anyone have field experience with the Spartan Davros pro head for glassing and shooting?

[manitou1]

For me, to mount arca plates on my rifles I would have to through the expense to go with a high quality ball head anyway. A panhead won't cut it in the mountainous terrain I hunt, thus rendering my beloved pan head useless for shooting a mounted rifle off of. It takes way too much fenagling (if that is a word) to level a tripod to shoot off of since a pan head does not have the capability to level the rifle left/right. A 700 yard shot with a crosshair that is not level equates to a miss, or worse, a wounded animal.
That all being said, the Davros system with the carbon fiber optics handle is as close as I can get to a pan head/ball head combo. I glass... a lot, sometimes 12+ hours a day.
For me, this system will be faster, more user friendly, and offer easier glassing for my hunting style.
Ballheads are NOT fun to glass off of for me. A ball head with a handle would make it more tolerable.

 

[Justin Crossley]

It's the lightest, and smallest solution I've used that is good for glassing and shooting.

There are better shooting supports and better glassing heads but everything is a trade off.

Spartan Davros Tripod Head Review

The Spartan Davros head mounts to standard tripods as an ultralight shooting and optics support system for backcountry hunting.

www.rokslide.com

 

[mtwarden]

Justin- read your review- thanks!

Thoughts on the regular head vs the Pro? Obviously more weight w/ their Pro head, but was thinking might be better w/ a mid-sized (60mm) spotter?

 

[Justin Crossley]

Justin- read your review- thanks!

Thoughts on the regular head vs the Pro? Obviously more weight w/ their Pro head, but was thinking might be better w/ a mid-sized (60mm) spotter?

I prefer the regular head. My spotter is the 20-60x80 Swaro ATS.

 

[mtwarden]

I prefer the regular head. My spotter is the 20-60x80 Swaro ATS.

ah good to know- it's 4 oz vs 9 oz

 

[finner]

I used the Davros pro all last season on a two vets tripod and really liked it. Yeah, it's not the world's best glassing option but it works. Really like being able to swap my spotter or binos for a rifle in 10 seconds. I killed 5 animals off it last year at ranges from 350-650. If I could do it over I would probably skip the pic rail/adapter combo and just have the gunsmith adapter installed in the stock, but I hate drilling into pricy carbon fiber stocks.

 

[tdot]

I used the original davros head and the light duty optics adapter. This was before the Pro head and HD optics adapter were available.

I didn't love the system, it was ok, but only ok. As I was trying the system out without trying to invest a ton, I only used the surface adapters for the rifle. So the rifle adapter was in the location of the sling stud. Fine for a bipod, didn't like it for a tripod. It would probably work fine for standing shots, from shooting sticks, but I'm seated on uneven terrain, so a small amount of fore/aft adjustment is nice. I don't want to have to reset the tripod or put my body in a bad position because the rifle cant be moved.

The panning was rough and I missed being able to lock it. That problem was solved with the HD Optics adapter. I was using the head with an ATX/65 and the base Davros held it fine. It was definitely at its' max.

I didn't invest in one of their bipods, I think that would make a difference to the overall appeal of their system. I shoot from a pack in the mountains and a heavy duty bipod from a bench, so didn't feel their bipod would add much to my setup.

Ultimately I committed to an Arca setup. The SRS 4" plates, mounted close to the magazine provides better balance and a small amount of adjustment. The BPC-16 head from Really Right Stuff is comparable in weight and price, plus the panning, movement and lock-up of the head are all superior.

 

[BXB77]

I'm really interested in this setup, not a lot of firsthand info that I'm finding.

Thanks!

I bought the optics adaptor and tried glassing off mine. Thought it would save some weight, but, I didn't like it. Not enough control. However, it works great for shooting. I just put an outdoorsman adaptor on the bottom of the Davros and slide it on if I need to shoot.

 

[mtwarden]

are you using a panhead?

 

[manitou1]

I bought the optics adaptor and tried glassing off mine. Thought it would save some weight, but, I didn't like it. Not enough control. However, it works great for shooting. I just put an outdoorsman adaptor on the bottom of the Davros and slide it on if I need to shoot.

Did you try the Heavy Duty optics adaptor, or the small one?

 

[mtwarden]

^ I was going to ask that as well, also what Davros head

Out of curiosity, I weighed my panhead (VA 5) and it's 19.5 oz; the ballhead I'm using (Sunwayfoto XB 28) is 7.8 oz- not much difference than the Davros Pro at 8.9 oz

 

[mtwarden]

July bump

 

[manitou1]

I did receive the Davros Pro tripod head, two heavy optics adaptors, the standard rifle mount and a gunsmith rifle mount ( I plan to install on another rifle some time).
Everything is well made.
I put things together and I really like the speed/ease of mounting my rifle, spotter and binos on top of the tripod.
The Davros Pro easily supports my 9.25 lb custom rifle while locked horizontally (perpendicular to the tripod).
Although (as we already know), the panning feature with a spotter/bino is not as smooth as a quality panhead... it does "pan" to my satisfaction as of what little testing I have done.
I have not had the system out to the field for practical use yet as Covid FINALLY caught up with the Mrs. and I, and boy has it been making up for lost time!
I'll update my opinion/reviews once I get some actual scouting and field use accomplished.

 

[mtwarden]

^ thanks and get well soon!

 

[manitou1]

Update:
So far, so good on the Davros system.
Mounting and dismounting optics is quick and easy.

I have yet to shoot off the tripod as of yet as our rifle seasons begin tomorrow. Hopefully I will "wear it out" in the next few weeks and have more to report, lol.

I have used the optics system while scouting and bow hunting and it has worked well for me. I can set the friction to just be able to pan and vertical with both my spotter and binos.
I did take a 76" pronghorn a couple of days ago but mounted optics played no part in the arrow harvest on that one, lol.

 

[mtwarden]

what are you using for the binos, looks like they discontinued their bino adapter- thanks!

 

[manitou1]

I purchased their HD optics adaptors for both the binos and spotter. The optics adaptor goes on the bottom of my Field Optics Research bino mount.
It has the standard tripod threads so any mount system should mate right up to the optics mount.

 

[mtwarden]

Ahhh- I have a Outdoorsman mount- should be similar then

Thanks!

 

[manitou1]

 

[manitou1]

I miisspoke, mine is also an outdoorsmans mount.