Shooting tripods, advice please.

[RBinDevon]

Rabbits - rabbits - B rabbits.

Anyway I have a horse field shelter, one in each field. That I plan to use these as a hide at night ideally sitting.
I have a Primos Gen 2 shooting tripod. I can purchase a gun clamp to put on the top. However I am concerned that the Primos does not have a leg clamp to stop the legs spreading nor a swivel clamp.
Is it a good idea to get a gun clamp for the Primos, would this be stable holding the rifle while I wait or should I go for a Bog Deathgrip jobbie?

Basically too old and stiff to go prone now!

Cheers.

Bob.

 

[Deleted Member 170325]

You could tie something around the legs to stop them spreading too far, I have my gun resting on my sticks and one hand on the stock, I'm not leaving the gun balanced just on the sticks.
If you know you'll be waiting a while I'd just lie the gun down, easy enough to quietly pick up when needed.

 

[brian747]

Hi Bob, i have used Primos tripod sticks for
many years,never had any problems with
legs slipping while ambushing prey, but i have a
2-point primos rifle rest that i do not use that
i would be happy to send you free if that would help you.
atb brian

 

[RBinDevon]

Hi Brian,
@brian747
Very kind offer, but I have the Primos tripod trigger Gen 2 that I use when I wander round my fields.
Now I am considering sitting in one of the field shelters as it is right opposite where the bunnies play.
The idea I have is to mount the FX DL (3.4kg total) in a clamp on a tripod while I sit and scan with my thermal.
So the tripod is to support the clamped FX unaided while I wait. I don’t want the FX & DS35 toppling.
Hence my concern about the stability of the clamp, tripod and swivel system.

Thanks again for the offer but no thanks.

All the best.

Bob

 

[Woodcrafts]

Hi Bob,
If you are only using two locations, and staying in each for a longish time, I would suggest an ordinary camera tripod. They are cheaper than shooting sticks as they take longer to setup, and are generally heavier as well, but if you are staying in one place neither of those would be a problem. And even the 'budget' models are pretty stable. I will send a pic of my setup when I get home if that's any help. Paul

 

[3595wilk]

As above.

Picture of my FAC Airmaks on a standard Amazon bipod and head unit via Arca rail.

For static locations at sensible FAC air ranges, no need for a more expensive solution.

 

[wookienookie..]

Hi Bob, i have used Primos tripod sticks for
many years,never had any problems with
legs slipping while ambushing prey, but i have a
2-point primos rifle rest that i do not use that
i would be happy to send you free if that would help you.
atb brian

Very thoughtful Brian.. good on ya sport!

 

[RBinDevon]

Hi @3595wilk
Could you please send a photo of the attachment system, this is new to me. Obviously it is not a saddle clamp.
Looks just what I need.
Thanks
ATB
Bob.

 

[wookienookie..]

I haven’t used my deathgrip yet.. this weekend I’ll put it through its paces.. but they are rock solid, and waiting in ambush as I do I can really see the benefits of being able to let go of the rifle in situ until the blighters show themselves..

Not an item for stalking though, I just cross over my old trekking poles for that..

I do think though for ambush apart from stability and accuracy, the deathgrip Will potentially bring a lot more comfort too, to us older chaps.. 1st test will be to sup a cuppa coffee while the rifle’s pointed in the right direction for the tangos!!

 

[One on top of two]

I use a reckon with a pig saddle and arca rail
It’s very good. Had it for 2 years and use 4 times a week with no issues at all.

 

[3595wilk]

Hi @3595wilk
Could you please send a photo of the attachment system, this is new to me. Obviously it is not a saddle clamp.
Looks just what I need.
Thanks
ATB
Bob.

Will do, at work at the moment, so will look to get it across to you. Pretty sure FX do Arca rails as accessories so should be easy to do.

Friends use bog death grips which are good - but pricey compared to this. Rabbits are just as dead with this set up as theirs too.....

 

[alexall]

I have never bought a dedicated gun tripod as they are rich gravy.

Instead, I bought a few camera tripods from car boot and charity shops for no more than £5 each. Look out for strong sturdy ones with the quick release mount. Camera tripods are great because they are already dedicated with pan, tilting height adjustments in multitude of angles.

Make use of a piece of U shaped aluminium for the cradle and line it with padding, or get a dedicated gun mount for around £70. I picked mine up secondhand for £20 and never got round to using it, and if you want to swing it whichever way, there is always the ball joint for around £2.

I made my own cradle and the Ultra rests nicely inside self balancing along its length. It is not clamped down so the gun is free to make final aim adjustments rather than needing to slack off any grips.

I made mine cheaply because both my boys shoot so I needed x3 rigs. For each rig, I paid £5 tripod, £2 for a U piece aluminium, £2 for a ball joint which is a far cheaper way than 3 dedicated shoot tripods.

 

[ukzero1]

My R10 on Gen 3 trigger sticks and saddle. It's serves me well when shooting static, no problems at all. And the 4K Pro isn't exactly light weight

 

[Telbert]

I've got a few tripods & i use one rom here for rabbits from the hide:

DSLR Camera Tripods - K&F Concept UK

K&F Concept provides varieties of DSLR camera tripods, travel tripods, lightweight tripods, heavy duty tripods for better photography, find more professional DSLR tripods best sale price and customer reviews from K&F official online store.

www.kentfaith.co.uk

Uber lightweight, compact and quite stable.

 

[Smallboy]

I just buy camera tripods too., anything from £5 to £20 from car boot sale. If you lucky you can get one with a ball joint. And my mate has a 3d printer and he made a sadle for me. .very adjustable to, from 350mm to about 2m high and you can put the legs out almost flat

 

[Clothead]

I use the gen 2 trigger sticks and have never had a problem with the spreading ever,

 

[Woodcrafts]

Hi Bob, as promised some pics of my tripod setup. The tripod is an old Velbon I used for my SLR cameras but is great as a gun support. It doesn't use a ball head, most of which I find struggle to stay tight. Instead it uses the traditonal pan, tilt and swivel functions which are very secure but easy to adjust.
The clamp is one recommended by a friend who does pest control and newish to the market. It has both 1/4" and 3/8" tripod fixings and those are in the base of an Arca type clamp.
Manbily saddle clamp.
I got mine via Alibaba where it was cheaper. Delivery only took 3 weeks. It is very well made and the large paddle knob makes securing the clamp very easy.
The pictures show my gun on the tripod.
Hope that's of interest.

 

[Stu.22]

Buy a bowl head tripod fit an Arca Swiss rail if possible rock solid

Avoid the wobbles from the middle extension post