Tripod mounted Shooting?

[TBJ]

I've seen this a fair bit in the PRC/PRS guys in the states and also with hunters in both Australia and the US, although mostly in the states where they have the gun clamped in and on a camera tripod. I saw the MOD7 PIG and HOG mounts in a magazine and was wondering what about these sort of setups for foxes, roos and rabbits, maybe even deer? also since I know nothing about the concept, has anyone done it, or have any insight into it and what ones are good and maybe an inexpensive one to give a go and see. Also most of my guns are in a more traditional stock, I don't own any chassis or anything, so are these able to be used with traditional laminate, synthetic and wood stocks or is it only for tactical stuff, also will it mar/damage my wood and laminate stocks?, and is it just a plain camera tripod or is it something sturdier?
thanks

Here is the sort of thing I'm talking about:

[Rod_outbak]

I use a cheap old 'OPTEX' branded photographic tripod, with a large rag wrapped around the Plate on top of the tripod. I think it cost me around $80 in about 1996, and was considered a bottom-end still-camera tripod at the time. Fully extended, it probably reaches to about 1.6 metres high?? Once I have it adjusted to the right height for the rifle I'm using, it's a few seconds to plonk the tripod down, and rest the rifle on top. I walk and pokk grasshoppers most mornings and evenings, and this ratty old tripod has done a great job.
I have 2 other Manfrotto tripods, but they are much heavier(designed for video), and arent as easy to use.

I've eyed off the professional shooting ones, but I havent yet found the money they cost offers anything better than the old Optex..

I probably add 150 metres extra distance to my shooting by carrying the tripod around with me.

[TBJ]

I use a cheap old 'OPTEX' branded photographic tripod, with a large rag wrapped around the Plate on top of the tripod. I think it cost me around $80 in about 1996, and was considered a bottom-end still-camera tripod at the time. Fully extended, it probably reaches to about 1.6 metres high?? Once I have it adjusted to the right height for the rifle I'm using, it's a few seconds to plonk the tripod down, and rest the rifle on top. I walk and pokk grasshoppers most mornings and evenings, and this ratty old tripod has done a great job.
I have 2 other Manfrotto tripods, but they are much heavier(designed for video), and arent as easy to use.

I've eyed off the professional shooting ones, but I havent yet found the money they cost offers anything better than the old Optex..

I probably add 150 metres extra distance to my shooting by carrying the tripod around with me.

from the sounds of it tripod shooting works, do you have any pics of how you have the gun on the tripod?

[bigfellascott]

I made one a few years back now using a camera tripod and mount I made to suit the rifle and the issue I had with it was me not being able to stabilize myself enough which resulted in the rifle moving around too much to be any good. I found the bipod to be better as I could load it up and brace myself up against a tree in the sitting position or lay down prone if I have the right height bipod on.

And don't get me started on Monopods - I was like Steady Eddie using one of those

[TBJ]

I made one a few years back now using a camera tripod and mount I made to suit the rifle and the issue I had with it was me not being able to stabilize myself enough which resulted in the rifle moving around too much to be any good. I found the bipod to be better as I could load it up and brace myself up against a tree in the sitting position or lay down prone if I have the right height bipod on.

looks pretty good to me, although I see where you have problems and that was why I was looking at one of the systems that actually clamps the gun like the HOG/PIG saddles or Tri-Clawps, but not sure if it will ruin my stock, I figured you could load it up almost like a bipod whilst still standing and also tracking the animal better, or do I have the wrong idea? honestly just trying to see if this concept is worth giving it a go

[Rod_outbak]

TBJ,

I dont clamp mine at all, so it's a bit hard to show you an example of it. I just rest the rifle up on top of the (padded) tripod plate when I'm shooting.

Honestly; from walking, it takes a second or two to drop the tripod, and another couple of seconds to perch the rifle on top. Having done it a few thousand times now, it is second nature to go from walking with tripod in one hand & rifle in the other, to being ready to shoot.

It's never going to be as solid as sitting in front of a shooting bench, but I'd have to attribute nearly 1000 dead grasshoppers the past 8 months to the old Optex & rag. Most of these were well past 200 metres.

I purposefully bought my RPR because it was compact enough to walk with, but also heavy enough to help me recover some of the upper body strength I lost over the past 5 years of being a house-bound invalid. Also, my knees are pretty crap these days, and so I needed an option where I could shoot from a standing position.
The tripod has turned out to be far better for my Walk & Pokk, than I expected. While I'd like to fashion up a better top-plate bracket/shoe (like bigfellascott has made), I can keep using what I have now without much hassle. There might easily be another thousand grasshoppers on the ground before I get around to making a bracket.

I'm not 100% sure you will find the clamp-on tripod heads all that useful. I noticed that a couple of my rifles arent weighted where the stock rests in the tripod, so I dont think I'd be overlly confident in having them perched on there free-standing; a good gust of wind might drop the whole thing onto the ground. Maybe the commercially-available tripods are heavy enough to negate this, but then that will make them a lot more heavy to lug around.
A U-shaped padded slot to rest the rifle into would certainly be better than my flat-top arrangement, but I question whether you'll get much more benefit from having it all clamped together.

Cheers,

Rod.

[Wombat]

I made a small U section out of some heavy alloy tube, milled a flat ,drilled and tapped a hole then glued some stubby holder on the inside. Works well at the range on an old op shop tripod. Took 15 mins to make and less than $10 invested Thread was 10 20 UNC from memory. Tube was a section of an old (used) small fire extinguisher.

[Stix]

Gees Rod...do you realise you posted a pic of a guy that looks as if he's just robbed a country camera store...
He doesnt seem too fussed about it neither...

[Oldbloke]

You can buy purpose made tripods for about $50 on fleabay if you shop around.
Or perhaps try extra long shooting sticks.

Monopods are useless.

[Rod_outbak]

[quote="Stix"]
Gees Rod...do you realise you posted a pic of a guy that looks as if he's just robbed a country camera store...
He doesnt seem too fussed about it neither... :lol:
[/quote]

In my defence, it was freaking cold, and there werent any grasshoppers to Pokk...

REALLY annoying; I badly want to be reloading right now, but I've got to get bookwork resolved so I can take some of it to the accountant next week to plan our cash-flow for the next year or so.
I HATE bookwork at the best of times, and the thoughtless mailman delivered the new reloading press(Forster Co-Axial), which is now calling to me...
I reckon if I ditched the bookwork, I could have a couple of hundred 125gn SST's loaded by tomorrow night....

Farrrkk; I HATE bookwork....

Rod.

[Oldbloke]

"Farrrkk; I HATE bookwork..."

Computer is far better. Try a spreadsheet.

[axio]

Budget Tripod build. Can tie onto the tripod or just use as a rest, also folds down for easy fitting in a daypack

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Folding tripod from ebay- > 'Zomei Q666'

2x Carinya bracket to suit the size of your stock -> https://www.bunnings.com.au/our-range/brands/c/carinya
*Combine the brackets, drill a hold in the brackets and use a nut to attach them to the tripod mount

Small nylon tie down

Those foam mats from bunnings to cut up as padding

Duct tape (essential)

[scoot]

So I'm contemplating getting a tripod set-up for when I'm on foot or setting up in good hunting possy's. I've started looking around and you can spend between $100 and $3000+ for a set-up.
Using leofoto as an example there are 3x models that are similar yet worlds apart in price. Lm364c, ln364c, ls364c. All 36mm carbon fibre 4 stage legs. Roughly same heights and weights. Tops are slightly different. Price over doubles between cheapest to dearest.
So who's in the know as to what is best. Ball head or levelling base. Bowl top or stud. What legs, feet, height, etc. I'm happy to spend money if it makes the experience better, just not sure what I should be putting "value" on.

[Blr243]

The reason I not gone down this road is because it predominantly supports the front stable and that rear support is up to me nervous arthritic wandering blood pumping shaking useless self ......so I prefer rifle mounted bipod as my body and arms laying prone form a very stable rear base in direct contact with Mother Earth at least two feet rearward of the front support point .....this enables excellent shot placement in the field .....but I do tend to shoot open cultivation paddock s where grass height Is no issue to a prone shooter

[scoot]

Yea I'm thinking more a system that attaches via arca or picatinny mounts to a more central location. Most of what I'm looking at are designed with adjustments of varying design to pan around and then lock up solid once on target. Able to completely "hold" the rifle. Will give me a much more stable platform when "prone" is not an option.

[bladeracer]

So I'm contemplating getting a tripod set-up for when I'm on foot or setting up in good hunting possy's. I've started looking around and you can spend between $100 and $3000+ for a set-up.
Using leofoto as an example there are 3x models that are similar yet worlds apart in price. Lm364c, ln364c, ls364c. All 36mm carbon fibre 4 stage legs. Roughly same heights and weights. Tops are slightly different. Price over doubles between cheapest to dearest.
So who's in the know as to what is best. Ball head or levelling base. Bowl top or stud. What legs, feet, height, etc. I'm happy to spend money if it makes the experience better, just not sure what I should be putting "value" on.

I bought a very nice tripod for the same purpose, due to the height of the grass, but I don't find them very useful as the rear support is still my body. Using a stick gripped against the buttstock with the left hand makes the tripod far more stable, but gets awkward when you are trying to pan around. It gives me marginally more precision than shooting offhand and is no better than my basic spring-loaded hunting tripod, which is also much lighter and more compact. The hunting tripod has a trigger under the forend that drops the legs to the ground, hold the trigger in while you line up the shot, release the trigger and the tripod is locked in position regardless of the shape of the ground, and you haven't had to move your hands from the rifle. Take the shot, pull the trigger, crouch down and the tripod telescopes again, release the trigger and stand up and walk out to your target, without ever releasing your left hand from the rifle. Very hard to beat in my opinion.

I would suggest bodging something up first and see if it's something you can make work before you throw a heap of money at it.

Frankly, it's a lot of junk to carry around when there are trees and fence posts you can get support from if you need it. When the grass is long I just swap on a very long bipod and sit on my butt or kneel.

[scoot]

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Something like this

[bladeracer]

The reason I not gone down this road is because it predominantly supports the front stable and that rear support is up to me nervous arthritic wandering blood pumping shaking useless self ......so I prefer rifle mounted bipod as my body and arms laying prone form a very stable rear base in direct contact with Mother Earth at least two feet rearward of the front support point .....this enables excellent shot placement in the field .....but I do tend to shoot open cultivation paddock s where grass height Is no issue to a prone shooter

Same here, I just pick better shooting positions where I can use a bipod. There's no cover out in the middle of paddocks so I tend to stay in the shadows of tree lines and fences for shooting positions.

[Oldbloke]

Yeh, I bought one some time ago. Look they are OK bot I prefer my DIY shooting sticks (stix) Weigh ziltch. depends how far you want to shoot too.

[scoot]

I like the Trigger stick design. This is probably one of the better portable shooting "rest" solutions I've seen. Going to the carbon fibre tripod gives up almost nothing in weight but I think should provide a more stable platform since it removes human interference once locked up.
Using thermal let's me set-up and shoot from positions in the dark that are conventionally not practical. Seems tonnes of Yankee hunters and now more Aussies using tripods? Must be something in it.

[Oldbloke]

I like the Trigger stick design. This is probably one of the better portable shooting "rest" solutions I've seen. Going to the carbon fibre tripod gives up almost nothing in weight but I think should provide a more stable platform since it removes human interference once locked up.
Using thermal let's me set-up and shoot from positions in the dark that are conventionally not practical. Seems tonnes of Yankee hunters and now more Aussies using tripods? Must be something in it.

There is no doubt tripods are more stable than shooting sticks.

[bladeracer]

I was assuming you were hunting in daylight. If you're spotlighting you should be able to pick a shooting position ahead of time, so probably won't even need a tripod.

I just went out with the thought of shooting a quick video with the trigger stick, I'm not sure I can adequately describe how seamless it is to use while stalking. It is as simple as seeing a target, raising the rifle, deploying the tripod with the trigger, leaning into it and taking the shot. Virtually as quick as firing offhand without it. But it's still bloody hot out there, perhaps when it cools down.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/253162151025

I like the Trigger stick design. This is probably one of the better portable shooting "rest" solutions I've seen. Going to the carbon fibre tripod gives up almost nothing in weight but I think should provide a more stable platform since it removes human interference once locked up.
Using thermal let's me set-up and shoot from positions in the dark that are conventionally not practical. Seems tonnes of Yankee hunters and now more Aussies using tripods? Must be something in it.

[bladeracer]

You can buy these adapters bulk to suit whatever tripod head you have, and attach them to anything you want to mount, including rifles.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/164491782327

Yea I'm thinking more a system that attaches via arca or picatinny mounts to a more central location. Most of what I'm looking at are designed with adjustments of varying design to pan around and then lock up solid once on target. Able to completely "hold" the rifle. Will give me a much more stable platform when "prone" is not an option.

[scoot]

That's the theory. Have the arca plates or even pic rails mounted under whatever rifles I want to use. Qd attachment point on the tripod. Just not sure on what "specs" and heads make for a good smooth stable platform. Most of the ones I am iresearched the main variable is the interface between tripod and rifle. Ballheads, levelling bases, stud mounts, bowl mounts. If I can narrow down the better or more popular choice it will help narrow the search.

[bladeracer]

That's the theory. Have the arca plates or even pic rails mounted under whatever rifles I want to use. Qd attachment point on the tripod. Just not sure on what "specs" and heads make for a good smooth stable platform. Most of the ones I am iresearched the main variable is the interface between tripod and rifle. Ballheads, levelling bases, stud mounts, bowl mounts. If I can narrow down the better or more popular choice it will help narrow the search.

My tripod has the ball head that those adapters fit into, so I can screw the adapter into a pic rail and leave it on the rifle, or screw it onto a QD bipod mount. I found attaching the adapter to the left side of the rifle suited me better as I can operate the tripod locks more easily when the ball is laying on it's side. Since I mount pic rails on the left side of my chassis for sling attachment anyway it's very convenient.

[Bills Shed]

I use a very cheap camera tripod and made a U shaped bracket that the rifle sits into with a bit of foam padding. Only use it with the NV when sitting at a good vantage point covering a fence line. I sit on the ground to see over the long grass and the tripod supports the rifle nicely. For the sit and shoot option I think it is great but I would not want to carry it around as a matter of course.

Bill

[scoot]

So, I've ordered the trigger stick blade referenced before. For the price I think I can't go too wrong.
Next time I hit the big smoke I might try to check out some carbon fibre tripods and ball heads. Hopefully I get a salesman who knows what there on about. either way I'll be more comfortable dropping $$$ on something I can touch.

[bladeracer]

So, I've ordered the trigger stick blade referenced before. For the price I think I can't go too wrong.
Next time I hit the big smoke I might try to check out some carbon fibre tripods and ball heads. Hopefully I get a salesman who knows what there on about. either way I'll be more comfortable dropping $$$ on something I can touch.

I did get out today to play with it and shot some video, but I'm no videographer and don't think it's worth uploading anywhere. To get the whole tripod in shot, means shooting from some distance, but the tripod isn't bulky enough to show up well.

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I walked toward the camera from 150m, stopping at around 135m, 100m, 75m and 50m to take three shots at a 150mm gong, standing using the trigger stick, then the plan was to repeat it shooting offhand and see if there is a difference in either the time or the accuracy. There is certainly an improvement in the accuracy as I generally can't put every shot on the 150mm gong offhand from 134m, which was easy from the tripod, even with today's 6-minute wind hold. I'm quite sure the tripod makes it very significantly quicker too, but will require more testing (I have probably fired no more than a dozen rounds using this thing in the five years or so that I've had it, I don't consider it worth lugging around as I prefer to use natural supports in the field). You are essentially taking an offhand sight picture before deploying the tripod, but once the rifle is supported I can get the shot off within a few seconds easily, an unsupported offhand shot can take a lot longer to settle, especially at longer distances.

I also wanted to show how easily you can crouch into a supported shot with it. But I fired 50rds then came down the house to review the footage, decided it wasn't suitable, then got distracted with tractor maintenance

Depending on the rifle, you might find that it sits atop the tripod just fine, as I found with the RPR with the 25rd magazines. The rifle is not attached to the tripod at all, if I had to immediately run to my target I can simply let go of the tripod and it'll fall to the ground.

I might have another go sometime, but with a cameraperson moving with me.

[scoot]

Cheers for the effort.
If I'm brutally honest with myself this will probably suit just fine 90% of the times I will use it. I generally run with makeshift rests if I go afield but I think this will really help in a couple of spots.

[bladeracer]

:friends: Cheers for the effort.
If I'm brutally honest with myself this will probably suit just fine 90% of the times I will use it. I generally run with makeshift rests if I go afield but I think this will really help in a couple of spots.

I am a fan of the design, it just doesn't suit how I hunt and shoot. As I said earlier, I hunt foxes in daylight so I stay in the shadows of treelines and fencelines, where there are plenty of convenient rests for shooting from. I do have to cross open paddocks of hundreds of meters of grass to get to tree lines, and I occasionally shoot from out there, but a 24" bipod is usually sufficient if I'm doing things right. If I screw up and find myself standing in waist-high grass with foxes cavorting around just outside comfortable offhand range then I just have to wear it and do better next time

This is also far less heavy and bulky than my tripod, and my tripod doesn't automatically adjust it's legs to different lengths to suit the terrain, this does. If you're walking through high grass you already stand out, you can't be bouncing around setting a tripod up for a shot, you need to stop, slowly raise the rifle, and take the shot, which this allows you to do. And it works will the single-point sling, so I don't even have to unsling the rifle.