Can anyone recommend a good tripod setup?

Cost consideration will help you make up your mind I’m sure. How much do you have invested in your rifle & scope ?
I started out cheap like most do. Then bought a couple more that cost more each time.

My equipment hit the ground twice from tripod failure ! Also one of them broke within a year ! Couldn’t even buy parts for the Chinese made junk !

It was suggested by another member on here to look at the Really Right Stuff ( RRS ) tripod & ballhead for arca plate.
Awesome tripod !! Very light & strong & stabile ! Pricey but you get what you pay for ! Feel the pain once & never look back !

One more thing, equipment insurance is pretty cheap through your home owners 😉 !
 
this is out dated but, when I bought my 2nd tripod I started this sheet because of the overwhelming possibilities.
Maybe something like this will help you make your own list.

Tripod Specs.png
 
Only issue I have with locking levers on the legs, in sub zero temps I have had to adjust them a bit tighter(probably aluminum legs). And they can make a slight noise.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I got the Primos Apex with the magnaswitch. It’s pretty much ready to go once I buy the adapter for my rail. I like the quick and easy adjustment.

I use their trigger sticks for day hunting and they work well.
 
Bowhntr6pt said:
I hunt from the ground on occasion and have been quite happy with this...

www.nightgoggles.com

Night Stalker Shooting Tripod & Ball-Head

The most portable, affordable and universal tripod to date. With lightweight, durable carbon fiber legs with camouflage pads, leveling ball-head and state of the art innovation
www.nightgoggles.com www.nightgoggles.com

Perhaps not "top of the line" but for the cost it has served me well. It's not too heavy to carry around and for me seems quite adjustable and has provided a stable platform.

I've taken quite a few deer with it including using it as a rest for handgun hunting.



Click to expand...
 
How much you want to spend definitely applies when talking tripods. The Night Goggles Night Stalker is by far the best tripod you can buy for about $200-$250. Super lightweight, folds up to be very compact if that matters to you, has a center post adjustable separate from legs making for much faster height adjustments. My brother has a fatboy which cost 4 times what my Night stalker costs and while it’s a nice heavy duty tripod it’s just to big and bulky in my opinion for hunting when your moving a lot.
 
As I mentioned initially in my earlier post, my lightweight Sunwayfoto is a great tripod and I really don’t have much bad to say about it. If I really making a string of traveling sets (rarely) or know I’m going to be sitting it is my go to. Having 4 leg sections it packs pretty compact, having the integral ballhead reduces height and weight. It’s pretty great, and is definitely more stable than the aluminum BOG I tried at first. That said, it can’t compete for stability when compared to my Fatboy. It’s much bigger and heavier, but I don’t find it unmanageable. At least not in the little bit that I’ve played around with it. Haven’t hunted off it yet as I purchased it after our last season had closed. I have locked a rifle into it, threw it over my shoulder and hiked around my property a bit to get a sense of what I’ll be in for come coyote season. It honestly balances better than my lighter tripod when carried over my shoulder.

Everybody has different preferences. The tripod questions always seem to get a bunch of responses on PM and not much changes in the end. Nobody is wrong or right. If what you have is working for you, run with it. Hopefully the person asking the question gets some useful input to help make a decision. Sounds like dave3006 has made his choice, and I hope it works out for him.

Having an open mind about the higher end stuff being more stable should be taken into account though. It’s true! There’s enough experienced guys on here that have started low and worked up. Not many will go back and for a real reason.

In the end, any tripod is probably better than no tripod. Shoot what works for you.
 
spotstalkshoot said:
I'm 5'11 would I need the center post extended to shoot standing up(night stalker tripod)? Seems like the further the rifle is from the junction of the legs, the more movement there would be transmitted to the rifle.
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I’m between 6’ and 6’ 1” and when I’m on perfect flat ground I raise the center post about an inch or so. This pic is the legs fully extended and the center post raised about an inch.
 

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spotstalkshoot said:
I'm 5'11 would I need the center post extended to shoot standing up(night stalker tripod)? Seems like the further the rifle is from the junction of the legs, the more movement there would be transmitted to the rifle.
Click to expand...
...all comes down to physics.

There are some that have great engineering behind them...and others not so good.

..and how much you value the equipment you put on that tripod.

I've witnessed people's whole setup falling out of those popular "clamp" tripods...and watched others tip right over.
...All to save some money.
Just can't comprehend people spending the money...and good money on their gun and scope...and then buying a cheap piece of crap to mount it on.
...sorta like putting the cheapest, lowest quality tires on on your vehicles- they have their place but....
 
I cried once and bought the Fatboy Elevate 2 section, with the Levitate head. I have zero experience with any other brand, but the setup is rock solid.
I debated piecing something together, but was mildly confused with lol the different heads, legs, adapters, plates etc.
I purchased mine through Scheel’s, which was actually cheaper than buying direct, or anywhere else. I signed up for their Store Credit Card and got an additional $75 off, and a $25 reward card as well.
 
i use the field optics pro-39 (3 section). i added a RRS leveling head like limbhnager10 has (thank You). very stable and accurate to shoot from. i dont break it down. i leave it set up where it fits me. i bend down, put my shoulder into it, pick it all up and off we go. backpack with extra gear on our backs, tripod with rifle attached over the shoulder. scanning as we go.

if a coyote is spotted on our way to or from a stand we just deploy the tripod and kill the coyote (hopefully). the thicker the legs, the sturdier the tri-pod. the less sections, the sturdier the tri-pod.

in my opinion those middle leg extensions have a whole lotta wobble. i had one but got rid of it after trying limbhanger10's set up.
 
Can’t argue with a thing you said bohunr. Exactly how I hunt myself. Mine stays setup to my standing height and only gets changed if my setup location allows for sitting. If I’m walking, it is set and just seconds away from a shot being taken if needed.

I know from photography that the center posts are the weak point when it comes to stability. The further you get from the apex, the worse it gets. There may be some that are better than others, but it’s essentially a joint or connecting point.
 
when i collapse the middle section it drops the tripod down to sitting height. i use that for groundhogs and shooting deer in the beans.
 
Hmmm? Maybe I misunderstood your other post bohunr? Sounds now like you meant the center leg section of a 3 section tripod has a lot of wobble. I thought you meant a tripod with an elevation adjustable center column. That is what I was referring to. I think that style is kinda like putting a wobbly monopod on top of a tripod.
 
hunt0168 said:
Hmmm? Maybe I misunderstood your other post bohunr? Sounds now like you meant the center leg section of a 3 section tripod has a lot of wobble. I thought you meant a tripod with an elevation adjustable center column. That is what I was referring to. I think that style is kinda like putting a wobbly monopod on top of a tripod.
Click to expand...

nope, i was referring to the middle leg section of a 3 section leg. some tripod legs have 4 sections, some have 3. mine has 3 thick sections. i adjust the middle section it drops down to sitting height. mine doesnt have the wobbly mono pod in the middle. just a solid flat top with the leveling head on it.
 
I returned the Primos Apex. The tripod was not that sturdy. The trigger stick was easy to adjust down. But, not easy to adjust up. I wish there were a turnkey solution where I didn't need to put together the components like LEGOs.
 
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