Tripod Ball Head for Hunting

[EastCOYotes]

I’m currently running an RRS leveling base hunting and I’m not crazy about it given the amount of pan and scanning I do.

I’m wondering if some of the ball heads that have an independent pan feature would work better for this.

Has anyone been in the same boat or have hunting ball head recommendations? Looking at Field Optics Research, Cretac, Sunwayfoto, etc.

 

[YotaEer]

I’m currently running an RRS leveling base hunting and I’m not crazy about it given the amount of pan and scanning I do.

I’m wondering if some of the ball heads that have an independent pan feature would work better for this.

Has anyone been in the same boat or have hunting ball head recommendations? Looking at Field Optics Research, Cretac, Sunwayfoto, etc.

I have an innorel ball head and tripod. They’ve worked well.

 

[Nate60x]

just switched from rrs leveling base to the anvil and love it

 

[Baron23]

I’m currently running an RRS leveling base hunting and I’m not crazy about it given the amount of pan and scanning I do.

I’m wondering if some of the ball heads that have an independent pan feature would work better for this.

Has anyone been in the same boat or have hunting ball head recommendations? Looking at Field Optics Research, Cretac, Sunwayfoto, etc.

I do have a Sunwayfoto that I occasionally put a Pig Saddle on for my .308 and it seems to be pretty good for a less expensive item.

But, o have not handled an RRS Anvil so cant compare.

 

[Sogan]

RRS and anvil. No complaints so far. Havent ran a leveling base tho

 

[Todc]

Anvil is the way to go imo compared to a leveling base and ballhead.

 

[theLBC]

if you want separate pan, you might want the bh-55 or bh-40, which is a ball head and a separate pan.

 

[blisters]

I run an Arca Swiss p0 ball head on my photography tripod. Don't be fooled by the diminutive size, it's an absolute monster.

I don't have an Arca rail on any of my rifles so I haven't tried shooting on it, but if I were to shoot from a tripod a p series ball head would be my choice: Most ball heads are (in my humble opinion) constructed incorrectly with the panning at the base and the ball head on top, which means that scanning along the horizon requires you to have the entire tripod seated 100% level on the ground. The p series are inverted, with the panning section at the top and the ball head at the botton, allowing for easy panning and scanning, no matter how leveled your tripod is.

Like I said, I haven't tried it with my rifle but I imagine it would work great.

 

[bogey]

I’m currently running an RRS leveling base hunting and I’m not crazy about it given the amount of pan and scanning I do.

I’m wondering if some of the ball heads that have an independent pan feature would work better for this.

Has anyone been in the same boat or have hunting ball head recommendations? Looking at Field Optics Research, Cretac, Sunwayfoto, etc.

Are you panning and scanning with the rifle? I see a thermal in one of your pics so guessing you are using the gun thermal to scan and pan looking for targets. Most of my friends use a hand held thermal to scan and only go to the gun on tripod to shoot what they have identified.
I think a leveling base is a little easier to use then the anvil, but I would use the anvil hunting almost always. A ball head with separate pan will of course be much easier for panning

 

[EastCOYotes]

Are you panning and scanning with the rifle? I see a thermal in one of your pics so guessing you are using the gun thermal to scan and pan looking for targets. Most of my friends use a hand held thermal to scan and only go to the gun on tripod to shoot what they have identified.
I think a leveling base is a little easier to use then the anvil, but I would use the anvil hunting almost always. A ball head with separate pan will of course be much easier for panning

I now have a good QD on my thermal so I can scan handheld. The issue main issue I was having panning with the rifle though was that the RRS leveling base would actually squeak just a tiny bit. Cleaning the half bowl would help but it’s kind of annoying it cleaning it often when my father in law is using the the cheap bog pod death grip tripod and it doesn’t squeak at all and pans very smoothly.

Yes my leveling base is much more solid and easier to maneuver with just the single tensioning handle, the slight squeaking just bugs me when night calling.

I’ll probably be hand scanning more moving forward, regardless of which bowl/head I run on the gun.

 

[EastCOYotes]

I run an Arca Swiss p0 ball head on my photography tripod. Don't be fooled by the diminutive size, it's an absolute monster.

I don't have an Arca rail on any of my rifles so I haven't tried shooting on it, but if I were to shoot from a tripod a p series ball head would be my choice: Most ball heads are (in my humble opinion) constructed incorrectly with the panning at the base and the ball head on top, which means that scanning along the horizon requires you to have the entire tripod seated 100% level on the ground. The p series are inverted, with the panning section at the top and the ball head at the botton, allowing for easy panning and scanning, no matter how leveled your tripod is.

Like I said, I haven't tried it with my rifle but I imagine it would work great.

Link for this ball head? I do notice that most the ones I look at have the pan below the ball. I can see your point about being level with the pan. My RRS leveling base doesn’t require my tripod to be level since it’s the half bowl but also doesn’t pan as smooth as ball heads with dedicated pan.

 

[Nate60x]

I now have a good QD on my thermal so I can scan handheld. The issue main issue I was having panning with the rifle though was that the RRS leveling base would actually squeak just a tiny bit. Cleaning the half bowl would help but it’s kind of annoying it cleaning it often when my father in law is using the the cheap bog pod death grip tripod and it doesn’t squeak at all and pans very smoothly.

Yes my leveling base is much more solid and easier to maneuver with just the single tensioning handle, the slight squeaking just bugs me when night calling.

I’ll probably be hand scanning more moving forward, regardless of which bowl/head I run on the gun.

I liked the leveling base too, maintenance to keep from squeaking reallly got old, got the anvil and couldnt be happier, decided to get a second anvil for my buddy scope setup

 

[EastCOYotes]

I liked the leveling base too, maintenance to keep from squeaking reallly got old, got the anvil and couldnt be happier, decided to get a second anvil for my buddy scope setup

Is the anvil metal on metal to move or is there Teflon or something? Lubricated?

I like how solid the leveling base locks up but if the anvil scans smoother I’d prefer that.

 

[hereinaz]

Is the anvil metal on metal to move or is there Teflon or something? Lubricated?

I like how solid the leveling base locks up but if the anvil scans smoother I’d prefer that.

Anvil scans great and locks up like Fort Knox.

 

[Nate60x]

Is the anvil metal on metal to move or is there Teflon or something? Lubricated?

I like how solid the leveling base locks up but if the anvil scans smoother I’d prefer that.

Metal on metal, locks up better than the leveling base, scans smoother, i did have a small squeak, two tiny drops of clp and no noise. Seems much more durable too, the ball on my leveling base is scratched up pretty bad

 

[Nate60x]

When i say locks up better, i mean locks up stronger and with less effort locking and unlocking

 

[blisters]

Link for this ball head? I do notice that most the ones I look at have the pan below the ball. I can see your point about being level with the pan. My RRS leveling base doesn’t require my tripod to be level since it’s the half bowl but also doesn’t pan as smooth as ball heads with dedicated pan.

This is the p1:

p1

ARCA-SWISS monoball®p tripod heads are characterized by sleek design and simple intuitive handling without knobs or handles getting in the way.…

www.arca-shop.de

It can tilt a full 90 degrees to the side where the slot is. I don’t know if that’s good or bad depending on what how you use it. Like I said, my use is photography and for that these are fantastic.

 

[chutinlead]

Sunwayfoto DYH-90Ri Rotating Leveling Base

Buy Sunwayfoto DYH-90Ri Rotating Leveling Base featuring 360° Panning, Anodized, Scratch-Resistant Black Finish, All-Metal Construction, Laser-Engraved Platform Index Marks, Offset Bubble Level, Great for Medium Format Equipment, Adjusts to +/- 16°, Super Smooth, Fluid Dampened, Captive...

www.bhphotovideo.com

I went with this since I also want to use a spotting scope and I wanted to be able to pan separately. It works well for me.

 

[carbonbased]

This is the p1:

p1

ARCA-SWISS monoball®p tripod heads are characterized by sleek design and simple intuitive handling without knobs or handles getting in the way.…

www.arca-shop.de

It can tilt a full 90 degrees to the side where the slot is. I don’t know if that’s good or bad depending on what how you use it. Like I said, my use is photography and for that these are fantastic.

Wow. Arca Swiss finally produced a web site. Took them forever to join the 21st century. I used to be a photographer…in a galaxy far, far away.

Has anyone compared the P1 to the Anvil? The P1 has a patented asymmetrical ball, meaning as the angle increases, so does the tension. This limits the FLOP CLANG potential of a ballhead + whatever you place upon it if the tension is set too low.

Plus, I like the idea of a rotating collar to adjust tension vs. that big QR the Anvil has.

But as they say, the proof is in the pudding,

 

[carbonbased]

@blisters ? See above.

 

[blisters]

@carbonbased, sorry really only have used this ball head and a small old RRS ball head during the last ten years or so, not in a position to make any deeper comparisons unfortunately.