Suggestion on a tripod for quick shots while stalking

[randello88]

If you can shoot offhand confidently then quad sticks will just extend your range. I would guess that you would be confident with a 200m plus shot with them according to what you've said.

Damn, it will be a useful piece of kit.

 

[tarponhead]

Hi everyone. I used a Bog havoc with great success for a couple years. I realized i want something that gives me the chance to shot also standing and i will also use it as a camera support for possible selfoshots with the animals i take when solo hunting.
So, my applications for this piece of kit: shooting (standing or sitting) inside 200 meters at roes, hogs and fallow deer when the vegetation or the terrain doesn't allow me to go prone. My kind of stalking requires very low noise and agility, more than half of the shots are taken at less of 100 m, so i need something simple and silent. For anything past 200 meters i will shoot prone off the backpack or off the bipod, depending on the rifle i am using (this is the most stable stance and these are the conditions in which i zero my rifles). The tripod will be also used occasionally from improvised hunting stands. I am not interested in clamp on systems, arca rail systems and other things like this since i need something very lightweight which i can deploy very fast, just leaning the rifle on a V rest, without additional work.
Googling i found something that looks perfect for me: the Vanguard quest T62.
1) is it durable?
2) any issue with the brand or the specific model?
3) any ither alternative i should look into?

I use a vanguard - very durable but not that quick to deploy vs Two sticks or one stick with a V - but quick enough.

 

[nun_hunter]

Although pricey the Spartan tripod system is very light and strong. They have partnered with Primos too and offer a "best of both worlds" solution too.

Personally I think their latest offering with the Springbok bipod (more twin sticks due to the length) and the Springbok quad sticks offer real speed and versatility for quick shots on uneven ground and changing position too. They aren't quite as quick as the trigger sticks but they are a lot stronger and more durable.

 

[slider]

You know, what i don't like about these is that you can't use them for sitting (or can you?) and that setting that up doesn't look so easy since it opens pretty widely on the ground. If there are bushes or threes close to you it looks like it could be an issue.

I can use my quads sticks sitting. They are Mjoner's not Viperflex but I do use a Viperflex clip on 5th leg

 

[Overlay]

View attachment 353402

Home made (shown here nursing a broken leg, but much like Trigger’s broom, it’ll mend!) - under a kilo, holes drilled along the side legs to permit insertion of a cork-adorned nail, shown below. Served me well for forty years. If intent on spending money, Knobloch adjustable tripod is collapsible, and ever so slightly lighter (942gr), though more faff when an opportunity presents itself relatively quickly, also is potentially noisier than wood; a tripod is always quick to set up if you know how to get the best from it.

View attachment 353404

Thanks for putting them pics up, given me an idea for a third leg fixing
Cheers
Phil

 

[Overlay]

I was a Primus Trigger sticks fan for couple of years but I now never leave the mouse without Viper Quads. In answer to your question quads offer mor flexibility, only two less to deploy, in woodland for close fast shots you just use them as bipod sticks and don’t deploy the rear hinge set. Also if you have to be on the sticks for a while waiting for the right shot or an animal to turn then quads take the full weight of the rifle unlike Trigger sticks. For long stuff over 250 you just can’t beat quality quads almost as good as prone with a bipod. Also if you are crossing streams or coming up/down steep terrain then clip them together and they make a strong and sturdy support stick. Mine have been to SA, Namibia and Scotland and never let me down they are used every week in the Fallow season

Been using my vipers for a few months now, post a very comfortable shrink wrap install off a SD member now no whistling and they are warm to the touch, very handy in the frosty times and they work brilliantly

 

[Freeforester]

Thanks for putting them pics up, given me an idea for a third leg fixing
Cheers
Phil

Keeping it simple, no magic involved, a through bolt washer and nut for the main legs, with a folded over piece of reinforced pvc canvas acting as a hinge and sandwiched between the main leg axis bolt and with a washer and screw down into the top of the third leg:




(Third leg lifted skyward here)

 

[Tony Morgan]

For speed of deployment , especially on rough/unpredictable ground, Primos trigger sticks take a lot of beating. Best used at moderate ranges. A clever design, light and affordable. Don't be put off by reports of the legs sticking - I've used them for years with minimal problem but if a leg does become slow to deploy they are easy to service. See Youtube videos.

 

[Selous]

Viperflex are excellent and I use them on undulating hill ground as well as in woodland. No problem using them from sitting or kneeling either, just drop the height of the legs which takes about 20 seconds. Close in I often use them as bipod sticks where a quick shot is needed. The Americans are slow to catch on to sticks but those that do use quads are often converted!!

 

[Utectok]

Forget the selfies and get some quad stick

 

[randello88]

Forget the selfies and get some quad stick

I won't forget selfies and i won't buy quad sticks actually. I like taking pics with the animals i take as a memory and i also had the occasion to try quad sticks. Now i understand why no one uses them in the mountains where i hunt. A lightweight simple tripod for quick shots is much better for my kind of hunting. Quad sticks are just too awkward to deploy for my kind of hunting which is often dependant on stealth at close range. They are very stable though, i can see why they are good for someone hunting in open areas where you basically walk until you see a deer in the distance or behind a corner and then you shoot standing because of high grass. My kind of hunting is much more dynamic and the standing shot is something i do when things happen quickly and at close range and for this i don't need that contraption, which i admit is very cool anyway!

 

[Tony Morgan]

something very lightweight which i can deploy very fast, just leaning the rifle on a V rest, without additional work.

Primos Trigger Sticks it is then.

 

[Greenmist]

Use two sticks with a trailing rope, see a deer, deploy sticks, stand on rope, apply pressure. Faster and as stable as tripod

 

[randello88]

Primos Trigger Sticks it is then.

Yeah, i ended up buying a vanguard quest t62. Very versatile and it seems to be well made i have to say. I also have some trekking poles i thought about using as shooting sticks. I used them sometimes while in the higher mountains but again, the tripod is easier to carry (the two sticks tend to collide and separate while the tripod does not being one piece only) and it is more stable. The advantage of shooting sticks and primos trigger sticks is they are faster to deploy but for now i am gtg. I really like the quest t62 because you can use it as a bipod, a monopod or a tripod. For example. If know i am in a more open area i will keep it at sitting height and as a tripod. If i am in a wooden area i will keep it adjusted at standing height with the third leg not deployed and it works as a bipod. It's cool and i already killed 3 roes with it. I prefer it to the bogpod havoc, it seems better built and more versatile (higher, possibility to use it as a bipod and faster to adjust mainly).
Thanks to everyone for the replies anyway

 

[Ranger22]

The majority of the shots i take are from quad sticks. My beat is bits of everything, rough clearfell to flat ground to heather covered hills. The only time I have issues with the quads is shooting down steep hills. Very quick and easy to deploy once you have got used to them

 

[Blackwood Outdoors]

Quad sticks so much better for long range accuracy...

 

[randello88]

Quad sticks so much better for long range accuracy...

Something suggests me going prone is even better

 

[randello88]

The majority of the shots i take are from quad sticks. My beat is bits of everything, rough clearfell to flat ground to heather covered hills. The only time I have issues with the quads is shooting down steep hills. Very quick and easy to deploy once you have got used to them

It heppened multiple times i had to shoot downhill also with pretty steep Angeles. All my hunting is on uneven ground. I tried quadsticks and hated them. In flatter, more open ground i would give them a try but not where i hunt. They make no sense to me! I will not shoot 200 meters standing anyway, from that distance i can always find a better support and i want it. Additionally, i don't want to have to zero the rifle prone and then shooting 200 meters standing. The zero would be slightly different

 

[Blackwood Outdoors]

Something suggests me going prone is even better

Winter everythings soaking wet, foilage low, obscuring shots, shots in repetition , my days of getting into the prone position every time to shoot 100 rabbits or a fox are over...

 

[randello88]

Winter everythings soaking wet, foilage low, obscuring shots, shots in repetition , my days of getting into the prone position every time to shoot 100 rabbits or a fox are over...

If you want maximum precision and repeatability, that's the way to go. Getting wet is no big deal. As far as foliage, there is a distinct advantage in shooting from standing. It comes at a price though. If it is convenient for you it depends on what you want to accomplish, on your expectation and on the kind of enviroment you are hunting in. For me going prone when shooting past 150/200 meters is always doable. It just comes to finding a decent position, which is almost always doable. At that distance you have usally some margin to move and find a good prone position.
At least in my experience