Looking for a decent, reasonably priced tripod for shooting.

pirate604

pirate604

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As the title says, I am looking for a resonably priced tripod for shooting. I was gifted a Hog Saddle a while back and just threw it on a tripod I had laying around and quickly realize that it simply was not adequate for the intended application.
I plan on using this tripod at the range and out in the bush. Not hunting or competing, yet. I am looking for something that is CF, at least 60" and reasonably priced ie. in the $200-$500 range.
I recall there being a thread about tripods a while back but I can't seem to find it and considering that it was a few years ago I'm sure new addtions have entered the market place since then.

I have looked at the BOG line that is often onsale at BassPro/Cabelas but I already have a Hog saddle and it looks like the Bog stuff is all proprietary. I have also looked at the RRS SOAR but that is way out of my price range.

So what do you guys suggest? Are any of the ones on amazon any decent? What features do I need to be looking for?
 
Innorel RT80c or RT90c off Amazon.
Alot of guys here have used the bigger RT90c for their PRS guns and have pretty good things to say about it
 
pirate604 said:
I have looked at the BOG line that is often onsale at BassPro/Cabelas but I already have a Hog saddle and it looks like the Bog stuff is all proprietary. So what do you guys suggest?
Click to expand...

Get rid of the saddle and wait for a sale? I think I paid $179 at Cabelas 3 months ago for a BOG... . I was kind of surprised to see this tripod priced so low when I was in store.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nkYjjkzludttbslND6_jp78t7xkkxyfm/view?usp=share_link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18Y2C133GVK4l1U4ihfPETUbau9lRcruG/view?usp=share_link
 
Picked up a Hogsaddle PiG0311-G from a site sponsor for a good price, not a top of the line but should let me figure out where to go from here without breaking the bank. Have a Bog Death grip mounted on top of it. Have had some bad experiences with Bog stick legs on Bog pods to go there again.
 
If you're going to use a saddle for shooting off a tripod, you really should run a ballhead as well. That will add cost. Conversely you can just ditch the saddle and shoot using a support bag (like a Gamechanger) right off the apex of the tripod (or attach a flat plate known as a "tac table" to the apex and put the bag on that). To be honest, saddles are quite outdated unless you don't have (or can't install) another means of attaching your rifle to a ballhead. Being that this is a precision rifle sub-forum, I'll assume you can attach a chunk of arca or pic rail to the bottom of your rifle. In which case you should just sell the saddle and either attach your rifle straight to a ballhead or use a tac table+support bag. Which way you go really depends on how important it is to you to be able to positively attach your rifle to the tripod.

As to which legs to get, the tradeoffs are always stability vs weight vs price. As the saying goes You get to choose any of the 2. As to how stable you need to be also depends on your intended use. If you're planning to mostly shoot seated off the tripod or kneeling, you can get away with a flimsier tripod (as they get more wobbly the more you extend the legs). If you want to make precise shots form the standing, then you need to prioritize stability. In your price range anything carbon fiber will be chinese and not necessarily much (if any) lighter than an equally stable alloy tripod. Since you're not using this for hunting, I'll assume weight isn't a huge concern. I'd suggest something alloy that's inexpensive but stable like the Slik D700 (the Pig-0311 is a cerakoted rebranded version of this tripod) which is about $100ish or maybe some nicer Manfrotto legs. Then choose if you want to attach your rifle to the tripod or shoot off a bag and go from there.
 
rugbydave said:
If you're going to use a saddle for shooting off a tripod, you really should run a ballhead as well. That will add cost. Conversely you can just ditch the saddle and shoot using a support bag (like a Gamechanger) right off the apex of the tripod (or attach a flat plate known as a "tac table" to the apex and put the bag on that). To be honest, saddles are quite outdated unless you don't have (or can't install) another means of attaching your rifle to a ballhead. Being that this is a precision rifle sub-forum, I'll assume you can attach a chunk of arca or pic rail to the bottom of your rifle. In which case you should just sell the saddle and either attach your rifle straight to a ballhead or use a tac table+support bag. Which way you go really depends on how important it is to you to be able to positively attach your rifle to the tripod.

As to which legs to get, the tradeoffs are always stability vs weight vs price. As the saying goes You get to choose any of the 2. As to how stable you need to be also depends on your intended use. If you're planning to mostly shoot seated off the tripod or kneeling, you can get away with a flimsier tripod (as they get more wobbly the more you extend the legs). If you want to make precise shots form the standing, then you need to prioritize stability. In your price range anything carbon fiber will be chinese and not necessarily much (if any) lighter than an equally stable alloy tripod. Since you're not using this for hunting, I'll assume weight isn't a huge concern. I'd suggest something alloy that's inexpensive but stable like the Slik D700 (the Pig-0311 is a cerakoted rebranded version of this tripod) which is about $100ish or maybe some nicer Manfrotto legs. Then choose if you want to attach your rifle to the tripod or shoot off a bag and go from there.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input Rugby Dave, lots to consider here. I see that the ARCA is clearly the way to go along with the tac table. I did purchase a "chunk of arca" for my rifle and I just ordered an Innorel RT85c which includes a ball head. I figured its a decent starting point considering I was able to get it from the amazon warehouse deals for about $200 down from $350.
I don't plan on selling the Hog Saddle as it was a gift from a friend who used it on tour. Stuff like that I just can't sell. But yes, I have come to realize it is quite outdated but may still be useful for other rifles.

Thanks to all who provided input. I will update once I recieve my tripod.
 
FRANKENFARMER said:
Get rid of the saddle and wait for a sale? I think I paid $179 at Cabelas 3 months ago for a BOG... . I was kind of surprised to see this tripod priced so low when I was in store.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nkYjjkzludttbslND6_jp78t7xkkxyfm/view?usp=share_link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18Y2C133GVK4l1U4ihfPETUbau9lRcruG/view?usp=share_link
Click to expand...

also what I use. Stable enough for cold bore shots at 500 yards. Dont think it would be great for past 800 (ive only shot it to 800) I found it a little wobbly tbh. Good enough for hunting or gong smacking tho
 
pirate604 said:
Thanks for your input Rugby Dave, lots to consider here. I see that the ARCA is clearly the way to go along with the tac table. I did purchase a "chunk of arca" for my rifle and I just ordered an Innorel RT85c which includes a ball head. I figured its a decent starting point considering I was able to get it from the amazon warehouse deals for about $200 down from $350.
I don't plan on selling the Hog Saddle as it was a gift from a friend who used it on tour. Stuff like that I just can't sell. But yes, I have come to realize it is quite outdated but may still be useful for other rifles.

Thanks to all who provided input. I will update once I recieve my tripod.
Click to expand...

Totally get you on the saddle. Some stuff you just don't sell.

Good luck with your setup, curious to hear what you think of it. If it were me, I'd try using the arca (on your rifle) directly clamped into your ballhead and then compare to using a tac table directly mounted to your tripod with a gamechanger (or similar) on top. See what works best with you. The downside of most of the ballheads other than the RRS Anvil-30 (and a few other high end ones) is that they have a lot of "lash" (ie they move once locked down) and that adds wobble to your system.
 
Well I received my Innorel RT85c from amazon yesterday and I have to say I am quite please with the quality and features for the price. I has 32mm upper legs and drops down to 22mm for the bottom legs. It is very sturdy and comes with a ball head which moves quite smoothly. It does have a very small amout of 'lash' but I don't believe it will affect overall performance. I attached a chunk of arca to my to my Savage 110 (yes, go a head and laugh at me, go on, get it out) so I can mount directly to the ball head and I also mounted a arca piece to the Hog Saddle. I really like the simplicity of the arca so I will probaly get some sections for some of my other rifles.

Overall I am quite pleased indeed. I paid $200 ish for this unit form the amazon warehouse deals (used/return/open box etc.) and I looks to be brand new / unsused. The regular price is $350 and I would not hesitate to pay that for this setup.

I'll post some pics this evening if time permits.
 
pirate604 said:
Well I received my Innorel RT85c from amazon yesterday and I have to say I am quite please with the quality and features for the price. I has 32mm upper legs and drops down to 22mm for the bottom legs. It is very sturdy and comes with a ball head which moves quite smoothly. It does have a very small amout of 'lash' but I don't believe it will affect overall performance. I attached a chunk of arca to my to my Savage 110 (yes, go a head and laugh at me, go on, get it out) so I can mount directly to the ball head and I also mounted a arca piece to the Hog Saddle. I really like the simplicity of the arca so I will probaly get some sections for some of my other rifles.

Overall I am quite pleased indeed. I paid $200 ish for this unit form the amazon warehouse deals (used/return/open box etc.) and I looks to be brand new / unsused. The regular price is $350 and I would not hesitate to pay that for this setup.

I'll post some pics this evening if time permits.
Click to expand...

Nice. A short arca rail on every rifle makes a lot sense, I do the same. Also, if you use a spotter, lrf, binos, bino lrf etc, you can put an arca rail on all of those as well and then your tripod does great double duty for both shooting and observation/ranging and everything swaps around really quickly.
 
Lead hammer said:
How low and tall does the RT85c go?
Click to expand...

I took some pics with it next to a measuring tape. It does come with a center tube but that was promptly removed upon arrival

Fully extended
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Collapsed
mzCw4oU.jpg


Legs spred, lowest configuration.
QVqbiQ7.jpg
 
I have a Bog Pod that I modified to add an inexpensive ball head with ARCA clamp. Also added an ARCA rail to the original BOG clamp so it can be used with pretty much any rifle or setup.

The mod was pretty easy to do and I got the basic idea off the internets ... from some guy who was selling conversion kits.
 
A key point to a tripod for shooting is that you do not want the kind people typically use for camera work where there is a telescopic center pole.

There is no way to reliably prevent that center pole from moving, so you will find the tripods without it to be more stable.

It it has a center pole, sure you can make it work, but you will notice right away how much better it is not to have it,
 
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