Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Spotting scope stands for bench use?

The straight ~v~ angled thread reminded me that I am still on the look out for a spotting scope stand like the one below:





I have seen modern high tec versions, but I am looking for a simple robust stand, but where the hight is adjustable.

The one in the picture above is by Alfred J Parker and having examined one in the flesh, its a gem..

Obviously, I would replace the "scope craddle" arrangement with suitable tripod head...

Any ideas?

Here's mine

It's a sinclair international bench spotting scope stand

here's mine. Quick-grip clamp...It's a Redneck International bench spotting scope stand.....

I am very tempted with a stand like that, and in fact I have seen pictures of stands made from clamps from a DIY store that where both functional and cheap.

(Edited to add that it was probably Rednecks pictures I'd seen and the idea still impresses me!)

The only reason I hesitate is the benches on my local range are quite wide and if i put the clamp on the off side, the clamp doesn't have enough "reach"..

Also the Parker style stands can be used from the prone position as well, which is great as it means a little less kit to carry back and forth to the range!

Currently, I have a full size tripod that I can set up with the centre column horizontal..It works ok with a smallish spotter, but not so well on my large spotter. Plus, I know that sooner or later some clutz is going to knock it over as they walk forward to check thier targets...

I use the Sinclair mount and have been very happy with it. However, if you look at my posts on the Angled vs. Straight thread the other day, I have not been able to make it work well with my angled Zeiss. If a particular bench is extra wide, and I have not encountered that situation at any of the ranges where I have shot, using a different head with more overhang like the Ray-Vin might be a solution.

The better mounting systems can be costly. Makes the "Redneck" version tempting, and I have seen some very functional versions of such setups.

Paul

Paul,

To get the extra reach, I suspect the answer is one of the various pistol grip heads such as below:



A quality one will be costly , but at least it can be used for other applications though....

Regards,

Peter

Pete, for greater horizontal reach, I think a Ray-Vin or similar would work better, and I believe other companies like Creedmoor Sports that cater to competitive shooters may have similar mounting heads. The Ray-Vin has a horizontal support bar, with a ball and socket joint at the scope mount.

The real state-of-the art in such accessories seems to be for serious competitive shooting, and priced accordingly.

Paul

Buy the Sinclair bench stand in the picture above. It's the nuts. I use it with both a angled and straight scope. With the straight scope I rotate the mount head where it's closest to me on the bench. With the angled scope I rotate the head towards the outside of the bench, this puts the elevation wheel towards the front but thats no big deal.

My angled scope has a rotating mount collar so that you can adjust the angle of the scope, that way you can ajust height, scope cant etc.. Most angled scopes will do this won't they?

They also make full size stands that use the same head.

There are some new competition style mounts that cantelever the mount further away from the base - check with Creedmore. But for bench use they are more complex than needed and more expensive than the Sinclair.

All my buddies that have tried my Sinclair at the range bought one for themselves. It's been used with 80mm Swaro's, Televid 66 and 77's, the large straight Zeiss, Kowa's etc.. Can you tell I really like it? ...............................dj

Cantilever was what I was trying to describe with the Ray-Vin and similar competition heads.

Thanks.

looks like mine Pete,
Only years ago we added bolts to hold extra weight to buck the winds of Camp Perry

Not a prone or bench setup, but a coffee can full of lead works for me. I have something similar with a 1/2-20 bolt to screw in a Freeland rod, or similar support.

Paul

Paul39,

I put a split ring collor on mine so the head rotates and floats on that split ring.

Mount the scope a bit lower and turn the angle in the direction of your rifle and you hardly have to move your head to see the target.

Spot

Looks like it will work fine!

Spotshooter, that's exactly what I do, including the ring, but I just can't get comfortable with it.

The bottom line is it's just too cramped.

Not meaning to beat this thing to death, but that's been my experience. Maybe our benches have something to do with it

Paul