Backpack hunts and shooting tripods

[hereinaz]

For most of the shots I’ve taken with a tripod on the course that @Bluumoon has set up, I don’t even take the tripod off my pack. I take my pack off, put my rifle on the tripod and shoot. It’s fast, but my stability could definitely be improved.

The fastest is rarely the most stable. I am curious how it goes if you leave the table and bag on the tripod. I have a feeling that can increase stability. The broad surface of the bag gives more than the single Spartan point.

It’s one data point, but during our little competition, and while I was slowest of us, I also had the most hits.

That is my personal preference, to slow down and be more sure. After all my playing around with PRS years ago, that’s what I learned about myself. I can methodically build stability and make the shot OR I can rush and significantly reduce my effectiveness.

I chose to learn how to use the tripod. It works for me. But, I also know that there are alternatives that are faster. I just don’t have time to practice all of it and become effective, so I specialized, so to speak.

The specialization means I am highly confident in virtually any condition to set up a tripod and make shots. It’s just one way to go about things, again, it fits with me.

 

[Quandary]

For those of you using Spartan tripods, I got a table set up from @hereinaz that he built using a Spartan MLok adaptor.

So far I’ve only shot Pdogs but it’s pretty rad! The stability this table gives me for shooting is far beyond just the post on the Davros head.

While I have killed Aoudad out to just shy of 500 yards off my Spartan with the Davros head shooting off a TwoVets Recon with a ARCA ball head is substantially more stable and for me well worth the extra 1.5 or 2lbs of weight to haul around.

I am in hereinaz's camp. I practice every position with a tripod and bipod. I do not practice speed. As I always coached my kids in basketball be quick not fast. Move along at a good pace, build a good position, make the shot, kill the animal. I just can't do that fast, others can, I can't and I accept that. I would much rather lose a shot opportunity trying to a make a good shot than wound an animal making a fast shot.

 

[wind gypsy]

The Molinator and the GCs both use Spexlite fill. Are you swapping out the fill to Git Lite?

I haven’t kept up with all the different spex fill options. I know there is one that is near identical to git lite but the fill in the Molinator is definitely not it. Just the fill in the smaller pint sized GC probably weighs over double the entire weight of the molinator.

AG’s light version used to be with git lite so that’s what mine is. The weight spec on their website now with spexlite is the same as it used to be with git lite.

 

[hereinaz]

I haven’t kept up with all the different spex fill options. I know there is one that is near identical to git lite but the fill in the Molinator is definitely not it. Just the fill in the smaller pint sized GC probably weighs over double the entire weight of the molinator.

AG’s light version used to be with git lite so that’s what mine is. The weight spec on their website now with spexlite is the same as it used to be with git lite.

Having used thousands of dollars of the fluffy Spexlite and the Git Lite, the GitLite or similar is significantly superior as a front bag. The fluffy is just more bouncy on recoil and less stable.

In the rear, the difference is less noticeable, but it is there. The amount of recoil, shape of stock, etc. all make a bigger difference in the rear than up front.

But, it is all relative. A good sand fill is way better than both. With sand and a heavier rifle, I can get away with no rear bag.

For backpacking and hunting weights, I can not get stability. That is why I go to tripod and build in rear support.

 

[Jordan Smith]

The fastest is rarely the most stable. I am curious how it goes if you leave the table and bag on the tripod. I have a feeling that can increase stability. The broad surface of the bag gives more than the single Spartan point.

It’s one data point, but during our little competition, and while I was slowest of us, I also had the most hits.

That is my personal preference, to slow down and be more sure. After all my playing around with PRS years ago, that’s what I learned about myself. I can methodically build stability and make the shot OR I can rush and significantly reduce my effectiveness.

I chose to learn how to use the tripod. It works for me. But, I also know that there are alternatives that are faster. I just don’t have time to practice all of it and become effective, so I specialized, so to speak.

The specialization means I am highly confident in virtually any condition to set up a tripod and make shots. It’s just one way to go about things, again, it fits with me.

One thing I love about shooting PRS and NRL-H matches is that it is excellent training for rushed/stressful situations - to be successful you have to learn to be both fast and accurate.

 

[Jordan Smith]

I have yet to see somebody, on a one minute drill, starting with pack on, rifle in hand or strapped to pack, tripod folded up and stored on pack as if hunting, have enough time to…

Range Target
Pack off
Setup Tripod
Stabilize gun
Load gun
Get shot on target

2 minutes is about the quickest I’ve seen in person but I’m sure somebody here could show me the way.

I’m tripod curious, it’s always just been cumbersome and slow (likely user error) and I’ve found much quicker ways to build similar positions using different gear.

I shot Teams in a NRL-Hunter match in AB last weekend. Including finding all targets and getting ranges/DOPE, we were getting our first shots off from a tripod/Shmedium within about 1.5-2 minutes, typically. Finding targets and ranging are sped up a bit by the stability of resting the RFB on the tripod/bag, compared to trying to freehand the bino/RF. So the tripod/bag does double duty, which sort of helps to make up for the additional deployment time compared to something like a triple pull.

 

[justinspicher]

I am working on being more proficient in getting to a solid position and learning to pass on a shot if I can’t.

 

[BCDJR]

Unless your packing in with horses stay light.