I put this together recently after some research here on SH and a couple calls to RRS. I was looking for a way to use either just binoculars, just LRF, or binoculars + LRF, have the binoculars and LRF be (very close to) cowitnessed, and quickly be able to change things out using arca plates. I came up with the following and thought others might be interested:
RRS Multi Purpose Rail - 6 inch with 3/8 inch screws
2x RRS B2 LR II - two of these mounted to the RRS multi purpose rail
Outdoorsman binocular adapter - tall model for the Swaros
RRS B6 plate for the bino adapter
RRS BSSK2000 - arca compatible mount for the Sig Kilo 2200 I'm using
With a little bit of fiddling to get the QD mounts pointed in just the right horizontal direction, and a very small amount of angling the LRF in the mount vertically, things line up very nicely. I can move my head a couple inches from the binoculars over to the LRF and have things lined up and ready to shoot the laser.
Ball head: Acratech GP-S
Tripod: Feisol CT-3442
The ball head and tripod are a nice light weight setup. Supposedly the Acratech ball head is pretty liked within the photography community, is ~15 oz, and has a nice open design, which I have read should help with dirty environments, so I gave it a try. So far so good. The drag adjustment is pretty sensitive, but when adjusted just right it is quite nice to be able to move the binoculars under tension, then tighten the main knob to lock things in.
The tripod has been mentioned here a number of times. I like it a lot, and at 2.5 lbs, it is super light. The only downsides I have found so far have been height is not quite enough for use standing. At 6' 0" I have to bend over a bit, and a 6' 3" friend finds it even worse. If I was using an angled spotting scope, it would be fine standing. If sitting, obviously no issue with the binoculars. I added the "FECT3442CKIT" center column kit that can add another 11" of height, at the expense of 0.6 lbs and ~$40. I'd not run that if I was planning to be hunting and mostly using the setup while sitting. For range and match use it makes things a little easier. Pretty easy to swap out. About 2 minutes (3 hex screws and move the ball head to the other center plate).
Overall, very happy with the setup. It is solid, the binoculars are amazing, the Sig 2200 was a huge upgrade over the Bushnell 1600 elite I had before it. I have put my 8x Vortex HD's on this and was surprised to find out I could spot hits in pretty ideal conditions out to 1200, but the Swaros definitely make things easier. Looking through my Vortex HD G2 4.5-27 scope in pretty high mirage conditions then moving to the Swaros, they were very notiably better... which was a pretty large revelation to me as the Vortex G2 scope was previously my best glass.
I did try to drop my AI AT into the tripod and went 2 for 2 at 700 on a full size IPSC. It definitely works, but that setup is heavier than ideal for the tripod. It would probably be pretty good for a lighter weight hunting rifle. There may be a RRS tripod (TVC-33) and TA-3 in my future....
Happy to answer any questions if anyone has any. I appreciate all the content others have posted on here to help me figure out what I needed. Hopefully this helps someone else figure out their spotting setup.
RRS Multi Purpose Rail - 6 inch with 3/8 inch screws
2x RRS B2 LR II - two of these mounted to the RRS multi purpose rail
Outdoorsman binocular adapter - tall model for the Swaros
RRS B6 plate for the bino adapter
RRS BSSK2000 - arca compatible mount for the Sig Kilo 2200 I'm using
With a little bit of fiddling to get the QD mounts pointed in just the right horizontal direction, and a very small amount of angling the LRF in the mount vertically, things line up very nicely. I can move my head a couple inches from the binoculars over to the LRF and have things lined up and ready to shoot the laser.
Ball head: Acratech GP-S
Tripod: Feisol CT-3442
The ball head and tripod are a nice light weight setup. Supposedly the Acratech ball head is pretty liked within the photography community, is ~15 oz, and has a nice open design, which I have read should help with dirty environments, so I gave it a try. So far so good. The drag adjustment is pretty sensitive, but when adjusted just right it is quite nice to be able to move the binoculars under tension, then tighten the main knob to lock things in.
The tripod has been mentioned here a number of times. I like it a lot, and at 2.5 lbs, it is super light. The only downsides I have found so far have been height is not quite enough for use standing. At 6' 0" I have to bend over a bit, and a 6' 3" friend finds it even worse. If I was using an angled spotting scope, it would be fine standing. If sitting, obviously no issue with the binoculars. I added the "FECT3442CKIT" center column kit that can add another 11" of height, at the expense of 0.6 lbs and ~$40. I'd not run that if I was planning to be hunting and mostly using the setup while sitting. For range and match use it makes things a little easier. Pretty easy to swap out. About 2 minutes (3 hex screws and move the ball head to the other center plate).
Overall, very happy with the setup. It is solid, the binoculars are amazing, the Sig 2200 was a huge upgrade over the Bushnell 1600 elite I had before it. I have put my 8x Vortex HD's on this and was surprised to find out I could spot hits in pretty ideal conditions out to 1200, but the Swaros definitely make things easier. Looking through my Vortex HD G2 4.5-27 scope in pretty high mirage conditions then moving to the Swaros, they were very notiably better... which was a pretty large revelation to me as the Vortex G2 scope was previously my best glass.
I did try to drop my AI AT into the tripod and went 2 for 2 at 700 on a full size IPSC. It definitely works, but that setup is heavier than ideal for the tripod. It would probably be pretty good for a lighter weight hunting rifle. There may be a RRS tripod (TVC-33) and TA-3 in my future....
Happy to answer any questions if anyone has any. I appreciate all the content others have posted on here to help me figure out what I needed. Hopefully this helps someone else figure out their spotting setup.
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