I've found the claw to be very versatile and I'm quite happy with it.
Hunting in the Southwest is a little different proposition than what most are used to. As Dennis and Doug previously mentioned, most of us down here are already packing a tripod with big eyes for the majority of our hunting here in AZ. If you aren't packing a tripod on your hunts already, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Shots here tend to be long due to geography. The vital area of a Coues buck is no more than 8-9" in diameter. A solid rest is absolutely necessary to make clean kills on a regular basis at these distances.
I've packed a Harris bipod on my rifles for the past 6 years or so and I'm a big fan. However, I have missed out on more than a few opportunities that did not allow for a prone shot due to vegetation. Shooting sitting with a bipod fully extended, I am only comfortable shooting out to 300 yards or so.
I purchased the claw this past summer and have used it quite a bit and find myself really liking it and implementing it more and more. As far as steadiness goes, it is comparable to shooting prone off a bipod. For moving/multiple target it is very easy to move from target to target.
It is fantastic for young kids. The "crickett" rifle that I have for my kids is too big and heavy for both of my girls. With the claw, I can mount the rifle at their exact shoulder height and they can focus on sight picture and trigger pull instead of hefting the rifle. My 7 year old is quite proficient, and has no issues shooting my .223 off the claw as well.
I can now stand up on stands while calling varmints. Unlike a bipod, I can swivel 180 degrees with the claw on a tripod. Standing up allows me a much better view over the vegetation and I have a rock solid rest. My 10 year old nephew shot his first coyote @ 110 yards off the claw. There's no way we would have ever seen that dog had we been sitting on the ground.
I can sit in a lawn chair and pop P-dogs all day long. When I need to reset, I grab the chair and tripod and walk as far as I need to and plop back down and resume shooting. Its alot easier than moving a shooting table or truck and beats the heck out of laying down prone in the sand on a hot June day.
It works great set up in a portable ground blind as well. Just set the tripod up inside the blind and you've got a dead steady rest.
As Dennis already mentioned, I can go from glassing to shooting inside of 10 seconds while hunting Coues deer.
As far as weight is concerned, I just weighed my claw and bipod. The claw came in @ 14 oz vs 20 oz for the bipod.
The tripod/head combo weigh in right @ 5lbs.
Certainly not junk, just might not make sense for everybody here.
Goose
Last edited by bluegoose; 02/20/10.
