Tripod head with Picatinny capabilities?

[thebest3]

have not personal seen/ held a rrs tripod in person. But from the look, weight and spec of travel tripod "ascend" . Look pretty similar to my leofoto ls324c. which is a really nice tripod but still kind of heavy and bulky for back country.

 

[Middleofnowhere]

...I'll be modifying my 14 series tripod down to a weight of 650grams. With their smallest head that I use primarily for glassing, total weight is 775grams (28 ounces).

On RRS’s website they are showing the weight of their TFC 14 MK2 at 2.46lbs (1116g). How are you doing this modification?

I’m planning the plunge to an RRS tripod with an Anvil 30 head. I already have an Outdoorsmans panner that I could modify for use with the Anvil head for glassing.

 

[tdot]

On RRS’s website they are showing the weight of their TFC 14 MK2 at 2.46lbs (1116g). How are you doing this modification?

I’m planning the plunge to an RRS tripod with an Anvil 30 head. I already have an Outdoorsmans panner that I could modify for use with the Anvil head for glassing.

Start with a TFC 14mk2, remove the lowest 2 leg sections and the locknut on the bottom of the remaining section. Put a round vinyl cap on the exposed thread section.

I have really started to like shooting from the tripod as well, so considering adding one of the heavier tripods into the mix. If I do, then the 34 has lower leg sections that match the 2nd leg section (from the top) of the 14 series. I'd prefer to do that as then I would have a threaded insert at the bottom of the leg, as I prefer to use a rock foot to increase stability further.

For a light weight head, I am regularly using the BPC16. It is an awesome little head, perfect for binos and 65mm scope. I've even used it successfully with the BTX/95. I have shot a rifle from it, but would primarily only use this setup for another position option on a mountain hunt.

 

[carter33]

Does anyone run the RRS anvil or other head more forward on a bipod pic rail? Obviously the further back the more stable it would be but how much ability do you really lose? Is it even worth it to run it like this?

I have a couple rifles I could attach a short arca rail closer to the action/mag well but a few of my rifles are lightweight mountain style rifles with rounded skinnier stocks on which an arca plate would protrude and look pretty crappy.

I know a vice system such as the hog saddle is an option but I don't want to pack another item with additional weight that would also take a bit longer to set up.

 

[Lawnboi]

Does anyone run the RRS anvil or other head more forward on a bipod pic rail? Obviously the further back the more stable it would be but how much ability do you really lose? Is it even worth it to run it like this?

I have a couple rifles I could attach a short arca rail closer to the action/mag well but a few of my rifles are lightweight mountain style rifles with rounded skinnier stocks on which an arca plate would protrude and look pretty crappy.

I know a vice system such as the hog saddle is an option but I don't want to pack another item with additional weight that would also take a bit longer to set up.

Other than at odd angles it really isn’t ideal to run it out front, it’s not near as steady as a front heavy or balanced gun. Iv got guns with just bipod rails and I just throw my pint sized game changer on for shooting.

I had a saddle and agree, it’s another thing to carry, more weight, and worst takes time to setup. Maybe a good option for stationary hunting but it never came out on a spot and stalk hunt. Clipping in on the rail with the rrs is fast and easy, and a 2in pic rail section dosn’t weigh anything. If you don’t want a rail, then I’d go with a bag on the tripod over the clamp.

I have small pic rail pieces in front of my bottom metal on a few rifles with smaller forearms. It is not bulky and clips in all the same.

Crappy pic but I had mcmillan put another 2” pic rail in front of the bottom metal. This is a game scout with a pretty slim grip, dosnt feel at all unnatural

 

[carter33]

Other than at odd angles it really isn’t ideal to run it out front, it’s not near as steady as a front heavy or balanced gun. Iv got guns with just bipod rails and I just throw my pint sized game changer on for shooting.

I had a saddle and agree, it’s another thing to carry, more weight, and worst takes time to setup. Maybe a good option for stationary hunting but it never came out on a spot and stalk hunt. Clipping in on the rail with the rrs is fast and easy, and a 2in pic rail section dosn’t weigh anything. If you don’t want a rail, then I’d go with a bag on the tripod over the clamp.

I have small pic rail pieces in front of my bottom metal on a few rifles with smaller forearms. It is not bulky and clips in all the same.

Crappy pic but I had mcmillan put another 2” pic rail in front of the bottom metal. This is a game scout with a pretty slim grip, dosnt feel at all unnatural
View attachment 174551

How does the 2in pic rail fit with the head, does it fill up the full length of the head and feel plenty sturdy? That setup does look great, I spoke with a guy at mile high shooting and mentioned a 2" pic rail and he recommended more of a 3" rail but I couldn't really determine why. I did find that BT industries makes a little 2" pic rail that looks about perfect for this purpose. Also I hate the idea of drilling holes in my stock for t-nuts but the youtube videos do make it look pretty straight forward and if I am going to drop the coin on RRS I want to take full advantage of it.

 

[Lawnboi]

How does the 2in pic rail fit with the head, does it fill up the full length of the head and feel plenty sturdy? That setup does look great, I spoke with a guy at mile high shooting and mentioned a 2" pic rail and he recommended more of a 3" rail but I couldn't really determine why. I did find that BT industries makes a little 2" pic rail that looks about perfect for this purpose. Also I hate the idea of drilling holes in my stock for t-nuts but the youtube videos do make it look pretty straight forward and if I am going to drop the coin on RRS I want to take full advantage of it.

I’ll measure it when I get home, but it’s McMillan’s smallest rail. It completely fills the anvil head no problem but you need to be sure to put the post in the middle slot. Not at all hard after some practice, even in the cold with gloves on.

Ill measure and take a few more pics tomorrow. I saw no reason to add more length as I was just going to run it closest the bottom metal anyways.

It locks up solid.

If you really zoom in on my above picture you can see the rail sticks out from the head on both sides a third of an inch or so.

 

[Lawnboi]

How does the 2in pic rail fit with the head, does it fill up the full length of the head and feel plenty sturdy? That setup does look great, I spoke with a guy at mile high shooting and mentioned a 2" pic rail and he recommended more of a 3" rail but I couldn't really determine why. I did find that BT industries makes a little 2" pic rail that looks about perfect for this purpose. Also I hate the idea of drilling holes in my stock for t-nuts but the youtube videos do make it look pretty straight forward and if I am going to drop the coin on RRS I want to take full advantage of it.

Measured the mcmillan rail, which you can buy separately for like 20 bucks and it’s 2.20 inches, has a nice slot for a little wiggle room on mounting.

This setup is boring easy to shoot off of. Blowing up clays at 250 today was very easy.

Here’s a closer pic from today.

 

[carter33]

Measured the mcmillan rail, which you can buy separately for like 20 bucks and it’s 2.20 inches, has a nice slot for a little wiggle room on mounting.

This setup is boring easy to shoot off of. Blowing up clays at 250 today was very easy.

Here’s a closer pic from today.
View attachment 175016

Thanks for all the info, that is about the exact length of the BT industries pic rail I was thinking of using. Working on selling a handful of items in the classifies and am picking up the anvil-30 on the TFCT-24L from mile high shooting. After weighing the pros and cons of the ascend tripod RRS is releasing soon i think the TFCT-24L is worth the extra 1/2lb. I know using the center column of the ascend would be less stable for standing shots and it cannot set up as low if wanting to shoot off it prone, again due to the center column. The shorter folded length of it would certainly be nice for packing though

 

[Lawnboi]

Thanks for all the info, that is about the exact length of the BT industries pic rail I was thinking of using. Working on selling a handful of items in the classifies and am picking up the anvil-30 on the TFCT-24L from mile high shooting. After weighing the pros and cons of the ascend tripod RRS is releasing soon i think the TFCT-24L is worth the extra 1/2lb. I know using the center column of the ascend would be less stable for standing shots and it cannot set up as low if wanting to shoot off it prone, again due to the center column. The shorter folded length of it would certainly be nice for packing though

That tripod is on my list of things to get. I’m not sold on super light tripods either. I actually like glassing off the heavier setup as well, just sucks to carry it.