Ball head and or tripod suggestions for upright shooting

In all honesty quad sticks are a better bet. I’ve got a very nice leofoto tripod setup. It’s a pain to get out and it doesn’t help me walk like a set of folded quad sticks, which unfortunately I need following an accident. My tripod supports my spotting scope now days.

The quad sticks support the but of the rifle which makes a hell of a difference in reality. Especially for deer stalking or fox. The fifth leg is something I haven’t used but gets great reviews.

And to add if you go with a tripod avoid one with a centre column. They add another area for movement and cantilever effect of have the weight of a rifle up top has a huge affect on stability. I’ve tried about everything and wasted a lot of money, so you don’t have to 🤣
 
I've never used sticks but I can totally understand the support the rear stick will add.

I use a tripod myself, a Scott Country fat legged one, 260 rips signature???

Only due to the leg thickness for rigidity and swapped out the head for a sunwayfoto IB65mm bowl head with quick lever adjustment Tripod Head

Great combo!
 
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I am not a quad stick user. Tried them and was not impressed. Spartan David head on tripod or single stick for me but obviously not everyone’s cup of tea . Rifles all have the adapter .
 
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You can spend an awful lot of money or buy a surveyors tripod and fit an arca head on it, or a decent camera tripod and do the same. Surveyors tripod is a little heavier but totally solid, a manfrotto 055 tripod mines aluminium but they also do carbon is lighter and more versatile. Bolt an arca plate at the balance point of your rifle, watch and shoot, more versatile in heavy brush or hillsides than sticks, although sticks have a massive advantage on woodland or field edges
 
I've used the Rekon sticks from Scott Country with the Hog Saddle on top for several years now and find them very good indeed, very stable and easily adjusted.
I think a lot depends on the type of shooting you do and the land you are shooting on. Most of my shooting is static and generally on pretty steep ground, I tried quad sticks but found them a real pain at times to get set up quickly.
 
I’ve used my wife’s Manfrotto tripod with a hog saddle attached, works really well for stationary bunny blatting. Even used it up at the range and for cleaning bores. I’d consider replacing with a dedicated shooting tripod and adding ARCA rails to a few of my rifles.

Just bought a set of Viper Flex sticks with the 5th leg, not used them in anger yet (hopefully this weekend) but really impressed with the stability so far.
 
Thanks for all the input!
Just to add, weight don't matter that much to me. Not going to be used in mountains or very long hikes.
 
If you are set on a tripod check out the below offerings. I believe they offer better value than the shooting specific brands. There is also innorel tripods offered on Amazon. An arca rail on a stick is better than a clamp. But also consider the use of a bag on top of the tripod head. I have a large “udder” bag that offered a great flat platform my rifle will balance on. Not that I would let go of the rifle in that setup. Hower the recoils impulse is more natural than having the tripod attached to the gun.

Ensure you check point of impact with the tripod attached. I suspect there will be a zero change due to the weight of the tripod affecting you zero. I would advise watching some YouTube videos on tripod technique.

Phil Velayo is a well respected retired marine scout sniper and PRS competitor who does such tutorials.

 
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This is a surveyors tripod, with a ball head fitted, cost about £30 in total
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This is the manfroto fitted with the same head, cost about £35

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I shortened the centre column, it will still allow shooting from a standing position, but as you can see in the photo below, it goes quite low, IMG_1220.jpg
This is how they fold for transport, the surveyors I tend to use if I have a large stubble field to shoot over and not too far to walk, the smaller manfrotto can be strapped to a gun bag and is perfect for sitting on hillsides with the legs at different angles, both are aluminium, the manfrotto also comes in carbon fibre which will save a bit in weight.
IMG_1219.jpg

My rifle is certainly no lightweight and both systems support it without problem
 
Lovely sticks.
What ball head goes for that cheap and mind sharing how exactly you mount it to the stock?
 
Lovely sticks.
What ball head goes for that cheap and mind sharing how exactly you mount it to the stock?
The heads are made by andoer (I prefer the one on the survey tripod as the adjustment knob is bigger) can't recall the weight rating, but it exceeds the weight of my rifle, get the largest head possible, the plate in this instance was fitted as follows
  • Find the balance point of the rifle
  • As the stock was rounded on the bottom, I filed and sanded a flat area
  • The fore end on this particular stock has cut outs below the barrel channel, I drilled through the stock
  • The plate was then glued and bolted into place (threadlock on bolts), and for extra measure I used the excess devcon from bedding the action to encase the bolts inside the fore end
  • On my magpul stock I simply attached using self tapping screws and thread lock, thats a much lighter rifle though
 
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Lovely sticks.
What ball head goes for that cheap and mind sharing how exactly you mount it to the stock?
I also buy the tripods cheap whenever they come up, I also have a shooting bench made with a survey tripod, I'll see if I can find any pics of it
 
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I also buy the tripods cheap whenever they come up, I also have a shooting bench made with a survey tripod, I'll see if I can find any pics of it
I once made a shooting table out of a Surveyors tripod. I fitted a large hinge with bearings in it between the top of the tripod and the underside of the 20 mm ply table top. This then allowed the legs to fold flat to the top to carry it into the field like a large brief case. Actually fitted a rifle sling for over shoulder carry as it was quite heavy.
It wasn’t that stable only having a smallish plate underneath to screw to the ply, so I fitted some small chains from the table top down to the legs.
Handy when I could just drive in a field and not have to walk too far to set up.
Gave it away on SD several years ago.
Ken.
 
Have an Artcise tripod - Amazon

Fitted it with a arca head that works well and is extremely stable

Allows me to shoot using a bag on the top of the tripod or clip in to an arca rail on rofles fitted with it

Allows engagement from close to “far”

Certainly helpful in some situations but you can easily improvise a stable shooting position off a wall or gate with some ingenuity without resorting to carrying a few extra kilos of HD Tripod with you
 
There you go sorted
have an innorel carbon tripod model no rt75
With innorel k44 ball head and genuine hog saddle clamp now surplus to requirements all in really good condition all worked as it should £175 plus p&p
IMG_3503.jpegIMG_3504.jpegIMG_3506.jpeg
 
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