Shooting off tripod help!!!!

[Rent Outdoor Gear]

We rent high end shooting tripods like the Really Right Stuff / RRS SOAR TFCT-34 and 24L with the Anvil-30 head and their rock solid Vyce clamp if you don’t have an ARCA style mount on the rifle.

Couple tips for you shooting from a bag on top a tripod. Try to interact with the rifle as little as possible, otherwise you’re defeating the solid base you’ve put under it. Very light pressure as close to free-recoiling it as possible. Maybe hand pressure on top of the scope and squeeze the trigger by pinching the trigger and the back of the trigger guard. Very light pressure against the shoulder - just enough to keep the butt from free floating. Your aim will be dramatically tighter as will your groups. If you have a heavy recoiling rifle without a brake, you may want to get something much more stable with a solid clamp.

They’re very affordable to rent co side ring the RRS tripod sells for over $1400.

Take a look! We have a special right now! 10% off with promo code ROKSLIDE10 at check out.

www.RgunsNgear.com

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[RumLover]

The guys here have some great advice and are recommending the same methods as you see in PRS competitions. If you want to see some demos, search PRS competition or tripod shooting on youtube...plenty of examples to watch. Practice is key in positional shooting, so take your set up and try dry firing from different positions. When you build your position right, 600m shots on an 8" plate become consistently do-able. If you want to throw cash at the problem, take a look at really right stuff tripods with the Arca head (1st choice) or a tripod with a hog saddle (2nd choice).

 

[pyrotechnic]

You don't need to throw $1400 at the problem to get acceptable results although an arca rail on your rifle you can clip into an RRS tripod will make things easier.

As mentioned, get as much of your body behind the gun. I like to think weapon in front of shoulders, shoulders in front of hips. Utilize your natural point of aim and natural respiratory pause.

Attached a sling up front and try gripping it with your off hand and trapping it to the tripod, this will let you lean into the gun (shoulders in front of hips) and control recoil. If you can't get low enough that you're able to support your firing elbow on a pack or your knee maybe try kneeling. I find it to be quicker to get into than sitting as well.

For supported kneeling put your support side knee on the ground and use the firing side knee to support your firing elbow to give the rear of the gun support. Make sure you move your foot to control elevation vs getting up on your toes, you'll relax as the shot breaks and shoot high every time.

Make sure you smoothly increase trigger pressure until the shot breaks. It's really tempting to just stab the trigger when the sight picture looks good but you'll shank those shots. Just trust that you're wobble will be on target when it breaks .

I think just treating the tripod like any other field support as above will work better than trying to utilize some free recoil PRS techniques with an 8 lb hunting rifle and a light tripod. Those guns are usually pushing 20lb and shooting little 6mm pills.

Good luck, enjoy shooting, and let us know what worked for you and your equipment.

 

[bradb]

Practice, Practice and try a variety of things while practicing. This was sitting with rear elbow on knee at 980. Prone course is best, rear support of course helps a lot in any position

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I've been using lightweight, collapsible shooting sticks & tripods for years. I dislike rifle-mounted bipods. Sometimes ya gotta be standing upright to make the shot due to vegetation and/or terrain. Like all things, practice is key. A lot of guys sit at the shooting range and think they are staying sharp but for hunting you need to practice shooting in every position. I practiced shooting off sticks for two months with a 45-70 Govt before shooting this bull. First round took out both lungs, second blew a 3" section of vertebrae out the neck causing him to cartwheel (you can see it the slower motion shots). Video was shot by my partner with an old flip phone, looks crappy even when viewed in full screen mode. Bull was dead before he hit the ground. Proficiently requires trigger time, it's as simple as that.

I wear the sticks on my belt. Dirt cheap and work great. The internal bungees secure the legs instantly.

Robot or human?

 

[ericwh]

Finally got my tripod to the range the other day. This was my first time shooting on it. It was all pretty ugly, uncoordinated, and uncomfortable but the results were definitely better than shooting off a pack.

I am still very uncomfortable sitting but I didn't have my pack to tuck between my body and arms.

I also had some issues with the tripod wanting to tilt forward and the rear legs wanting to slide/fold shut while getting on target. 1 leg forward, 2 back, shooting uphill ~ 10°. So I'm loading up the front leg through my shoulder and the rifle, and the front leg wants to shut - the rear legs slide forward.

I assume this means that I'm putting too much fore-aft input into the tripod, or I need to set the legs wider?

Shooting left-handed, I've got my right hand in and overhand grip on the left rear leg. Elbow is locked out. Should I use this hand to hold the tripod back? What kind of input am I putting into the tripod with this hand?

I need a lot of practice deploying the tripod...

 

[hereinaz]

Finally got my tripod to the range the other day. This was my first time shooting on it. It was all pretty ugly, uncoordinated, and uncomfortable but the results were definitely better than shooting off a pack.

I am still very uncomfortable sitting but I didn't have my pack to tuck between my body and arms.

I also had some issues with the tripod wanting to tilt forward and the rear legs wanting to slide/fold shut while getting on target. 1 leg forward, 2 back, shooting uphill ~ 10°. So I'm loading up the front leg through my shoulder and the rifle, and the front leg wants to shut - the rear legs slide forward.

I assume this means that I'm putting too much fore-aft input into the tripod, or I need to set the legs wider?

Shooting left-handed, I've got my right hand in and overhand grip on the left rear leg. Elbow is locked out. Should I use this hand to hold the tripod back? What kind of input am I putting into the tripod with this hand?

I need a lot of practice deploying the tripod...

Try a few things. Don't get locked into, "this is how to use the tripod". It is far more versatile than you can currently imagine.

Picture where a front support would be helpful for a comfortable body position, then put the tripod head right there.

Change the angle of the forward leg and/or shorten it.

Try two legs forward and one back, running on the left side of your body or kneeling with your body over the tripod leg between you legs with your body leaning forward.

 

[Lawnboi]

@ericwh
I can’t load my tripod like I would a bipod with a light gun. To control recoil it means a more controlled shooting hand grip, pulling the rifle straight back and tight to my shoulder.

Natural point of aim is very important. Don’t get stuck shooting round after round in an uncomfortable positions. Switch it up till you find things that work. When I’m tripod shooting for practice I rarely take more than 2 shots before a reset.

All other fundamentals are magnified. A smooth trigger pull and recoil management become very important.

Seated I try to get my shooting arm elbow on my knee if possible. Iv gone away from the pack tuck or pillow with my hunting rifles because chances are, in the field, I’m not going to fiddle with that stuff

I’m not a tripod expert either. The more I shoot off one the easier it becomes. It makes prone shooting feel like a breeze.

Try to add some structure to shooting off it and have achievable goals. Regardless what you read here, shooting a hunting weight rifle off a tripod in seated or higher is not a walk in the park. Throw a 2moa plate up and bang away. Once that gets easy try smaller.

 

[ericwh]

Thank you both!

I was doing pretty well seated on 2moa at 400 so I know there's a lot of potential and it's def better than what I was doing before.

Definitely going to practice deployment, work through some positional stuff, and dry fire in the basement.

 

[hereinaz]

I agree with lawnboi.

The mastery skill for tripod is to build and break your position lots. Shoot one shot with a follow up shot, like you will hunting. Then switch it up.

At first, experiment more with finding steady positions with dryfire at home. Its about finding elements of a steady position. They aren't that complex. Then add shooting at the range.

You can build good positions without your pack, but I use a rear bag and pillow bag in the field, its just too versatile to me.

Many tripod positions are +or- 2 moa, but I have a couple versions that are prone level steady.

The quick deploy, scanning positions are typically my looser positions, without rear support. With rear support, it can be prone level precision.