Advanced Marksmanship Tripod set up
- Thread starter Klemm
- Start date
In my experience yes. The reason is that it moves the system's center of gravity forward of the center point of the tripod, enabling the system to counter recoil a little better. I don't shorten the front leg much, maybe two inches. I'm sure there are others here who can explain it more in depth than I can.
My observations are make the front leg fully extended but kick it out to a bigger angle than other 2 legs (effectively shorter and will help reduce horizontal/rotational wobble.
And contrary to what Ive been hearing lately, if you clip in (to RRS at least) its more stable to have less distance behind ball head (clip in closer to mag well).There is a longer explanation on why above makes sense. Clipping in a foot forward of mag well is not completely baseless, but it forgets some other key factors.
But instead of arguing about it just try it out Id suggest. Apply roughly the same force in all directions and concentrate on a single aiming point - how many mils of wobble do you encounter in various positions?
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Im at 1mil from center vertically (2mil total vert) and <1.5mil horizontally (<3mil total horizontal); fully extended with front leg kicked out (standing).
If I dont kick the leg out Im quickly at 4mil+ horizontally - vertical stays same, unless you clip in far forward of guns COG, then it goes to ~1.5 and is a lot harder to get same POA after breaking position multiple times (not easily repeatable). But mileage may vary....
And contrary to what Ive been hearing lately, if you clip in (to RRS at least) its more stable to have less distance behind ball head (clip in closer to mag well).There is a longer explanation on why above makes sense. Clipping in a foot forward of mag well is not completely baseless, but it forgets some other key factors.
But instead of arguing about it just try it out Id suggest. Apply roughly the same force in all directions and concentrate on a single aiming point - how many mils of wobble do you encounter in various positions?
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Im at 1mil from center vertically (2mil total vert) and <1.5mil horizontally (<3mil total horizontal); fully extended with front leg kicked out (standing).
If I dont kick the leg out Im quickly at 4mil+ horizontally - vertical stays same, unless you clip in far forward of guns COG, then it goes to ~1.5 and is a lot harder to get same POA after breaking position multiple times (not easily repeatable). But mileage may vary....
Are you talking about your actual reticle wobble before taking the shot, or reticle displacement on recoil?
Neither
'Possible wobble' I guess - done similar to dry fire just set gun on tripod in different positions, configurations, COG's and just finding a trend. Id apply 'about the same' amount of force up and down then left and right while looking at a fixed point and note how far from center each iteration allowed.
Not completely scientific but not looking to get a perfect number, what mattered more to me was just understanding overall stability to expect and then an order of stable->least stable.
'Possible wobble' I guess - done similar to dry fire just set gun on tripod in different positions, configurations, COG's and just finding a trend. Id apply 'about the same' amount of force up and down then left and right while looking at a fixed point and note how far from center each iteration allowed.
Not completely scientific but not looking to get a perfect number, what mattered more to me was just understanding overall stability to expect and then an order of stable->least stable.
Really the anvil head itself is rock solid. For my RRS at least, the extra horizontal play is from the bend in the legs and how extended and/or thick each leg was. By making essentially an 'isosceles triangle' base instead of 'equilateral' base you can minimize the total bend available in system - of course this assumes you are clipping in to ball head not using a bag.
You can figure out a lot by dry firing.
Setup your tripod and rifle in the house, and try out different positions and different ways of interacting with the rifle and tripod. The amount of wobble in the reticle will indicate how stable (or not) you are.
Then take what you learn and refine at the range with live fire.
Setup your tripod and rifle in the house, and try out different positions and different ways of interacting with the rifle and tripod. The amount of wobble in the reticle will indicate how stable (or not) you are.
Then take what you learn and refine at the range with live fire.
Some pieces of the puzzle we need to know:
-What type of tripod are you using?
-What is your rifle to tripod interface? Is it a ballhead? A leveling base? A bag on the tripod?
-Are you shooting standing, kneeling, sitting, or prone?
-What ranges are you shooting at?
-What are you shooting at? A 4” zone at 600 yards or a 10” zone at 200 yards?
-How fast might you need to transition to a different area or target or remove the rifle?
Making the front leg a bit shorter than the two rears helps, for sure. But you also need to look at how you’re attaching your rifle. A ballhead will be less stable than a leveling base. And I’ve found making a table top and using a bag is more stable than the leveling base, but does not secure the rifle to the tripod. It’s stable but can be bumped off and fall.
Try different combinations. Ball head, leveling base, bag (like a gamechanger or such) on the tripod alone. Front leg the same height and then lowered for all three options. You don’t even need to go to a range. This can be done from inside the house setting up on a fixed point in the distance. Check your rifle multiple times to make sure it’s empty then dryfire and see what your reticle does in all the different configurations.
I used to use a 55mm ballhead. Then I found a leveling base to be more stable. Then unused a table with a bag and that gave the most movement (range of motion, like following targets or transitioning) while being the most stable. The table ran me under $12 to make. I used a composite cutting board from Walmart, cut it down to about 5”x8” and attached a piece of arca rail that I already had with the supplied screws and some JB Weld. I can set a pint size gamechanger on it and it’s perfect. The only downside is the rifle isn’t secured and can be knocked off easier than if clamped in some form. I suppose a few pieces of added webbing would alleviate that problem.
-What type of tripod are you using?
-What is your rifle to tripod interface? Is it a ballhead? A leveling base? A bag on the tripod?
-Are you shooting standing, kneeling, sitting, or prone?
-What ranges are you shooting at?
-What are you shooting at? A 4” zone at 600 yards or a 10” zone at 200 yards?
-How fast might you need to transition to a different area or target or remove the rifle?
Making the front leg a bit shorter than the two rears helps, for sure. But you also need to look at how you’re attaching your rifle. A ballhead will be less stable than a leveling base. And I’ve found making a table top and using a bag is more stable than the leveling base, but does not secure the rifle to the tripod. It’s stable but can be bumped off and fall.
Try different combinations. Ball head, leveling base, bag (like a gamechanger or such) on the tripod alone. Front leg the same height and then lowered for all three options. You don’t even need to go to a range. This can be done from inside the house setting up on a fixed point in the distance. Check your rifle multiple times to make sure it’s empty then dryfire and see what your reticle does in all the different configurations.
I used to use a 55mm ballhead. Then I found a leveling base to be more stable. Then unused a table with a bag and that gave the most movement (range of motion, like following targets or transitioning) while being the most stable. The table ran me under $12 to make. I used a composite cutting board from Walmart, cut it down to about 5”x8” and attached a piece of arca rail that I already had with the supplied screws and some JB Weld. I can set a pint size gamechanger on it and it’s perfect. The only downside is the rifle isn’t secured and can be knocked off easier than if clamped in some form. I suppose a few pieces of added webbing would alleviate that problem.
One leg forward is correct. The two rear legs then work as a bipod under recoil. All three should be adjusted the same length if on level ground.
That said what makes the tripod to rifle connection is more important. My preferred way is to use a gimbal head attached to a leveling base. This is expensive but it is the absolute best way to go. Ball heads are pretty bad for rifle shooting compared to gimbals. They move in three axes with one center of rotation, which is below the mass being supported - very unstable for adjustments, especially leveling the rifle.
Gimbals basically work like gun turrets and has independent axis friction locks. Wimberly is the gold standard. Mine is an older Jobu. I like the Jobu because it has a positive spring loaded stop for elevation for when the gimbal is not being used so it keeps the rifle level without having to adjust the friction locks.
Here's mine:
It's not on the right tripod. I use a full size one but my small one was handy so I mounted the gimbal on it for this picture. Notice the gimbal has an adjustment to line up the center of the scope's axis with the vertical rotation axis. This is an important feature for moving from one target to the next..
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