Everyone seems to do it different. Depends on the rifle but I like to mount mine as close as I can to the magazine and still get the full range of motion. Once you get into the really solid setups, there’s a little leeway without losing much stability so my arca rail has about a 3” section right in front of the magazine that the finish is worn off from having it clamped in that general area. One thing that no one told me when I got into the tripods is that most forends have much more flex than the tripod legs themselves so when you are attaching a short arca rail to an aluminum forend (AR style) the forend will flex a lot so it adds a bunch of instability. The solution is a longer arca rail that travels further down the forend so there isn’t a small point where all that stress is being placed. A tightly secured 10-12” arca rail on a forend will give you a ton more stability. If you run a bolt gun, I would highly consider a chassis that has an integral arca rail.
Ball heads/leveling bases are also no something to save a bunch of money on. Even some of the higher dollar options are trash compared to RRS heads. Especially when it comes to their ability to lock the ball or base. A RRS leveling base is the most solid option I know of right now. Although there are some ball heads that are better for some applications. I know warrior tripods has come out with a leveling base that looks nice so that might be an option that’s a big seller in the future. For what you spend on a quality ball head ($550) you can get an rrs leveling base ($350) and save the money you will have lost if you bought a $150-$200 head and sold it six months later when you realize they aren’t as good.
Some guys will run those cheaper heads for years and be happy with them. If that’s you, great! But if you are looking for the most solid option, you will most likely have to spend a bit more.
