Something has triggered your interest in a shooting tripod, whether you’re looking for a tripod to use while hunting or a tripod to use as a snipper stand for long distance target practice…so to give you a ballpark of what you are looking at for costs we have two examples below.
The three main things you need for a good hunting/shooting tripod set up is, the tripod, an easily adjustable head for the tripod and the mounting clip for the bottom of your gun.
The two tripods that we see selling that are used as shooting tripods are the LEOFOTO LM-364C and LM-364CL with YB-75LC bowl. Both tripods need this adjustable bowl to function properly with a gun mounted to them. The first tripod, LM-364C is 579.00 USD now and the LM-364CL is 699.99 USD now.
The YB-75LC ranges from 89.00-129.00 USD depending on how long you want the handle off the bottom.
A plate mount for the bottom of your gun can range from $20.00 to $100.00+ depending on your gun. For this plate we would suggest speaking with your local gun shop as some guns have to be slightly modified to make the mounting plates fit correctly. If the gun needs to be modified you can expect to pay extra for this but again, speak to your local gun shop to determine exact costs for this.
In short you are looking at $690.00 – $950.00 USD for a compete high-quality shooting tripod. Now we are going to go over some of the key things that impact the price of a gun tripod and tripod head…then we will back off and let you decide.
Let’s dive in…when we speak about materials used in your tripod we are mainly looking at the construction of the main tripod. What are the legs made of, what is the head at the top of the tripod made of, what are the clamps that hold the adjusting legs made of…you get the picture?
Ok starting with leg construction. There are tripods on the market that have metal legs. These are normally hardened steel or aluminum that has been rolled to create the round leg. These would typically be on the lower end of the cost scale as they are cheaper and easier to manufacturer. These legs are good for a lighter weight, and lower use application. The metal legs have a tendency to bend or kink underweight and sudden harsh movements (a gun going off). This is due to the fact that metal has very low flexibility. On the higher end of the cost scale, we are looking at carbon fiber legs. These legs have a little more flex to them, they hold their round shape better meaning they wont kink or bend easily. Therefore, lasting longer.
The head of the tripod has a considerable impact on price. There are two parts to this, the construction and the adjustability. Most tripods are made with a steel or aluminum head or a combination of both. There are very cheap ones on the market that are made with a plastic head but we all know how that ends! 😊
The second part, adjustments can impact the cost due to the different adjustments as well as how fine the adjustments can be made. Cheaper tripods are going to have adjustments, but they may not be as smooth or as accurate as more expensive tripod heads. Most tripod heads around the 100.00 mark should be of fairly equal quality and offer a fairly smooth and accurate adjustment range.
Jumping to the clamps that hold the legs in place. When we are looking at a cheaper tripod for your gun the clamps will most likely be made up of plastic or metal with a rubber gasket/seal to hold the extended portion of the leg in place. Now, it takes tension to hold that leg in place. When you put low quality (low price) clamps on a tripod they will work for a while, and then they start to wear and threads inside the clamp or the rubber inside the clamp is starting to wear out. With a higher quality clamp they can still wear out, it just takes a longer time and the clamp will hold the leg for longer. Looping back to the construction of the leg, some of the cheaper metal legs will be hallow all the way through so it allows for the metal to deform and not fit the clamp properly anymore. On higher quality tripods the legs have metal inserts in the end to hold the leg round and firm no matter how much pressure the clamps put on the leg to hold them in place.
Lastly let’s discuss color/design. If you are looking for a plane jane single color tripod, this will generally be less expensive than a highly detailed camo tripod that will blend in with your other hunting/shooting gear. Generally speaking, if you are to purchase a one solid color tripod it will be less expensive then a tripod that has multi colors or is camo.
We are the Camera Gear Store that focuses mostly on just that Camera Gear…but we can see that the products we offer can and do bleed over into other markets and uses. We are a family-owned business that is focused on providing helpful information and service. We truly hope that this article provided you some helpful insights and information…now its our time to back away and let you decide which direction you feel is best for you! 😊
