Recommendations for standup tripod for antelope

[wjackson]

Long time listener, first time caller.

I'm heading to Wyoming in August for my first antelope hunt. It will be archery, and I'm guessing I'll be be primarily spot-and-stalk. I'll also be heading out a few days before the opener to do some scouting.

Anyone have recommendations for a solid, relatively low-cost, standup tripod? I don't care much about weight since I'll be using it close to the truck, and I already have a lightweight backpack tripod for when I want to venture further out.

So far the leading candidate is the Slik 700DX. It's on amazon for $99. Max height without / with the center column is 55" / 70".

 

[Muskeez]

You want Cheap? 3 dowel sticks from Home depot or Menards type stores, and wrap down 6 inches with rope or I like heavy rubber coated wire better. Very adjustable and I paint them blaze orange so I can find them when I lay em down to shoot prone.

 

[wjackson]

I'm not looking for anything that low budget. I'm looking for a solid tripod for glassing (both binos & spotter). $100 would be fine, but I figured I check to see if there was anything better out there.

 

[mtmiller]

I don't have experience with that tripod. If I was only willing to spend $100, I would just get a good window mount. Tends to be a bit windy down there and in my opinion, I doubt you will be happy with that tripod fully extended in real life situations.

 

[MKotur325]

MTmiller brings up a Very valid point about the wind. I'm not sure how tall you are, but if the tripod will have to have parts of the center column extended for you to see standing, it's likely to be fairly unstable in wind. especially with a heavy spotting scope on top of it. I have a tripod from Vanguard (don't remember which model it was somewhere around $180 when I picked it up, but that's been several years) that extends close to 70" before using the center column. It's heavy, but works well. Even with that, I've found best stability in wind while seated. If I were in your shoes, I'd head for the local camera store, or gun shop and see what they have for tripods, and just test a few out. The biggest advantage of going taller vs shorter on tripods is that a taller tripod will have a wider base, which will help with wind. Also, I'd look for something that has articulating feet, again, it'll help with stability...

 

[1_pointer]

Though far from the best, I've had good service from a Sunpak tripod that can be had for just over $100. The pistol grip head could be a bit bigger, but it worked well enough in WY to evaluate elk with a spotter and was usable from standing (I'm 5'10")

https://www.amazon.com/Sunpak-Ultra...e=UTF8&qid=1492093370&sr=1-36&keywords=sunpak

 

[nuevo_eph]

I got the 3 legged devil from Bog Pod and it works great for me at 6'4".

 

[Biggs300]

Take a look at the Vanguard Quest T62U 3-in-1 Shooting Sticks. They are can be quickly configured as a mono-pod, bi-pod or tri-pod. They have plenty length for spotting or shooting from standing position or, when fully collapsed, work great for sitting and every shooting position in between. I was pleasantly suprised when they arrived as I expected them to be heavier. I bought them for an upcoming antelope rifle hunt for under $80. They will accept a pan head which I already had on another Vanguard try-pod but I bought them primarily for shooting and will use the rifle rest for glassing with binoculars.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

I use the 3 legged devil from bog-pod,,with adapter you can use it for both a spotter tripod,and a shooting rest by changing the end.it does have a little bit of "wiggle" that I cant get out of mine,but does work pretty well,though id like something a little lighter,,id recommend.

 

[nuevo_eph]

I actually dumped my fork on the bog pod and got the swivel sling adapter, making it a gun mounted tripod if I want to. Most of the time I have the pistol grip for my binos going, though