Shooting Tripods

[Rick in Oregon]

*** I did not see a subject line on this new forum for field gear, so posting here....hope it's okay.

This subject is fairly new to me. I've pondered it for a while, and after seeing the USSS using them in Butler PA when Trump got shot in the ear, I looked into them further.

I see shooting tripods running from el cheapo to 'professional grade' costing over a grand. Now being into 'geezerhood', getting down into prone and staying there for extended periods of time using a bipod puts a real cramp into my neck, not to mention an old guy getting back up from laying down (not a pretty sight). And I've had trouble lately with bipods not able to get over high grass where I shoot rock chucks, so a tripod started to make sense.

In the end, I opted for the BOG Death Grip tripod. Seemed like a good option as I didn't need to add an ARCA rail to any of my Cooper's with nice Clarlo wood stocks, and even my Phoenix model Cooper gets clamped in solidly. Problem was leveling the rifle. The only way was to move the legs......time consuming and not ideal when shooter movement needs to be minimal.

Answer: The neat ball-head conversion from Little Crow Gunworks. They offer a complete kit to modify the Death Grip using a 40mm ball-head. With a small portable camp stool, it may be the answer, but I've not had a chance to try it out in the field yet, being fall and recovering from surgery last month.

So....looking for others experiences with shooting tripods, good ones, ones to be avoided, and overall field impressions.

 

[Bullseye69]

I got the SLIK PRO 700 DX Heavy-Duty Tripod with the NightSnipe NS67 ball head and Picatinny Rail to Arca-Swiss Adapter. Then the NightSnipe Shooting Saddle on top.
So far has held everything very nicely and no marring of the stocks.
Only down side is it's heavier than most I've tried.
I still use the heck out of them.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

Bullseye, got any pics of your setup to share? Sounds like you've got your system dialed well.

 

[Bullseye69]

Last time in Montana and last year shooting squirrels with the 17khornet.

 

[BrianM]

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I bought one of these tripods to have a back up for my main tripod for night time coyote hunting . For the price , this is pretty impressive! I bought a 2 section model but they also sell a 3 section model amd the ball head is built in . I am a fan of the upside down leg adjustments , they seem to be faster to set up for me . If you want a clamp, sunwayfoto has a clamp that attaches to the arca top of a ballhead for like $50 if I remember correctly.
My main tripod is a fatboy tripod and it's nice but a good bit more expensive. These Fanaue tripods offer a lot of tripod for the money and mine is really solid !

 

[Old Hickory]

I use camera tripods and they work good. You can pick them up at yard/garage sales for a couple of bucks.

 

[M_Strohmeyer]

*** I did not see a subject line on this new forum for field gear, so posting here....hope it's okay.

This subject is fairly new to me. I've pondered it for a while, and after seeing the USSS using them in Butler PA when Trump got shot in the ear, I looked into them further.

I see shooting tripods running from el cheapo to 'professional grade' costing over a grand. Now being into 'geezerhood', getting down into prone and staying there for extended periods of time using a bipod puts a real cramp into my neck, not to mention an old guy getting back up from laying down (not a pretty sight). And I've had trouble lately with bipods not able to get over high grass where I shoot rock chucks, so a tripod started to make sense.

In the end, I opted for the BOG Death Grip tripod. Seemed like a good option as I didn't need to add an ARCA rail to any of my Cooper's with nice Clarlo wood stocks, and even my Phoenix model Cooper gets clamped in solidly. Problem was leveling the rifle. The only way was to move the legs......time consuming and not ideal when shooter movement needs to be minimal.

Answer: The neat ball-head conversion from Little Crow Gunworks. They offer a complete kit to modify the Death Grip using a 40mm ball-head. With a small portable camp stool, it may be the answer, but I've not had a chance to try it out in the field yet, being fall and recovering from surgery last month.

So....looking for others experiences with shooting tripods, good ones, ones to be avoided, and overall field impressions.

I have a bog pod. Haven't used it yet. Still using my trigger stick. Light weight and quick acquisition for those unexpected moments. Will be using the bog for coyotes this year.

 

[DamDave]

Bog is my choice, 3 years and they work great for prairie dogs

 

[Rick in Oregon]

Dave, can't tell from the pic, as it's a bit dark for detail, but did you upgrade your Death Grip tripod with a ball-head?

Once I got my DG tripod, leveling the rifle was a real chore, as the only way to do it was adjusting the legs. That turned out to be a real hassle, so as mentioned above, I used the conversion kit from Little Crow Gunworks and now it's a snap and perfect rifle/scope leveling is quick and easy.

There are other ball-head conversions available, but this one worked very well for me, just passing it on.

 

[DamDave]

Dave, can't tell from the pic, as it's a bit dark for detail, but did you upgrade your Death Grip tripod with a ball-head?

Once I got my DG tripod, leveling the rifle was a real chore, as the only way to do it was adjusting the legs. That turned out to be a real hassle, so as mentioned above, I used the conversion kit from Little Crow Gunworks and now it's a snap and perfect rifle/scope leveling is quick and easy.

There are other ball-head conversions available, but this one worked very well for me, just passing it on.

I bought it with the ball head