Thread: Who uses a tripod to hunt / shoot from?

Tentman - I’m not bothered by what you said but I am starting to think that the Viperflex sticks I have are different to those available today. Mine were more than likely the first set in the country as they came from a friend of the owner of Viperflex who was out here visiting Swazi with the aim of the sticks being marketed here by them. As long as 10 years ago I had email discussions with Claus Christiansen (the CEO of Viperflex) over the difficulties we were having using them on steep country. I made suggestions on how I thought the design could be improved for my use, and even provided them with an alternative design that would have suited my purpose.

Mine don’t have the lever arrangement on them that the newer models have so I am not familiar with how this works, but the suggestions that have been made in this thread are simply not possible with the set I have.

Originally Posted by Sauer

Tentman - I’m not bothered by what you said but I am starting to think that the Viperflex sticks I have are different to those available today. Mine were more than likely the first set in the country as they came from a friend of the owner of Viperflex who was out here visiting Swazi with the aim of the sticks being marketed here by them. As long as 10 years ago I had email discussions with Claus Christiansen (the CEO of Viperflex) over the difficulties we were having using them on steep country. I made suggestions on how I thought the design could be improved for my use, and even provided them with an alternative design that would have suited my purpose.

Mine don’t have the lever arrangement on them that the newer models have so I am not familiar with how this works, but the suggestions that have been made in this thread are simply not possible with the set I have.

Now that you have explained your setup I can see where you are coming from.
The newer ones are great. And simple.
The Primos Polecat five leg is brilliant.
I was shooting some meat animals with Dave Hearn and he had his. He set up on an animal and stepped away from his rifle. I stepped in behind his gun and the cross was still on the animals shoulder. If I'd wanted to shoot it, all I had to do was touch the trigger. This was at 347 yards. I was sold and have owned sticks since. Prior to that I thought they were a bit gimmicky.

Tried several from various brands including 2vets etc but settled on the Sunwayfoto t2830cs as the best on the market at an affordable price. Designed specifically for hunting, light, inverted ball head, 3 section quick to deploy. Check out Rogee productions YouTube videos. He uses one.

Mine are Rudolph brand. They are not especially classy but I've used them a lot. I did lose the screw and nut that holds the top together but a trip to Bunnings sorted that. The legs are first adjusted to suit my height using the little silver button/hole doodads like tent poles use. Better than twist-lock as they don't slip. Not as good as speed-clamps like I have on my trekking poles. Once the base height is set I don't change that other than to store or transport. As above, it is far to slow a method of adjustment in the field. In the field I simply move the legs in or out to level or height adjust. This copes with fairly uneven ground and is best suited to setting up on game unaware you are present or that you are waiting for to appear. If its a shot that I have to hurry or lose the opportunity I may use the sticks as a monopod. Not as stable but worth practicing lots on the range or dry in the field. I did a lot of practice when I first got them by walking around in the field and pretending a bush or some such was an animal. Highly recommend this. For snap shooting under 200m I simply drop them and shoot offhand.

On the side of a steep hill (which I prefer to avoid), they would be a right pain. If I couldn't use them in monopod mode I'd likely shoot offhand. Or prone. Yeah right lol. But I couldn't see a tri-pod being much better.

My biggest prob with then is noise banging the aluminum against a rock or tree and how best to lock them together as a walking stick but able to be released quickly to spread the legs. For the noise I'm considering wrapping in camo tape which means base height is no longer adjustable without removing the tape. I think I can live with that. They still fit in the truck. A "rubber band" made from a length of stretch cord might be best for locking them into a walking stick/monopod. Better than bloody velcro.