Level head

S

soup

Active member
Folks,
I'm wondering if anyone is using a Level head called "Night Snipe", it's marketed by Predator hunters Outdoors in Attica, Michigan.
I have a ball head, but the level head looks like it would fit my needs for daytime use.
Thank you in advance for your time and help.
Semper Fidelis
Soup
 
I don't have any experience with that particular one, but I have got away from ball heads completely, & use Leofoto leveling bases on both of my tripods.

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Ok, stupid question, but what does a leveling head do? No tilt or compensating for unlevel ground? I hear all these terms and man enough to say I don’t have a clue…
 
I have also moved to a leveling head after trying several ballheads. I feel they are smooth and quick, still have up and down movement @ 15* and only 1 adj to worry about.
 
Spurchaser said:
Ok, stupid question, but what does a leveling head do? No tilt or compensating for unlevel ground? I hear all these terms and man enough to say I don’t have a clue…
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Less angle vertical adjustment/range with a leveling head, but more than enough for all but the steepest angles.

Lower center of gravity than ballheads. This puts your gun closer to the apex of the tripod. Less likely to have your gun flop over if you let go when not locked in.

Larger radius on the bowl so more stability again, and smoother panning over smaller diameter ballheads.
 
My RRS has 20° tilt and is more than ample.
One point of adjustment/ tension.
Just all around more efficient.
I know not of one person that has switched form a leveling head to a ballhead.
 
I have the RRS ballhead with just 1 lever to use and love it ! With that said I have never used a leveling head. I do see many using one for filming but that scanning back and forth with the rifle is not for me, lol. If one were given to me I would definitely try it out 😉 !

That is what I have a scanner for !
 
I think what needs to be mentioned is that not all ballheads are created equal. The best ones in the hunting world aren’t necessarily the best ones in the photography world. Same goes for leveling heads. Both have design features that can vary.

Lots of ballheads only have one locking device. Those are better suited to hunting from a tripod. The locking mechanism for leveling heads vary as well, but as far as I know there is always only one locking device. My Fatboy Leveling heads has a camming lever under the apex. Some have twist locks under the apex. The one soup is asking about has a collar lock which I don’t prefer personally. It’s above the apex which by design raises the center of gravity up a bit for one, but I’ve heard the complaint a few times that it can pinch skin or fabric of a glove when operating it.

Different strokes for different folks.
 
I live in very hilly country and before buying I played with my neighbors leveling head that he uses for his spotting scope at long range shooting. I did NOT have near enough vertical adjustment for my terrain. In a set, I can be shooting from 30-60 deg up or down sometimes. I also did not like the wide top (70mm bowl) as I often use my tripod as a walking stick by just grabbing the ball head. The leveling bases shown in Alf's picture could be grabbed as I do though.
 
limbhanger10 said:
...I know not of one person that has switched form a leveling head to a ballhead.
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I do. My buddy had a leveling head (I forget which one), and found that it didn't allow enough vertical travel for some of the terrain we hunt. He went to an RRS Anvil 30, which is what I have, and (IMO) is the best hunting head money can buy. There's one lever that allows a nearly infinite amount of tension adjustment, locks in solid, but also allows a huge range of motion.
 
Max leveling head down angle on my rig
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Max up
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Ball head down, I find that a lot of the elevation and declination are useless as the stock gets too tall or too low to use .

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Ball head up
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I leave one old steel tripod set up with a ball head for use with a spotting scope for looking high in the mountains or bird watching.

I find the leveling head to be easier to work with than the ball head with a rifle on it. I tried the leveling head after reading alf's posts months ago, they work great for me also
 
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limbhanger10 said:
...I'm sure when everyone gets to a set...they simply make any tripod/ head adjustments to coincide with the most ideal kill situation- and calmly readjust should things get crazy...
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I actually adjust for mid terrain shots which gives me more up/dn range of motion and still get my trigger elbow planted on my knee. I almost always have 2 legs adjusted long for the down hill side and if more angle is needed it is just a quick twist and the short leg can get shorter or longer then the ball head gets me close to level for the shot. Younz that have watched my vids have at times got seasick as l am repositioning the tripod🤣. When l have to reposition to the sidehill l spin the tripod so the short leg is always uphill. I sit on a short adjustable stool so the tripod moves NOT me.
 
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