Ok- hope this info helps but my first tripod I tried to use for shooting was an aluminum Manfrotto with a camera ballhead that I put a Hogsaddle on. The legs flexed so much that I could make it work but to shoot well off that tripod was really difficult, besides tightening the Hogsaddle down as tight as I could, I tied a sling between the rifle and my belt and even then there was lots of flex and movement.
My second tripod was a Feisol 3472 carbon fiber tripod that I put a RRS Anvil 30 on and that tripod was light years more stable than the Manfrotto. The Anvil 30 head was rock solid with a rifle on it (and yes I retrofitted my precision rifles with Area 419 rails). The Feisol tripod was very rigid and for $575 was a good value plus is was made by US ally, Taiwan. The weakness was, in a season of match use plus a beach photo session my son used it for (I spent 2 hours disassembling and cleaning the sand out of it after that), the plastic pieces that lock the tripod legs and the plastic piece that keeps the leg sections from rotating wore so much that the leg sections would rotate, causing all the pieces to come out of alignment. You could still lock the leg and use it but once the pieces were dislodged from their place, besides rotating the leg would not extend smoothly and the locking collar wouldn't work well. To fix it required me to take the leg section out, reposition ALL of the locking collar pieces (in the Feisol that's like 8 plastic pieces), then put it back together, which takes more time than you have in during a match. And before your ask, I'm not the only one with this problem. The guys I shoot our monthly local match with went to a muddy raining match in, I think, Wyoming or somewhere like that, and the guys running Feisols or Leofotos were having the same issues and having to dissasemble, clean, and reassemble their tripods during the match.
I still have the Feisol 3472, but I use it for my spotting scope or binoculars at range sessions, or if I'm running a squad at our local matches.
My third tripod was a RRS TFCT-34 Mk 2 with Anvil 30 head and that tripod is a rock star. Rigid, compact (enough), and rock solid reliability and quality. Sure eat tripod without the head cost twice as much as the Feisol, but I wish I had skipped the Feisol and gone straight to the Really Right Stuff equipment.
HOWEVER, I say this because I can afford the RRS 34 and Anvil 30. If your budget doesn't allow you to buy an RRS and you don't think you'll be using it in muddy, dusty, dirty, or sandy conditions, I do think the Feisol is a good value for the money. Feisol also has good US customer service- I emailed them with photos of the worn plastic pieces and they immediately mailed me replacement parts free of charge. I have seen the Leofotos and they are somewhat similar to the Feisol but they weigh a lot more and I don't like how Leofoto is shamelessly knocking off RRS and other American made and designed stuff (and I am of Chinese American descent).
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