Thread: Shooting Tripod

Been seeing in a lot of American practical rifle shooters use tripods lately.
I don't see how a tripod is practical, as most are huge and you aren't likely to be dragging them around the bush or battlefield but I digress.

Anyway, has anyone had much experience with one??
As I almost never shoot from a range or bench, I often struggle with finding a good prone position when on farmland at the ranges I want/need and setting up a chronoy can be a nightmare.
With the ability to shoot from a steady standing, sitting or from a chair could be a great help for sighting in, load development etc.

Be keen to hear feedback.
Cheers

I like my 25" Harris bipod for long steady shots on wallabies. Just sit my arse on the ground (piece of closed cell foam for dryness) and done!!!!!

Would have thought a long bipod like SiB mentions would be just as good.

use a primos gen2 trigger stick tripod 24-62" on special at cabbelas $ 101.99 https://youtu.be/B_E6bFntLsI it is good

Beetroot....I think you'll find most use bipods.Dont see too many tripods at all.Like most anything,it's all what your used too,and how specific you want to get.Try a bipod,I have them on all my rifles,work great.

Originally Posted by Beetroot

Been seeing in a lot of American practical rifle shooters use tripods lately.
I don't see how a tripod is practical, as most are huge and you aren't likely to be dragging them around the bush or battlefield but I digress.

Anyway, has anyone had much experience with one??
As I almost never shoot from a range or bench, I often struggle with finding a good prone position when on farmland at the ranges I want/need and setting up a chronoy can be a nightmare.
With the ability to shoot from a steady standing, sitting or from a chair could be a great help for sighting in, load development etc.

Be keen to hear feedback.
Cheers

I've seen them (in photos) in use at their (the USA) matches and generally their "situations" don't bear a whole lot of resemblance to our NZ shooting conditions. As for replacing a bench for testing a rifle . . I doubt it, a bipod with your body on the ground will give you a much more stable "platform". I'm in a similar situation with no "bench" readily available so I made a portable one that folds up out of 19 and 22 mm ply.

seems like a bulky item to carry around. i shoot of a pack a fair bit.

Originally Posted by Tentman

I've seen them (in photos) in use at their (the USA) matches and generally their "situations" don't bear a whole lot of resemblance to our NZ shooting conditions. As for replacing a bench for testing a rifle . . I doubt it, a bipod with your body on the ground will give you a much more stable "platform". I'm in a similar situation with no "bench" readily available so I made a portable one that folds up out of 19 and 22 mm ply.

Would be keen to se some pictures of your portable bench, I've often thought of making one but always end up deciding it wasn't worth the effort.
Biggest problem I always foresaw was legs that worked well on both uneven and soft ground.

Bipod is the way ahead mate. Harris do them in several lengths for prone or sitting shots, for standing shots 'Quad sticks' are the dogs dangalies.

A friend in UK sent me this recently, and swears by the setup for the type of hunting he has on offer

Quote tent SN.."I've seen them (in photos) in use at their (the USA) matches and generally their "situations" don't bear a whole lot of resemblance to our NZ shooting conditions."

I'd be more than happy to debate that...from Alaska to Maine,they have conditions in various states that are close to most conditions we have in kiwi....Fiordland may be the exception,but the "panhandle" of Alaska has something similar.Im not trying to shit on your statement at all,but Ive been lucky enough to have been to every state,Im continually surprised at what is here.

I would also suggest that the yanks are on the forefront of a lot of "fads" in the shooting world,I could point out many, in other disciplines.We have many here on this forum,I believe have spent dollars and time in the US,and for sure,a lot of it is over the top,but I think you'll you'll find many shooters/ hunters in the US,are akin to what we have in kiwi,I can attest to that as I hunt and shoot with many of them.....just a thought.

Within the crowd I hunt with,we all use bipods,no tripods.I f you look at most photos of guns posted on this forum,most have bipods,I would say that speaks for itself,....the big difference,....suppressors,an absolute basstard to get one here,not worth the effort,and limited mostly to law enforcement and for those with a special need.

My local gun club,are NRA sanctioned,but the rules regarding shooting matches are not that dissimilar to what we have in kiwi,it varies from state to state,but the rules are regarding shooting are fairly standard.
Douglas ridge,and Estacada,rod and gun club are two that I shoot.Reminds me of the shoots I attended in Makara,under NZDA rules...

LaRue has a mount for manfrotto tripods I'm tempted to try. I carry my manfrotto for my camera anyway and for the extra few grams would have been real handy for a steep downhill across gully shot on the last Tahr hunt. Only draw back is you need a rail up front.

LaRue SPOTR LT666x06-ADP Tripod Adapter Mount QD | LaRue Tactical

Be easy enough to put a 1/2 inch threaded insert for most camera/tripod mounts into a stock probably

Originally Posted by Beetroot

Would be keen to se some pictures of your portable bench, I've often thought of making one but always end up deciding it wasn't worth the effort.
Biggest problem I always foresaw was legs that worked well on both uneven and soft ground.

I made this portable shooting bench using a folding saw stool from Bunnings as a base. Cut out a 15mm ply top and bolted the legs units to it.
Works well as a mobile bench for sighting in rifles and shooting long range steel and it folds up for transport. The legs seem to be far enough apart to cope with uneven ground.

Tripod shooting seems to be the domain of Precision Shooting mostly in the USA where in competitions the shooter is put in distressed positions i.e. not prone. The ability to shoot well sitting or standing can be the difference in placing well or not at all. The Manfrotto 55 has been until lately the standard go to tripod with no central yoke it is infinitely adjustable from standing height down to sitting. Other very expensive brands are now appearing aimed specifically at shooters most of these are now carbon fibre for weight saving. These tripods coupled with a top clamp such as the Hog or Pig saddle enable with practice very accurate shooting from non prone positions. As our long range shooting competitions here start to follow the USA model more guys here are also carrying this specialised gear around comps. such as the Vortex Mountain Challenge and the Alpine Long Range. I have gone a much cheaper route on the tripod purchasing a Benro A3570F and a Pig Saddle for those shots where prone is not allowed. Yes a good support helps the score but like all things practice is the key.

As far as shooting game I think the rest of the writers are right they are not really suitable, with the setup time for the shot at an animal and the extra weight to carry make their use is questionable. And at the range there are probably better options as mentioned

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Came through Kutarere today, by Opotiki.. There's a little second hand shop on the side of the road with a cool old shooting tripod for $18... Cracked up when I saw this thread.. Coincidence....