Just out of curiosity, this question is for those who somehow always end up with those 18 to 19lb. beasts.
What ARCA Ball Heads are you using for your heavy ARCA rail equipped rifles?
- Thread starter SonicBurlap
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The Anvil 30 is rated to 15 lb. load capacity and you guys have no issues with 20 and 25 lbs on it?
I'm not sure where you got a 15 lb load rating for an Anvil 30??? The RRS website lists it's load rating as a torque value, 35 ft-lbs., which I interpret to be 35 ft.-lbs. of torque on the ball head while clamped down.- that is a lot of force and in my experience the Anvil 30 is rock solid with heavy rifles on it.
It’s rated to a little more than that lol......try 35lbs
Anvil. APO Rsta, BH 55 probably in that order. All three have benefits. If had to pick one would be Anvil.
I use a TA-3. It’s rated to 25lb, but I regularly use it as a chair with a game changer on top. Not all the load goes into the base but I’m willing to bet more than 25 lbs is. No issues at all.
The RRS Anvil is the obvious choice.
I'm a bit different, I'm using a Uniqball UBH45 gimbal ball head. It's a unique ball head, in that it's a gimbal ball head. It has an inner and outer ball head. The outer ball gets leveled and locked into place, and the inner ball head only moves on the horizontal and vertical plane - meaning that there is zero cant introduced into the system as you move from target to target. It's stout too, rated at 88lbs.
I enjoy this ball head, has some cool features that no other ball head has. Is it better then an RRS Anvil for our purposes? Not sure if I would say that. Love that I can't introduce cant into the system when setup, but that does come at the consequence of more time. However, you can use it as a "regular" ball head by not locking the outer ball.
I'm a bit different, I'm using a Uniqball UBH45 gimbal ball head. It's a unique ball head, in that it's a gimbal ball head. It has an inner and outer ball head. The outer ball gets leveled and locked into place, and the inner ball head only moves on the horizontal and vertical plane - meaning that there is zero cant introduced into the system as you move from target to target. It's stout too, rated at 88lbs.
I enjoy this ball head, has some cool features that no other ball head has. Is it better then an RRS Anvil for our purposes? Not sure if I would say that. Love that I can't introduce cant into the system when setup, but that does come at the consequence of more time. However, you can use it as a "regular" ball head by not locking the outer ball.
Not a ball head. A leveling base, fiesols leveling base. The only ball head I have seen that is close is the anvil 30. But have stayed with the leveling base since I switched from a ball head. It is much more stable.
Stability, range of motion, ease of use, and baked-in support for picatinny AND Arca/RRS.
Anyone said Anvil-30 yet? I love mine.
I have a BH55. I got it weeks before the anvil was introduced. I got a great deal used, but would have rather got a new anvil at full price
I avoid ball heads for shooting and instead use the RRA leveling base.
I can see the value of that for single stationary targets but still think for mutiple targets, or angle shooting in the mountains I would prefer the ball heads like the Anvil 30, BH55, or the Z1.
From what I've seen now sturdy quality build, and seriously stable platform while providing smooth movement when unlocked, also the lever release is quicker than the arrest knobs. My question though do the platform bases provide anything when the Anvil 30 is paired with a non RRS tripod ?
The RRS series 3 platform for the Anvil 30 will work in any tripod with a 72mm ring like the Feisol 3372 or 3472
It pays to read all before posting, my search had brought up the BH30 not the Anvil 30 as I had clarified after being shown the error by other Hide members. Had you read on you would have seen this too, so to both of us "attention to detail!" Nice set up, however.
It actually excels at multiple targets. The low(er) center of gravity allows for the base to be left loose, say 25% tension, without tipping over. When you get on target, the tension is plenty to keep the sight picture locked down. Full disclaimer: My match rifle balances perfectly right in front of the magwell. That surely is a huge part of the stability.
If you get the opportunity, I highly recommend you try it.
there's a reason though that so many people went wfrom a TA3 or similar leveling base to the Anvil 30. it does everything the leveling base does stability wise and has the added flexibility of functioning like a ballhead
I have been using a HOG saddle for a good long while now but was never really happy just clamping the rifle at an angle for angle shots, or manipulating the legs for the shots off the mountain. In my other life I'm a nature and wildlife photographer and have been using ARCA Swiss on all my equipment including the big 600mm lenses for years I finally decided it was silly to use different equipment for camera and rifle shooting and so this year's build finally includes an ARCA rail, and after all the research and advice I will get an RRS Anvil 30. I will mount it on my Jobu Design TCF-36 carbon fiber Algonquin tripod with a load capacity of 55.12 lb. and a weight of 4.2 lb. and which has no center column and can therefore go from almost flat to fully standing and its leg locks are metal not rubber which enables them to be functional even in extreme cold. Thank you all for your input and help deciding.
I just got the lower profile Sunway XB52 GNN with the DLC60. It's a really stable setup when mounted on my Feisol 3372. After I shot the SH cup last year I realized my tripod game was lacking, this is light years ahead of my old pig saddle combo.
I'm using a RRS BH40, but I also use my setup for photography. That's the only reason I haven't switched over to an Anvil 30.
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