Thread: Hog saddle or alternative suggestions

I'm looking at taking a leap into tripod shooting and am interested to know what saddle/attachment people are using.
The Hog saddle seems to be the product which gets the most attention but at 300USD and then the website charging a crazy 60USD shipping, it's a stupid amount of money.

Is there any NZ based producers/suppliers of rifle saddles that I should be looking into?
Or is there a better value option people have had success with?
Or should I just DIY something.

Cheers

Bog pod make tripods

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What rifle is it going on to? Screw an arca rail on there. Can be retrofitted to a sling swivel easy enough, or just screwed to the right stock.

Originally Posted by Nick-D

What rifle is it going on to? Screw an arca rail on there. Can be retrofitted to a sling swivel easy enough, or just screwed to the right stock.

I'm hoping to be able to use it with all of my rifles, mix of CZs, Tikkas and an AR15.

I think I'll try DIY something, theres an alternative called Triclawps which looks pretty good, likely be under $200 landed in NZ.
Might to that route if my DIY option doesn't work out.

The Brits make a similar thing , go over to ukvarmint forum to find out more

Pig Saddle is good enough, if my life depended on it, I would get the Hog Saddle, there is a fair price difference. That being said on my comp rifles I use an arca rail, but for others I just stick with the pig saddle, its taken a fair amount of abuse over the years and still works perfectly.

I've played with it. Just bolted a cheapo pic rail adapter to an arca rail section and that clamps to the rail on my rifles. Works sweet I just need to invest in a not shit tripod haha.

I reckon it could be diy'd easy enough it's not exactly a complex mechanism

Originally Posted by Beetroot

I'm hoping to be able to use it with all of my rifles, mix of CZs, Tikkas and an AR15.

I think I'll try DIY something, theres an alternative called Triclawps which looks pretty good, likely be under $200 landed in NZ.
Might to that route if my DIY option doesn't work out.

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And here I was thinking this was about a cut of pork. Imagine my disappointment

I think @Cowboy06 makes something that would work

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I use a levelling head and direct mount arca swiss plate. Definitely the most stable. I use the tripod and levelling head for photography etc as well so it's not so much tied up in just a shooting piece.

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Not sure if it’s what u are after but I bought a photography big lense adaptor ring off TradeMe chopped in half and it fits on the standard thread on top of bipods or tripods used for cameras. 1/4 unf ? Only cost about $30 from memory.
Like this one

If it was me I'd be looking at a set of what the Brits call "quad sticks". They give much better stability than just a single point of contact on your rifle. Google them. Lots of commercially made sets and easy to DIY.

When you consider the use of the tripod @Beetroot, what is your gut feel about speed of setup and target acquisition vs range, terrain, bush, animal movement, etc?

What I’m getting at is that I dicked around with various tripods, long bipods, sticks, on and off for years, in the UK and Africa mostly. Always the same objective, to get a solid rest above the grass height, or to enable shooting while sitting in the rocks. Simplicity and speed are essential. Totally get the full on tactical type screw-on setup, as well as some of the fancier “sticks” designs, but believe me I’ve lost enough good shooting opportunities to cocking around with fancy rests than I care to remember. And I’ve stood behind blokes as they do the same. I can think of a couple of quite expensive acquisitions made by gadget freaks that only ever went out into the field once.

Some of the sticks arrangements the guys used in the UK drove me mad. Clack clack clack they’d fuck around trying to be quiet, and the chance would be gone. Then I’d lean against a tree trunk and shoot the deer.

The only time I’ve found these kind of rests useful is when the animal is quite far away and unaware of me, and time is on my side. Longer range shots where a raised but solid rest is essential, the only way to shoot the animal. The most use I got out of my home made effort, which worked brilliant, was in SA in the koppies where a flat, prone shooting type position was impossible. Simple camera tripod with sticky rubber feet and a screw on U shaped saddle cut out of a solid plastic cube, with a threaded insert. The width of the saddle was matched to the stock, no slop. I’ve still got it somewhere, will see if I can get my boys to find it. I shot a lot of critters with that setup.

Funny, but all the years I’ve lived here I can’t think of a single time I ever wished I had it with me.

My main purpose for the tripod will be shooting paper and steel.
I always struggle with long grass an uneven terrain when out plinking, so hoping this will help with that.

As far as hunting goes I believe the tripod will have minimal usefulness and a tall bipod as others have mentioned would likely be quicker, easier and lighter. I use a sling for times when a more stable position is required, but don't have time to get the bipod out of my pack.
Who knows, with a bit of practice I may find use for a tripod when hunting, will have to wait and see.