Please consider updating this topic to include the "Really Right Stuff" SOAR (Sport Optic And Rifle) tripod. They now have dovetail plates to attach the rifle to the head. Pricy, you bet, but at under five pounds total.
I liked the video. I have been trying to find a good tripod for a couple of my firearms. I would like to get into some computations at some point but would like to get my stuff set up before I do that. would be nice to see a link for the tripods though
I'd recommend going to a few competitions and shooting first. What you thought was a smart setup today may change after a shoot. Lots of guys are cool and will let you borrow stuff to see what you like. Lots of people get a set up, go to their first shoot, and change everything about their setup 3 or 4 times. These guys showing how one of them prefers a ballhead and the other doesn't is a perfect example.
Great video and wish it was out 6 months earlier. I went with the Manfroto Carbon Fiber with a Sunway 52 Ball. I have bought the fast attach rails for my AI and Desert Tech but have yet to use them. Was there any reason you stayed away from the RRS rails? Also excited about the Shadowhawk low cut balls but no one stocks them yet. I notice RRS has there own version now...would seem to be best of both worlds and compliment your two different shooting styles wonderfully....
Thanks for your comment. Regarding your question, this video was produced almost 4 years ago (Oct. 2014). At that time, virtually no one was using RRS tripods for precision rifle shooting and the RRS Rail system with products or accessories targeted to precision rifle shooters didn't exist. These products didn't emerge and become common place until about early 2017 - which was a couple of years after this video was posted. Since then, Steve has transitioned almost entirely over to a RRS Tripod and RRS dovetail mounts for bipods and attachments for his rifles. We'll look at updating our tripods video sometime in the future.
Enjoyed a full-watch of this fine video. Very informative. I'm rying to figure out ballhead and/or hog-pig saddle. So much to take in but after trying them, then maybe will land the right combo for me. Thanks for the fine video. 👍🏽🙂
I’m looking to get something to support my .308. I remembered that I have one of those Manfrotto tripods for photography. I did not think this was an option. So thanks for the video that’s shows how to do this.
Great vid... I'm originally from the Yakima valley, nice to see some NW scenery, have not been back there in 15 years. I really enjoyed this vid and am looking at my first tripod. Do you guys leave lock and clear your rifles and leave them cinched into the tripods if you were to go down range and check targets?
If you want an ultra light and extremely stable tripod/bipod system, you might want to look into Spartan Precision Equipment from the UK. They make extremely versatile and light tripods (the Sentinel line) and bipods (the Javelin line) that attach to your gun via magnetic sockets. They are super stable and extremely light. Not to mention the fact that one can rapidly switch between bipod and tripod (or take out one leg of the tripod to make it a giant bipod). They additionally offer adapters to add a back rest to the tripods (to make them "pent-pods")
Hi - my wife has Silk tripod which I used (don't tell her). I went with the Manfrotto as it seemed to be the standard at the time. Do you have a link to the PRS package? I'm curious.
tripod dry practice, how much do you do per week/month? if I'm not able to get to the range for a shooting session, I will do dry practice mostly with the tripod.
Is the ball headed Tripod good for vermin shooting, standing mostly? I use sticks and quad sticks is the tripod more ? Also whats the model of the ball joint one? Cheers, great video
+Brett Nelson The ball head mounted on the tripod allows for quickly changing the orientation of the rifle. Although I haven't used it for varmint hunting I believe it would work well for that mission. The ball head model I use on that tripod has been discontinued and is no longer for sale, but it was manufactured by manfrotto and was their top end heavy duty model at the time and would be similar to the Manfrotto 055 Magnesium ball head with the quick release plate, that is currently available. -- Steve
Great vid .. help me out if you can guys ,shot paper with this setup today for the first time. hit everything no problem, but found the rifle moving around so much, as soon as i moved into position and sighting through the scope. managed 6" group at 200 yds .. but if I'm not shooting MOA then I'm not happy ... I must be doing something wrong...
I use a manfrotto 785B tripod (smaller and light) for my spotting scope and that part distending between the legs, the part you guys have to hacksaw off, simply unscrews if you want maximum leg spread for close to the ground stability. Hard to believe they wouldn't have that as a feature on all higher quality tripods.
Any thoughts on the aluminium surveyor type tripods? I happened to realize that I have one when I came across it in the shed and at least in the grass of my yard it felt very stable. I'd need to make an adapter from the 5/8-11 thread to something that will work with a pig saddle or ball head
thank you fellas. i really learned a lot from this video. very informative. you actually showed some form of how to use the systems. thank you. i plan on using mine for with in 200 yard shots. when hunting in west TX.
Great video guys. Any experience with the Alamo Four Star tripods? Pros and cons if any experience. Prices seem somewhat reasonable once you add in what a decent tripod, ball valve, and clamp costs. Thanks
We appreciate the positive feedback. We don't have first hand experience with the Alamo Four Star tripods. Given the pricing of the product (getting close to what you would pay for a carbon fiber tripod), I would suggest you would want to look closely at how it compares to similar products, how it interfaces with tripod heads, mounts or other accessories, etc. We've seen some of the the other Alamo Four Star products (tripod and bipod accessories) used by other shooters and you can find some good reviews of a few of their various products on the 8541 Tactical UA-cam channel.
6.5 Guys thanks for your response. I have watched 8541 tactical for a while and have seen his reciew. I was just wondering about your take on that product or if you had any experience with it. Thanks again.
Neil - I saw a guy using one at the Oregon Tactical Rifle Championship earlier this year. Other than that, have not seen any in use. On the other hand, the Manfrotto tripods in aluminum and carbon fiber seem to be everywhere. We are also seeing more folks using shooting sticks and we're going to give them a try and let our audience know what we find out.
Budget will be important, i prefer with camera-ballhead than hog-saddle. With the term, have to select the heavyduty ones, to cover the extra load of the rifle.
Great video and demos, thanks guys! Could you guys add links for your recommended products and vendors? That would make them easier to find. It makes me sound lazy I know. Thanks again for your time and effort on these videos.
I heard if guys pairing the tripods with shooting sticks supporting the rear of the stock, have you guys tried that? If so how well did it work for you guys?
The technique in question can provide a very stable shooting platform if you have the time to properly set it up and optimally adjust the tripod and shooting sticks to provide a good sight picture through the scope. However we wouldn't recommend using this technique in a PRS-style match because most stages in these types of matches have very limited time and wouldn't provide a shooter enough time to properly setup the tripod, shooting sticks for rear support and get everything adjusted just right.
David Dale hit it on the head I use RRS for photography. the ball head is the best. I use them on my canon cameras and I have used it with my Kodak 8x10 view camera which weights around 10 lbs without a lens and film plates. I also use their tripods which are some of the most stable in the industry. cheap is cheap. you are not going to get anything stable for less than $200-$400. Carbon fiber is what you need for a tripod. Aluminum is cheaper but not as light and it transmits vibration much easier. Most Ball heads are good for a camera of about 5 lbs or less. Take my word I have cameras that weight over 15 lbs and only work on a tripod so I have spent the last 50 years always looking for better tripods. The other thing is the leg release. there are so many crappy releases on tripods. they may work great for the first 25 -30 times but when dirt and other crap gets into them they show their ugly heads. just my thoughts not the thoughts of this site. :)
The Manfrotto tripods are generally sold as photo/video tripods, I think. Although, they are now selling a camo 17.5lb capacity tripod, so perhaps they've twigged to the fact it isn't just photographers, haha.
Would have been informative if only you hadn't of put the microphone and tripod in the same place, every time you moved anything on that table it was deafening and I wasn't listening through headphones like usual, that really would have been detrimental to my ear drums. Other than that not bad however you didn't mention exactly what models you were using.
Would have been nice to have links to some of the tripods that you endorse.
Please consider updating this topic to include the "Really Right Stuff" SOAR (Sport Optic And Rifle) tripod. They now have dovetail plates to attach the rifle to the head. Pricy, you bet, but at under five pounds total.
Great video guys. Most youtubers assume we know what they're talking about when it comes to tripod details
For rifle shooters and enthusiasts, there is so much to learn from this to better ourselves. Top work guys and thank you for sharing.
Thanks Judd for watching the video and providing your positive comments.
I liked the video. I have been trying to find a good tripod for a couple of my firearms. I would like to get into some computations at some point but would like to get my stuff set up before I do that.
would be nice to see a link for the tripods though
I'd recommend going to a few competitions and shooting first. What you thought was a smart setup today may change after a shoot. Lots of guys are cool and will let you borrow stuff to see what you like. Lots of people get a set up, go to their first shoot, and change everything about their setup 3 or 4 times. These guys showing how one of them prefers a ballhead and the other doesn't is a perfect example.
Great video and wish it was out 6 months earlier. I went with the Manfroto Carbon Fiber with a Sunway 52 Ball. I have bought the fast attach rails for my AI and Desert Tech but have yet to use them. Was there any reason you stayed away from the RRS rails? Also excited about the Shadowhawk low cut balls but no one stocks them yet. I notice RRS has there own version now...would seem to be best of both worlds and compliment your two different shooting styles wonderfully....
Thanks for your comment. Regarding your question, this video was produced almost 4 years ago (Oct. 2014). At that time, virtually no one was using RRS tripods for precision rifle shooting and the RRS Rail system with products or accessories targeted to precision rifle shooters didn't exist. These products didn't emerge and become common place until about early 2017 - which was a couple of years after this video was posted. Since then, Steve has transitioned almost entirely over to a RRS Tripod and RRS dovetail mounts for bipods and attachments for his rifles. We'll look at updating our tripods video sometime in the future.
Enjoyed a full-watch of this fine video. Very informative. I'm rying to figure out ballhead and/or hog-pig saddle. So much to take in but after trying them, then maybe will land the right combo for me. Thanks for the fine video. 👍🏽🙂
I really appreciate the information you put forward in this video.. thanks for sharing!
I’m looking to get something to support my .308. I remembered that I have one of those Manfrotto tripods for photography. I did not think this was an option. So thanks for the video that’s shows how to do this.
Great vid... I'm originally from the Yakima valley, nice to see some NW scenery, have not been back there in 15 years.
I really enjoyed this vid and am looking at my first tripod.
Do you guys leave lock and clear your rifles and leave them cinched into the tripods if you were to go down range and check targets?
If you want an ultra light and extremely stable tripod/bipod system, you might want to look into Spartan Precision Equipment from the UK.
They make extremely versatile and light tripods (the Sentinel line) and bipods (the Javelin line) that attach to your gun via magnetic sockets.
They are super stable and extremely light. Not to mention the fact that one can rapidly switch between bipod and tripod (or take out one leg of the tripod to make it a giant bipod). They additionally offer adapters to add a back rest to the tripods (to make them "pent-pods")
Really informative video. Looking at picking up my first tripod and am curious about your thoughts on the Manfrotto vs the Silk tripod sold by PRS.
Hi - my wife has Silk tripod which I used (don't tell her). I went with the Manfrotto as it seemed to be the standard at the time. Do you have a link to the PRS package? I'm curious.
tripod dry practice, how much do you do per week/month? if I'm not able to get to the range for a shooting session, I will do dry practice mostly with the tripod.
Im new yo tripod shooting. Have you noticed a difference in your point of impact while laying prone with a bipod compared to when using a tripod?
Is the ball headed Tripod good for vermin shooting, standing mostly? I use sticks and quad sticks is the tripod more ? Also whats the model of the ball joint one? Cheers, great video
+Brett Nelson The ball head mounted on the tripod allows for quickly changing the orientation of the rifle. Although I haven't used it for varmint hunting I believe it would work well for that mission. The ball head model I use on that tripod has been discontinued and is no longer for sale, but it was manufactured by manfrotto and was their top end heavy duty model at the time and would be similar to the Manfrotto 055 Magnesium ball head with the quick release plate, that is currently available. -- Steve
Great vid .. help me out if you can guys ,shot paper with this setup today for the first time. hit everything no problem, but found the rifle moving around so much, as soon as i moved into position and sighting through the scope. managed 6" group at 200 yds .. but if I'm not shooting MOA then I'm not happy ... I must be doing something wrong...
REALLY enjoyed the presentation...
Kris Says: Thanks Kris!
I use a manfrotto 785B tripod (smaller and light) for my spotting scope and that part distending between the legs, the part you guys have to hacksaw off, simply unscrews if you want maximum leg spread for close to the ground stability. Hard to believe they wouldn't have that as a feature on all higher quality tripods.
Need an update video on tripods.
Any thoughts on the aluminium surveyor type tripods? I happened to realize that I have one when I came across it in the shed and at least in the grass of my yard it felt very stable. I'd need to make an adapter from the 5/8-11 thread to something that will work with a pig saddle or ball head
thank you fellas. i really learned a lot from this video. very informative. you actually showed some form of how to use the systems. thank you. i plan on using mine for with in 200 yard shots. when hunting in west TX.
Thanks for watching and the positive feedback
someguy what Tripod did you buy
Very detailed information, I learned a lot from both styles.
Great video guys. Any experience with the Alamo Four Star tripods? Pros and cons if any experience. Prices seem somewhat reasonable once you add in what a decent tripod, ball valve, and clamp costs. Thanks
We appreciate the positive feedback. We don't have first hand experience with the Alamo Four Star tripods. Given the pricing of the product (getting close to what you would pay for a carbon fiber tripod), I would suggest you would want to look closely at how it compares to similar products, how it interfaces with tripod heads, mounts or other accessories, etc. We've seen some of the the other Alamo Four Star products (tripod and bipod accessories) used by other shooters and you can find some good reviews of a few of their various products on the 8541 Tactical UA-cam channel.
6.5 Guys thanks for your response. I have watched 8541 tactical for a while and have seen his reciew. I was just wondering about your take on that product or if you had any experience with it. Thanks again.
Neil - I saw a guy using one at the Oregon Tactical Rifle Championship earlier this year. Other than that, have not seen any in use. On the other hand, the Manfrotto tripods in aluminum and carbon fiber seem to be everywhere. We are also seeing more folks using shooting sticks and we're going to give them a try and let our audience know what we find out.
Budget will be important, i prefer with camera-ballhead than hog-saddle. With the term, have to select the heavyduty ones, to cover the extra load of the rifle.
Great video and demos, thanks guys! Could you guys add links for your recommended products and vendors? That would make them easier to find. It makes me sound lazy I know. Thanks again for your time and effort on these videos.
Thanks for the input Shawn!
I heard if guys pairing the tripods with shooting sticks supporting the rear of the stock, have you guys tried that? If so how well did it work for you guys?
The technique in question can provide a very stable shooting platform if you have the time to properly set it up and optimally adjust the tripod and shooting sticks to provide a good sight picture through the scope. However we wouldn't recommend using this technique in a PRS-style match because most stages in these types of matches have very limited time and wouldn't provide a shooter enough time to properly setup the tripod, shooting sticks for rear support and get everything adjusted just right.
Good to know! Thanks for the info and I do like the videos.
Nice review and tips!
David Dale hit it on the head I use RRS for photography. the ball head is the best. I use them on my canon cameras and I have used it with my Kodak 8x10 view camera which weights around 10 lbs without a lens and film plates. I also use their tripods which are some of the most stable in the industry. cheap is cheap. you are not going to get anything stable for less than $200-$400. Carbon fiber is what you need for a tripod. Aluminum is cheaper but not as light and it transmits vibration much easier. Most Ball heads are good for a camera of about 5 lbs or less. Take my word I have cameras that weight over 15 lbs and only work on a tripod so I have spent the last 50 years always looking for better tripods. The other thing is the leg release. there are so many crappy releases on tripods. they may work great for the first 25 -30 times but when dirt and other crap gets into them they show their ugly heads. just my thoughts not the thoughts of this site. :)
Thanks for this great video
Thanks for the kind words comloz.
outstanding vid guys!!
Thanks for watching and leaving a positive comment.
Can not find what model Manfrotto tripod are those.
055XPROB
+6.5 Guys Thanks!
Very educational thx !
Thanks for watching!
I have the tripod where do you get the jaws for it
The clamp they have is the Hog Saddle from Shadowtech
What I got from this is you can't effectively use photography tripods for hunting.
The Manfrotto tripods are generally sold as photo/video tripods, I think. Although, they are now selling a camo 17.5lb capacity tripod, so perhaps they've twigged to the fact it isn't just photographers, haha.
My old ears couldn't understand which model of Manfrotto tripods you own? You bought model???
I use the bog like yours
This really needed a dead cat for the mic, wind noise holy cow
I guess what your both trying to say is you get what you pay for right?
That is so true. Since we made that video there are a bunch of new offerings in the market.
Umm.....
Would have been informative if only you hadn't of put the microphone and tripod in the same place, every time you moved anything on that table it was deafening and I wasn't listening through headphones like usual, that really would have been detrimental to my ear drums. Other than that not bad however you didn't mention exactly what models you were using.