Tripods!

[rugbydave]

I find it really hard to shoot at distance with the lighter tripods (at least while standing). As such I went with the PRST which suits my needs (I've shoot both 45/70 and 7RM standing without issue). Quite robust and still fairly light weight.

Its a bit over your budget but its baby brother looks like it's just as strong and quite a bit cheaper:

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1614684-Just-Arrived!-PIG0311-G-Field-Tripods-229-95

Give Nordic marksman a call - I found them to be a much better resource than any of the photo stores. They also stock the hog saddle.

The tripod in that link is basically a Slik D700 with some added features (spikes and green paint, I think?) which is a great, inexpensive tripod. My shooting partner and I use the D700 with Pig Saddles. He uses a levelling plate and I use a ballhead although I'm quite tempted to try a levelling plate as well. The only advantage to a ballhead is in situation where you need more than the 15 degrees of inclination that you get with a levelling plate. There was a stage at the JC Steel PRS match in November that was sponsored by RRS (so you used their tripods) that they had set up with tripods with ballheads since the first target was at too steep an angle down to get on target with a levelling plate (shooting off a small cliff). I've used the RRS tripod (at that match) and it is nicer, sure, but literally 10x the price. The PRST looks nice as well although I've yet to try one.

 

[vultr]

I prefer a ball head as my PRST does double duty glassing for sheep, elk, etc. but for shooting exclusively I'd probably go levelling plate. Lower height = more stable (especially on the center column). Of course YMMV.

 

[KCCO1989]

London Drugs has a bunch of very interesting designs... I got a Monfrotto 290 light (think that is the model). Comes with a ball head and holds my 12lbs rifle easily.

So far, easy to use, easy to set up and seems durable enough... will wait for the spring to run it hard and see what happens.

Jerry

what about the MPOD from your website> and how much lol

 

[rugbydave]

what about the MPOD from your website> and how much lol

I wouldn't suggest any Manfrotto rated lighter than an 055, to be honest. That 290 Light the tripod is only rated for 11lbs and the ballhead for 8.8lbs. I had a 190XProB that was rated for 15 and fid the Slik D700 I have to be waaay more stable (and higher) and my ballhead is rated for 40lbs. The lighter setups just aren't as stable. Are the bigger (non carbon) tripods heavier, sure, but we just shot a match this weekend where you had a timed 2 mile ruck with all your gear and no one died, haha.

 

[mebiuspower]

Buy once cry once.

 

[curseyou]

I wish I could trust my Sliks with the weight but al/mag ultralights would snap under my rifle weight.

What a MF055 rated to? 55lbs?

 

[rugbydave]

I wish I could trust my Sliks with the weight but al/mag ultralights would snap under my rifle weight.

What a MF055 rated to? 55lbs?

20lbs

 

[Max Owner]

Buy once cry once.

Nice to have that kind of money to throw around.

 

[mebiuspower]

Nice to have that kind of money to throw around.

http://bythom.com/support.htm

 

[rugbydave]

http://bythom.com/support.htm

Buy once, cry once is a great maxim but by the same token I don't really think that everyone who wants a tripod for shooting needs a $1400USD RRS setup. Don't get me wrong, their gear is awesome, I was actually squadded with Brandon (in your video) and Michael from RRS at the last PRS match I shot and used a bunch of their gear and it was rad. That being said, anybody here asking about tripods would be infinitely better served by getting a good setup for half the price of RRS (or less) and spending the savings on ammo and training with said tripod. The best gear is great but good gear and lots of training will trump that every time.

 

[Ryan.M.Anderson]

RRS tripods are awesome (source: I have one). However, they are also very much a nice to have rather than a need to have.

They are kind of like fancy scopes (or any other high-end product really). You end up paying a lot more money for a little bit of improvement.

 

[supernova]

Thanks to all for the excellent info. This thread has answered a lot of questions for me and I'm sure many others.

 

[rickspeed]

I just received from Nordic Marksman Carbon fiber tripod / ball.. Hog saddle.

 

[rugbydave]

I just received from Nordic Marksman Carbon fiber tripod / ball.. Hog saddle.

Is that the PRST tripod? I just bought one from a buddy of mine. Upgrading from the Slik 700.

 

[Nordic Marksman]

Ball Heads

A quick note about ball heads and other bits. I have a couple of RRS ball heads so I put them together with the Sunwayfoto ball heads for a quick comparison.
A picture is worth a thousand words.

Measurements/weights are accurate on these.
Load ratings taken from the manufactures website.

The Sunwayphoto mount is no slouch. Check out the load ratings. A quality piece of equipment and very smooth. We have sold these to LE ERT all
over Canada. So far every one has been impressed with them

The GNN Model is a new version of the XB-52, basically the center column was machined off to lower the height of the QR Plate.

A related product we have arriving late next month will be the MUB (Multi Use Block). A few samples just arrived today. The MUB is the brainchild of a top USASOC Sniper who painstakingly designed every component with the pursuit of perfection in mind. Manffrotto and Arca Swiss plates are beautifully machined into the base, allowing The MUB to directly connect with all tripod configurations. Used exclusively by Special Forces Snipers for spotting scopes, sniper systems and long range reconnaissance, The MUB also maintains superior application across a broad spectrum of disciplines. From professional to amateur, anyone employing glass optics like large DSLR cameras, range finders or binoculars, will find The MUB to be a must have item.

Will be available with or without the wing as the MUB can be used to clamp directly to a MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rail on any rifle.

We will have them in FDE and OD Green Cerakote.

As you can see below, its a very versatile piece of kit.

 

[rugbydave]

So this is 100% not meant to be contrary but I've seen things about the MUB around before and for the life of me, I just don't get what the point of it is? I don't see what it accomplishes that can't be accomplished by mounting a pic to dovetail adapter on a rifle and a arca/RRS qr on the tripod and then using all your optics you want to use with the tripod on arca/RRS dovetails? The wing is kinda cool but does that mounting a long dovetail plate sideways doesn't do. It doesn't do anything to address co-witnessing 2 devices side by side of making it so both oculars are at the same height. It just seems (to me) like a really nicely machined/finished more expensive way of having a standardized means of mounting rifle + all optics to a tripod, no?

 

[supernova]

I almost bought a new Manfrotto M055XPRO3 until I looked at reviews. Seems to have a tendency to pop its legs off randomly. Its supposed to replace older 055s but with too many reviews of legs popping off I'll have to pass on that one. I think the Shadow Tech PIG 0311-G tripod is what I'm after. The 1 lb of extra weight is of no concern to me over the CF PRST but is there a stiffness difference? And of course as soon as I make up my mind they sell out.