

If you do — doesn't this move to gun from stable to ready-to-move? 





🔶 System B

Tripod with two yokes on which the rifle rests (Haganaga's), producing a rest with two points:

How do you make fine adjustments to the gun to get your crosshairs centered on the quarry? Do you loosen a bolt to make the gun move on its ballhead? Or do you put a sandbag under the rear yoke and squeeze that?



Thanks for explaining this,

Matthias
 
In my case the tripod head has independent axes for pitch, yaw and roll. The yaw axis doesn't tend to move on its own, I leave it loose. If the yaw axis is plumb the roll axis equates to rifle cant, so I set it and lock it. I keep some drag on the pitch axis so it can move but not too floppy. Usually I'm shouldering the rifle but if I need to let it go I firm up the pitch axis.


 
Matthias,

I've got a cheap pistol grip style head. It came with my Manfrotto 055 which "was" supposed to be one of the more steady and well made tripods back when I bought it 8 years ago. 

I found out that the pistol grip head is horrible! It's not smooth, it binds, it's bad in every way. My friend has a RRS Anvil 30 ball head. It's the exact opposite, but it's about $400. It's so good you'd just have to try it to see what I'm talking about. He uses ARCA swiss attachment systems to clamp between the head to binos, LRF, and rifles. It's fully adjustable in tension and locks down vault tight. Put crosshairs on target, lock down if you wish, and fire. Or set desired tension with a lever to move to other targets.

My friend also has a RRS 40mm CF tripod, it's the same as the head, super smooth, lightweight, sturdy, etc. Truly amazing in every way. I can hold on a 22 bullet hole at 50Y while standing. The 90C that Dairyboy got is a copy of it in a lot of ways but retains many of it's attributes. 

In comparison my Manfrotto 055 is very flimsy, the worst part is if there's any wind it oscillates which is very annoying. I have to muscle it to get everything lined up. Getting a good tripod set up has always been on my bucket list but it's near the bottom of my list because I spend my $ on other things higher on the list. Heck it took me 12 years to finally break down and buy some Sordin ear pro.

Dairyboy, that looks like a good head you bought. I'd like to try one. Probably about as good as the Anvil 30 and you saved around $900 over the RRS stuff too.
 
I agree, you’ll be very happy with your choice if stability is your concern above all else.

Here you go Steve... A few different tripods and heads, yes it can be sturdy from the bench or prone! I like shooting off of it more than a bipod anymore!

Below... Innorel 52mm ball head, Gimbal head, and a Hog Saddle head.

Stoti
6DC9914D-AA8A-4B35-BA5C-C249EC5F6AC2.1616010131.jpeg
A1C499EB-9A24-4D27-A885-B29D90623E54.1616010131.jpeg
8410C15D-493D-44C4-B40B-57C129E08E5B.1616012107.jpeg
5E9899D2-E4C3-4C77-8F8F-2D52B6187AC4.1616012217.jpeg

NICE!!!

Those boys are blessed!
 
I can hold on a 22 bullet hole at 50Y while standing.



Steve, Dillon, gun-blue,

thank you for your very helpful explanations.
That is plain AWESOME!! 😄 Very cool:

Just stand in the middle of the woods — or factory — or desert — and shoot from a bench that I carry around with my left hand!! 😄





I have put this little accessory definitely on my TO-BUY list.

After looking at the sticker price, I put it on the TO-BUY list labeled "Next Decade."

Those prices assume either a steady stream of Stimulus Checks (God bless the USA!) (or they assume one is working in the business sector and not in an NGO...)! 😄 



👍🏼 Cool, all the stuff we can accessorize...! It's definitely a good time to be an airgunner.



Matthias