I have this old tripod…

[blue_ridge]

It is a Manfrotto 055xPRO B. I want to know if this could/should be used for shooting some PRS with my 18# rifle. My wife and I used to use it for photography and it’s been gathering dust the last few years, BUT, it’s bought and paid for, so would like to repurpose it for shooting if possible. I have a hog saddle on it now but the original ballhead is not up to the task of holding my rifle. I mean, it holds it still if the rifle is balanced and horizontal but if I put my weight behind it or any real pressure on the rifle it starts to move. So I’d like to possibly buy a new ball head for this tripod.

It’s aluminum with 3 leg sections. Fully extended it is 56” to the base plate. With the center column fully extended, it is 70”. The base plate has a standard 3/8” screw. So what would you do? Buy a new ballhead? If so which one? If not, what are the shortcomings of this tripod that will make me regret using it?

055 aluminium 3-section photo tripod, with horizontal column

The solution for precise, stable framing and shooting. The 055XPRO3 tripod is ideal for photographers and videographers looking for more flexible shooting. Thanks to its versatile 90° centre column mechanism, it can be extended horizontally or vertically in only a few seconds. The horizontal...

www.manfrotto.com

 

[Sheldon N]

So what would you do? Buy a new ballhead?

I've owned that tripod back in my photography days and have also made my way through a couple additional carbon fiber tripods. I wouldn't put a ballhead on the Manfrotto, that's good money after bad IMO. I'd sell it and see if you can scrounge up funds for something like a used Gitzo 1325 which can be had for just over $300.

Depends on what you mean by shooting PRS, but a gamechanger on top of the bare Gitzo would be light years more stable than the Manfrotto. If you need a head for something like binos or to clip an arca rail based rifle then I'm personally partial to the RRS TA-3 leveling base rather than a ballhead.

Shortcomings of the Manfrotto is that there's a lot of flex in the crown where the legs and the center column come together. It will never be as stable as a solid crown design.

 

[blue_ridge]

Sheldon, thanks for the advice. What you say makes sense. I do intend to use both a Game changer and ARCA rails for rifles and also for optics. When using the hog saddle, I figured the instability was mostly due to the ballhead. So I just removed the ballhead and center column and threw the game changer on top. Still not very stable. I think this tripod is still excellent for photography, so I’m gonna sell it off for what I can get and use those funds towards a new setup with RRS Leveling base. Thanks again!

 

[hlee]

Gear doesn’t get worse when newer gear comes out- except in comparison. That Manfrotto 055 is the same tripod it was when it was bought. It wasn’t that many years ago- well maybe it was - that a 055 and a hog saddle was the bees knees around here. What am I saying? Take your gear to the range and try it out. All you are out is some time and a bit of ammo. Identify the shortcomings in your gear and address those. Don’t chase the shiny thing you found on SH. We’ll spend all of your money and say GBPSE.

 

[blue_ridge]

Gear doesn’t get worse when newer gear comes out- except in comparison. That Manfrotto 055 is the same tripod it was when it was bought. It wasn’t that many years ago- well maybe it was - that a 055 and a hog saddle was the bees knees around here. What am I saying? Take your gear to the range and try it out. All you are out is some time and a bit of ammo. Identify the shortcomings in your gear and address those. Don’t chase the shiny thing you found on SH. We’ll spend all of your money and say GBPSE.

I hear you about not chasing every shiny thing. I typically don’t. In this case, what Sheldon said resonated because my tripod is noticeably unstable even with the ball head removed and using a game changer on top. It has a center column and a collar to allow the column to be turned horizontal. Great for camera angles but introduces wobble for rifles. His advice was to sell the tripod and buy one that is not much more expensive, but designed more for the heavier load of a rifle.

 

[Working Man Tactical]

I’ve used my 055 in matches. It’s solid enough to reach out to 635 yards under the clock. I cant see investing in a carbon fiber tripod anytime soon. I saw one get blown over during a very windy match with some expensive glass on it.

 

[blue_ridge]

View attachment 8026923
I’ve used my 055 in matches. It’s solid enough to reach out to 635 yards under the clock. I cant see investing in a carbon fiber tripod anytime soon. I saw one get blown over during a very windy match with some expensive glass on it.

Cool, what ballhead are you using? Mine is slipping when my rifle is on it. That’s how this thread started, with me asking for advice about a replacement ballhead.

 

[Working Man Tactical]

It’s an old 496rc2. I use the magpul mlok adapter plate.Magpul manfrotto adapter

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Whatever became of “offhand?”

Just wondering.

Sirhr

 

[Working Man Tactical]

Whatever became of “offhand?”

Just wondering.

Sirhr

I would use anything available and allowed to be competitive in the field. Some guns are 20lbs plus!

 

[sirhrmechanic]

I would use anything available and allowed to be competitive in the field. Some guns are 20lbs plus!

I know... I am having fun. That said, several LE/Mil comps I did a bunch of years ago had 'offhand' components. And a TRG-22 folder with bipod and big-ass USO on it may not be 20 pounds... but it's all of 12 and shooting offhand is something one should train for! Ya never know! ;-)

Have an awesome day!!

Cheers,

Sirhr

 

[blue_ridge]

I know... I am having fun. That said, several LE/Mil comps I did a bunch of years ago had 'offhand' components. And a TRG-22 folder with bipod and big-ass USO on it may not be 20 pounds... but it's all of 12 and shooting offhand is something one should train for! Ya never know! ;-)

Have an awesome day!!

Cheers,

Sirhr

I agree with both statements above. Practical shooting should mean shooting in all realistic situations including offhand, sitting, kneeling, no props. But the games are not geared this way. They don’t penalize for unrealistically heavy rifles, so that’s what people use. They offer mostly barricades and prone shooting, so that’s what people practice and gear up for. I understand the reasons why - these match directors don’t have unlimited budgets and in some cases need to funnel 100+ shooters through numerous stages in a timely fashion. If you made it more real world, shooters would miss half of their shots, making spotting and scoring more difficult and bruising some egos.

Basically, you build it and they will come. If you create game geared for 20# rifles, tripods and barricade bags, that’s what you’ll get. If you want practical shooting, you have to create a competition geared for that. There’s a wide range of shooting for precision rifles that lies somewhere in between PRS, NRL, 3 gun and High Power. I’d travel farther for something like that than anything else currently offered. I have about 50 ideas for stages too.

 

[cas6969]

If you made it more real world

Lets see, my real world 2022:
Zero rounds fired in combat.
Zero rounds in self defense.
One round fired at a deer.
(and that as off a tripod)

That would be a boring match.

 

[hlee]

Lets see, my real world 2022:
Zero rounds fired in combat.
Zero rounds in self defense.
One round fired at a deer.
(and that as off a tripod)

That would be a boring match.

Real world? Saddle up to the computer terminal, log in to the gun forum of your choice. And, take your best shot…

 

[blue_ridge]

Lets see, my real world 2022:
Zero rounds fired in combat.
Zero rounds in self defense.
One round fired at a deer.
(and that as off a tripod)

That would be a boring match.

I’ve shot High Power which was originally created for positional shooting service rifles, iron sights without any gear or props. (Now allow up to a 4.5X scope) It teaches bone on bone positions and the use of a sling to reinforce that hold. However they only shoot at 3 known distances and only at the same paper targets repeatedly. It can get a little old after awhile. But if you took that idea of more offhand and sling shooting and crossed it with PRS, using better optics, varied positions and distances, lower overall rifle weight. I think you’d have a pretty fun series.

Have also shot IDPA and a little IPSC (been shooting and reloading for over 30 years) and the same thing happened to them. Started with practical shooting in mind and over time ended up being more and more specialized and gear driven.