Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Basic tripod for spotting and chronograph

Just like the title says opinions welcome.

Give us a call, 516-217-1000, and speak with Joel. He's our tripod Guru

Will do
Thank you

If you get a cheap, full sized tripod, you'll end up fighting with it. Think about what it might be like to try to move around a crowded room with a 3 foot piece of 2x4 tucked under your arm.

My favorite tripod is the Vanguard VEO 235CB, a "travel tripod". It's fiberglass, and quite rigid and sturdy. It has a hook on the bottom of the center post where you can hang a weight, such as your backpack, to give more stability. Best of all, when it is fully collapsed it's just over a foot long. Still, it brings a scope or camera up to chest height.

I would bet gr8fuldoug will have something very similar.

There are always lots of good tripods offered at good prices on Ebay.
A good smooth working head is an important thing to consider, which means fluid head, which means more expensive than others.
The standard type heads work well also, but it can be a crap shoot as to just how smooth it might be.
Monfrotto, also known as Bogen, has a very good selection from small to large.

The SLIK 824 on sale at camera land is a fantastic tripod at a great price.

Denton,
That's a really good point about having a hook to anchor it down with some weight. I can see that especially being the need if you have chrono skyscreens and some wind.

WOW this makes no sense to me at all.......I have a tri pod for my spotter and two separate tripods for my chronograph.......that's the basic's

If it is that windy I wait for a calmer day where such tactic's are not needed

You make a good point denton. I'm not quite sure if the OP is looking to have a cheap tripod he can use with each, that works, but is not too concerned about fast smooth transitioning to different targets at different yardages. In my shoots, my spotter uses one with a fluid head, like someone else mentioned. Most of those guys that spot use $3,000+ Swaro spotters as well. If just going with a cheap spotter for 100 yard stationary target spotting, and something to hold the chronograph up, just about anything will work. I use a fairly cheap tripod for my chrono and it works just fine even in high winds. Even though I don't like using it in those conditions. My chrono is made for a single 1/4" stud to go up inside it to attach to a tripod. No way to use 2 tripods, so that is not really the "basics", like someone else said. Not everyone is set up that way and you don't need to be. Use what works and pizz on the rest. For my spotter, I use a Vanguard tripod as well and it works great. I almost offered my tripod to the op, if he is not looking for something super fast, but it is sturdy. I went to the Vanguard because it gets on target quicker. Again, for the shoots I do it is more ideal. So my question to the OP is how "basic" do you need?

Good points.

I use my travel tripod for telephoto and for low light photography. For my old chronograph, I used a super cheap Walmart tripod that cost me $10. It was flimsy as heck, but it worked, was light weight, and telescoped down to almost nothing. New chronograph doesn't require that.

I don't particularly care for ball tripod heads, but that's mainly what I use because it's what I can get. I grew up with a different type, cleverly made for single handle control, made by Welt. Twist the handle a bit, and the head will move horizontally. Twist very slightly more, and it will move vertically too. I wish I could get one, but they are made of unobtainium, and what I have works fine. The ones I seriously dislike are the ones that have a separate lock for each axis...three knobs to keep track of. I always figured fluid heads were for smooth pans in video work, so never got too excited about them.

IIf you use your tripod for hunting to support a spotting scope or especially a large set of binoculars,
you will be doing alot of what is called panning, which is simply moving the optic side to side and up and down across the area you are glassing. The smoother the head works the better for that type use. It can allow for keeping your hands in your pockets on cold days while you pan the optic over the area while just using your nose to move them. But if the head is of the herky jerky type which means it moves the optic view by 20 feet when you only wanted it to move 5 feet then it can become a bit frustrating. Again, ebay always has a good selection of just tripod heads as well as tripods.
I have bought some very nice fluid heads for very little money and attached them to other tripods.
About a year ago i was just browsing tripods on ebay and i came across a Bogen walking stick up for bid with a starting bid of $10. A walking stick is simply one leg of a tripod with 3 adjustable sections and a grip at the top with a 1/4x20 stud for attaching things like cameras or optics. And it can be used like a cane to help support you as you walk. It can also serve as a rifle support when fitted with
a v shaped device on the stud. Bogen is a heavier duty one than many of the others are and they are more pricey as a result. But, nobody bid on this particular one, so in the last hour of the auction i did. And i bought it for the starting bid of $10 and it is in as new condition.

A lot of people think they have a good tripod/head until they use a good one. Like mentioned above, a good head makes a huge difference. With a spotting scope, I’d buy more tripod/head than you’re thinking you need.

Here's one that I use...

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...L7FY0QRaDVagJ1PuGWu_PaXsr-caAj4VEALw_wcB

Try the shadowtech field tripod for spottong scope and chronograph.$140.00 at Brownells. I have been using one for the past 4 years and I have no complaints. Well made, solid and it did not hurt my wallet when ordered it.

Thank you all