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I Really Did Like the Really Right Stuff Tripods
- Thread starter AP2020
- Start date
It's all relative
The best costs money, if you cannot afford the best you make due with that is available, bitching about it will not change the fact, RRS is the best tripod on the market.
Guys can't afford a lot of stuff, it's part of the game
The best costs money, if you cannot afford the best you make due with that is available, bitching about it will not change the fact, RRS is the best tripod on the market.
Guys can't afford a lot of stuff, it's part of the game
No bitching here..lol
Simple economics, $1,200 is going to buy a ton of reloading components. And honestly for my purposes = killing coyotes at 200 yards or less at night, this setup is more than capable.
The mission drives the gear.
Having said that I currently primarily use the pig 0311 Tripod. It’s a good true budget option. It serves its purpose but I will by an RRS ASAP. The RRS excels at everything.
OK, sure, the best costs money and any business should set their price for maximum profits. But any body who has been around for a while knows that whats the best today is going to be barely OK tomorrow.
Look at scopes. I paid a fucking fortune for my first S&B PMII 5-25x56 years back. The same scope can be bought today for much less money, because competition has introduced products on all sides of it now it is possible to acquire either the exact same scope or one with features you may like even better for less money. As a matter of fact I paid the same money for my first S&B 3-27x56 as I paid for my first 5-25x56 a far better scope for the same money.
My point is that if you can get by with something less for a few years you will be able to get something better for less. I don't need to be a part of some snobby elite that always has the latest gizmo. Most people here are smart enough not to be manipulated by the snobbery of remarks like "if you cannot afford the best you make due with that is available." I along with most others will wait until better deals are available.
Anyone looking for a less expensive upgrade to their current setup could consider this: https://patriotvalleyarms.com/comp-40-tripod/
AP2020
With the amount of wobble I saw through your scope in your video and the fact that you were using a thermal, I am more than blow away at your success on the toe warmer.
Having spent several years on tripods the last few including the RRS; With that much wobble I would not be able, even with my daytime glass and a precision rifle, shoot that well.
With the amount of wobble I saw through your scope in your video and the fact that you were using a thermal, I am more than blow away at your success on the toe warmer.
Having spent several years on tripods the last few including the RRS; With that much wobble I would not be able, even with my daytime glass and a precision rifle, shoot that well.
Call it LUCK..or maybe I have always been a natural shot.....LOL
I do love to kill coyotes with my setup, though!
Pfft, all these guys and their fancy tripods. This works good enough for 99% of applications. Runs about $12 or less.
Now, you may need to carry a couple dozen with you as they tend to bend the legs after a few shots. But we already treat things as consumable like barrels and ammo, why not tripods?
Now, you may need to carry a couple dozen with you as they tend to bend the legs after a few shots. But we already treat things as consumable like barrels and ammo, why not tripods?
Pfft, all these guys and their fancy tripods. This works good enough for 99% of applications. Runs about $12 or less.
View attachment 7034187
Now, you may need to carry a couple dozen with you as they tend to bend the legs after a few shots. But we already treat things as consumable like barrels and ammo, why not tripods?
HAHAHA
Hey now! Giving away my secrets!Pfft, all these guys and their fancy tripods. This works good enough for 99% of applications. Runs about $12 or less.
View attachment 7034187
Now, you may need to carry a couple dozen with you as they tend to bend the legs after a few shots. But we already treat things as consumable like barrels and ammo, why not tripods?
Food for thought, but tripods are maybe the one part of this sport where you can purchase an advantage.
A $3k scope is nice but it's not doing anything a $1500 scope doesn't. Try a RRS at a match then try the $350 manfrotto and you'll see what I'm talking about.
My RRS tripod is so stable I rarely practice with it, might as well call it vertical prone. Just yesterday was shooting with a buddy at a 5" plate at 550yds off it, easy peasy.
I practice using it for a rear support, etc, but actually shooting off it is so easy it feels like cheating.
A $3k scope is nice but it's not doing anything a $1500 scope doesn't. Try a RRS at a match then try the $350 manfrotto and you'll see what I'm talking about.
My RRS tripod is so stable I rarely practice with it, might as well call it vertical prone. Just yesterday was shooting with a buddy at a 5" plate at 550yds off it, easy peasy.
I practice using it for a rear support, etc, but actually shooting off it is so easy it feels like cheating.
When I think about a tripod its the only time I'm glad to be low budget. Maybe if I was going on a once in a lifetime hunt, but other than that, miss or hit, I'll do without. Just watching someone lug one around, dragging from barricade to barricade almost cracks me up even if they hit and I miss.
I bought a $500 Manfrotto, only because I prefer the lever locks vs the twist locks.
I have a RRS leveling head on it with clamp.
@PAYDIRT myself, and many shooters use a tripod for multiple applications, not just to shoot off of. I also use mine as a steady platform to range from, use it as an observation platform, etc.
As @LawnMM stated, you can get very stable shooting off of a quality tripod. Just curious what you shoot off of when you need to shoot over sage brush, tall grass, or some other object you need to shoot over? Or do you just free hand it standing and hope to hit that target at 800-yards?
I have a RRS leveling head on it with clamp.
@PAYDIRT myself, and many shooters use a tripod for multiple applications, not just to shoot off of. I also use mine as a steady platform to range from, use it as an observation platform, etc.
As @LawnMM stated, you can get very stable shooting off of a quality tripod. Just curious what you shoot off of when you need to shoot over sage brush, tall grass, or some other object you need to shoot over? Or do you just free hand it standing and hope to hit that target at 800-yards?
TA3 leveling base, but I'm going to convert it to the anvil, played with one of those at Mile High last week and it's really really nice.
ive shot and night hunted off tons of different tripod platforms. i'm not a wealthy guy and work for my money...that said, I run a RRS and have for a while. If someone stole it or something happened to it today, id find a way to buy one tomorrow and be content to pay that price again.
yep nito....they're that good.
yep nito....they're that good.
Can't really add much to this thread other than the RRS is in a class of one.
Have had the pleasure to use a bunch before I bought one and it is worth the hype and cost without a doubt.
Have had the pleasure to use a bunch before I bought one and it is worth the hype and cost without a doubt.
I you cannot make the shot with a$750 tripod, you will probably not make it with a $1500 tripod either.
The Manfrotto 509 looks pretty sexy and can take a decent amount of weight for that price point (should you decide you want to throw on an Optimo zoom). I was pretty set on it until I realized tripods and heads are the one thing you're almost always better off renting. The fluid heads worth owning are all in the $3000+ range and rental on them is dirt cheap (20-60 bucks a day for most fluid heads, depending on load/options). Plus if you rent and the movement gets funky you can just send it back and get a new one. There are all kinds of rental houses, film collectives, and co-ops around and 1200 bucks buys another nice lens or a really solid PL adapter.
I have a Leofoto 364. I can't imagine how a RRS is any better, but I haven't played with them much. The Leofoto allows me to make all the same shots everyone here is describing and costs a little more than ha;f your quoted price for a RRS tripod.
accurrate mag tri pod $700.00 roll a tube.
way cheaper than $1,200 and in a little pouch. Sadly still can't find the micro adjustable fine tuning head but still another choice or something to look into anyway. and the video demo is pretty good.
way cheaper than $1,200 and in a little pouch. Sadly still can't find the micro adjustable fine tuning head but still another choice or something to look into anyway. and the video demo is pretty good.
I have the Leofoto 364 too. Super high build quality and solid as a rock. I was going to buy an RRS / Anvil, but nobody has one in stock. I called RRS and they told me they had tripods, but no heads. Furthermore, RRS told me the heads would not be available until late March (translation- mid April). So I went with the Leofoto and could not be happier. I love it. $532 at my door. And the Leofoto comes with a nice case and spiked feet. The RRS does not come with a case ($85 more). I am not sure if the RRS comes with spiked feet.
Bang
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So the $532 to your door is the "$750 tripod"? Forgive my confusion.
$750 includes my Leofoto LH-55 head ( which is fantastic). My setup comes in at about half of the RRS. I used the RRS at a match in South Dakota. No difference in stability.
Would you guys shoot with Chinese actions and barrels even if they were "just as good at half the price"?
I'm not sure, but the competition would likely cause the domestic manufacturer to lower prices. Things like precision actions and barrels do not seem to be a Chineese strong point.
I don’t think the barrel or action makers are getting rich as it is. If they do things right then I bet it’s a good living but hardly as profitable as using their skills and equipment to make parts for other industries. They’re in this niche because they love shooting, not to make mint.
Typically Chinese manufacturers undercut domestic production and drive them out of business. Then you’re stuck with only Chinese stuff. Like computer chips!
And because your job was offshored you’re now unemployed and you can only afford to shop at Walmart and Amazon buying more Chinese shit. You can’t afford to buy quality anyway.
Repeat by 330 million Americans.
That’s how the Chinese are beating us.
Whataboutism is a lousy counter argument.
If you want to save America then you need to buy American and locally as often as possible even with the downsides. You can’t rationalize it away.
In the case of tripods, Chinese carbon fiber is cheaper because it’s built with slave labor without environmental or health concerns. Quality control will be lacking ~ dry spots, air pockets ~ and some of the more astute people have figured out that the product specifications (like load ratings) are science fiction.
Keep buying Walmart Amazon Chinese crap, watch jobs dry up and small towns wither. Five years later you’re dead from an overdose. It’s a linear chain of events happening right in front of your face.
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Cracks me up how so many people pick one aspect of something to say “just as good”.. usually to justify something they ran a short cut on.
Something might be as light but is it as stable? Something else might be as stable but is it as light??
Truth be told, yes, the RRS is nice but also 1/2” minute groups, especially at distances where wind starts playing are “not easy peezy” - that part is, simply BS.. Tripods are harder to shoot from than prone, period.
The RRS systems are reliable, fast to deploy, light, stable and pricy. You can get close, but if you take the price out you might only get 3 of the 4 attributes or less..
Just the way it works..
Something might be as light but is it as stable? Something else might be as stable but is it as light??
Truth be told, yes, the RRS is nice but also 1/2” minute groups, especially at distances where wind starts playing are “not easy peezy” - that part is, simply BS.. Tripods are harder to shoot from than prone, period.
The RRS systems are reliable, fast to deploy, light, stable and pricy. You can get close, but if you take the price out you might only get 3 of the 4 attributes or less..
Just the way it works..
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Too be clear, I have not claimed that anything on the market is as good as RRS. I have only expressed my belief in capitalism, that in the future better products will be available at lower prices. Subsequently I responded to the hypothetical question: were a Chinese action that was equal to the best domestic custom at half the price available would I buy it? With the answer that I don't know if I would or not.
If one looks at optics, I have a set of good German Binoculars, but I got my son a set of Chinese Leupolds because I can't justify spending German money until he begins to take better care of things. The quality is not the same, but it does not give me ulcers when he bangs his $75 binos.
If one looks at optics, I have a set of good German Binoculars, but I got my son a set of Chinese Leupolds because I can't justify spending German money until he begins to take better care of things. The quality is not the same, but it does not give me ulcers when he bangs his $75 binos.
Sometimes good enough is just that.
It's why I own a Leupold MK4 spotter and not a Hensoldt. For what I do the Leupold is fine.
It's why I own a Leupold MK4 spotter and not a Hensoldt. For what I do the Leupold is fine.
And there's the key, it's fine for what you do and it works for you, hard to argue with that.
It's when guys buy Chinese knockoffs and claim because the paper load rating is the same then it's just as good as the premium product.
That's when the eyebrows go up ?
It's when guys buy Chinese knockoffs and claim because the paper load rating is the same then it's just as good as the premium product.
That's when the eyebrows go up ?
RRS are hands down the best Tripods. Mine isn’t even fun to shoot on anymore because it’s too stable. That being said, you really can’t go wrong with the PIG 0311 from Hogg Saddle. For $150 the thing is built great and provides a solid shooting position.
Have you even used a 364 or 404 leofoto? The quality is remarkable and so is the stability. I can easily make shots at 900 yards with it on 12x12 plates. It’s incredibly well built and steady and fast to deploy. Really not sure what more someone for ask for.
It’s clear you are a RRS fan boy but cut the snobbery. We are just engaging in a discussion about tripods and the fact remains there are real alternatives out there that do not sacrifice quality or ease of use against the RRS. I’ve played with the RRS ones and they seem extremely similar to the leofoto. That said if you want to pay more and buy American that’s fantastic. But just because you don’t buy American doesn’t automatically mean you got a shit product. That’s just naive thinking.
Also I and 3 other friends own the leofotos and have used them for the past year. 0 issues whatsoever.
First not everyone “needs” a tripod. But a lot of people get them, maybe because they think it is cool, high speed or whatever. If that is the case, weight or even stability and certainly the perfect ratio between them, may not even matter. Shoot enough PRS/NRL matches, some field matches like the Hide Cup or pack for miles hunting, you will value the light weight and highly stable offerings.
Here is the rub. The Ferisol 3372 and RRS TV-33 are stable like the Getzo beast. Maybe because the large series by Getzo, a long standing gold standard was over $1500 and 7.8lbs (before the head) nobody used them..
However, shooting tripods for years, even before the RRS where popular, I have shot off heavy tripods like the Getzo’s top end carbon that weighs exactly the same as the Leofoto 404C. Sure the big Getzo is stable, like the Leofoto, but try kneeling down and moving your gun and Gamechander in one hand, while trying to move the almost (8lbs tripod + the head) by grabbing the bottom of only one of the legs of the deployed tripod, under the clock; it just sucks. I think a lot of people would be surprised that many use the tripods as rear supports far more than as a primary shooting support.
The reasons the RRS and even the Ferisol, are so popular in PRS/NRL/Feild matches, is their low weight to high stability ratio. Take out one of those and the tripod is NOT the same class. 3 extra pounds may not seem like much, but when the tripods are deployed and you need to move them either attached to your gun or when deployed quickly with one hand at the end of a 5+' lever arm it is...
Calling someone a “Fan” boy might just show one’s lack of experience with various tripods. Telling someone to cut the “snobbery” is pathetic when the advice is in context.
A match entry let’s say is $275 some more. You’re going to shoot about 250 rounds or over $300 in ammo, a few nights hotel, Air travel, rental car, fuel, food and take time off work.. it is easy to stack up $3k all in. Struggling with the wrong tripod just doesn’t make sense.. maybe that snobbery you see is actually someone trying to help save someone money.
If someone backs their car/truck up to the shooting area and walks a few hundred feet and thats all they want to do, sure get the heaviest thing available. But if in the future you might compete or pack for a hunt, look at the full picture.
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Blow me. I never said not buying American means you bought a shit product. That's just your wounded ego lashing out.
I said buying a foreign made knockoff and trying to pretend it's on the same level is what grabs people's attention in these discussions.
It's simple economics, if you could produce a tripod of the same strength, material cost, labor cost, produced in the same level of facilities for half the price of the competition.... the competition wouldn't cost double.
If what you have works for you, that's all that really matters. If you want to pretend it's no different at half the price, enjoy the land of make believe.
FWIW, if you can handle a little extra weight you can find a ton of decent Aluminum tripods on eBay. Especially if you only need one for the scope or chrony. Gitzo #2 and #3 series, Tiltalls, even the old wooden tripods can be really excellent with a little TLC and most are under $100.
I have a 12' tall Number 5 Gitzo for photography that holds a 8x10 camera, weighs 10# I can stand on the tailgate and shoot over fences, etc. Dirt cheap. Gitzo got its start making machine gun tripods in WW2. The story is they wanted to move their manufacturing from Italy to China and they set up a factory... the Chinese starting selling Feisols that were exactly the same except for cosmetics and undercutting them even through they were managed by the same Chinese people so Gitzo pulled out. Basically unethical liars and thieves.
I have a 12' tall Number 5 Gitzo for photography that holds a 8x10 camera, weighs 10# I can stand on the tailgate and shoot over fences, etc. Dirt cheap. Gitzo got its start making machine gun tripods in WW2. The story is they wanted to move their manufacturing from Italy to China and they set up a factory... the Chinese starting selling Feisols that were exactly the same except for cosmetics and undercutting them even through they were managed by the same Chinese people so Gitzo pulled out. Basically unethical liars and thieves.
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Considering that China makes some things better than the USA now, yea I’d buy it.
Turns out, by exporting most of our manufacturing to China over the last 30 years or so, they have learned how to make stuff. I’ve heard some people in the business of testing military equipment say that some of the Chinese knock offs exceeded OEM’s performance.
I use a Leophoto 324 and the only thing not stable with it is the lower leg section. It is totally worthless. I have often thought I would try a larger one to make my lower leg and friction lock the same as my second leg.
I also have a BH-55 and it dien not hold a candle to a real RRS ball head. The friction adjustment only works for about 3 digits, horizontal and vertical friction adjustments dont match and you have to tweak the base for horizontal to match the ball for vertical and the left/right side adjustments are not reversed thread so all your tightens are one way and loosen the other... it is all righty tighty. It also does not lock down fully like a real RRS. If you just had a camera on it... yeah it feels locked, but not with a rifle. What it will do is allow for a very stable shot... given enough fiddling. But it and the real 55 ball head are both too heavy and the BH55 is a true Chicom lower quality clone with all the little niggling issues you would expect. If I could sell my BH-55 I would, but the second hand Chicom market is not there like a real RRS.
IMO nothing touches the RRS QD levers, ball heads, and leveling heads. But I could see using a Leophoto 364 or 404 tripod if the real RRS leveling base and balls fit well. You also cant use a 4 section Leophoto with 32mm top leg as anything but a short 3 section tripod due to the shit lower leg stability, but it is great for a 3 leg if you leave the lower leg collapsed. The RRS tripods seem to lock up and release with a bit less rotation, but other than that, I cant tell a difference in actual stability shooting... perhaps under the clock I would notice more. Perhaps one day dust will ruin my friction locks on my tripod and I will see the value of the RRS tripod for serviceability if my only choice is to buy a second "half price" Leophoto and I end up saving nothing in the long run...
But, if what you want is a RRS equivalent for less money, get the 364 or 404, just dont get the 324 or BH-55.
I also have a BH-55 and it dien not hold a candle to a real RRS ball head. The friction adjustment only works for about 3 digits, horizontal and vertical friction adjustments dont match and you have to tweak the base for horizontal to match the ball for vertical and the left/right side adjustments are not reversed thread so all your tightens are one way and loosen the other... it is all righty tighty. It also does not lock down fully like a real RRS. If you just had a camera on it... yeah it feels locked, but not with a rifle. What it will do is allow for a very stable shot... given enough fiddling. But it and the real 55 ball head are both too heavy and the BH55 is a true Chicom lower quality clone with all the little niggling issues you would expect. If I could sell my BH-55 I would, but the second hand Chicom market is not there like a real RRS.
IMO nothing touches the RRS QD levers, ball heads, and leveling heads. But I could see using a Leophoto 364 or 404 tripod if the real RRS leveling base and balls fit well. You also cant use a 4 section Leophoto with 32mm top leg as anything but a short 3 section tripod due to the shit lower leg stability, but it is great for a 3 leg if you leave the lower leg collapsed. The RRS tripods seem to lock up and release with a bit less rotation, but other than that, I cant tell a difference in actual stability shooting... perhaps under the clock I would notice more. Perhaps one day dust will ruin my friction locks on my tripod and I will see the value of the RRS tripod for serviceability if my only choice is to buy a second "half price" Leophoto and I end up saving nothing in the long run...
But, if what you want is a RRS equivalent for less money, get the 364 or 404, just dont get the 324 or BH-55.
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Steal enough technology and this will happen. Fuck China. They are thieves and a plague on the planet.
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