For Tripod users, Planning a weekend DIY.

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12 years 8 months ago #11301 by 13fcolt
For Tripod users, Planning a weekend DIY. was created by 13fcolt
I've been wanting a tripod to shoot from for some time now. Most of the tripods on the market are adapted from high end camera tripods, and just seem flimsy to me for the price. Many of them are nothing more than a rest, doing little more than a couple of sticks tied together.

My interest here is a stable shooting platform that is somewhat portable. Something that I can keep packed in the back of the bronco that is more than a sand bag but less than a shooting bench. I also want to rig it to QD to the bottom rail of the hand guard.


So far the DeWalt DW0737 Construction Tripod looks like a good starting point. Price is right @ $35, and I expect it to be a hell of a lot more stable than a photography tripod. I am going to my local Lowes tomorrow or the Wednesday to check it out in person.

That leaves fabbing up a way to attach the weapon. I've got some ideas along the lines of using old throw lever scopes rings and a piece of barstock. I am open to suggestions though.

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12 years 8 months ago #11304 by jtallen83
Replied by jtallen83 on topic Re: For Tripod users, Planning a weekend DIY.

13fcolt wrote: So far the DeWalt DW0737 Construction Tripod looks like a good starting point. Price is right @ $35, and I expect it to be a hell of a lot more stable than a photography tripod.

I think your on to something there. I've abused these tripods for years and once they started making the fiberglass models you didn't worry about replacing them. They just get thrown into the truck and then more goes on top, lots of abuse but never an issue with one. They have great potential for adjustments and the adjustments I've dealt with were plenty tough to hold up to an AR-10. I look forward to seeing this idea come to fruition.

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12 years 8 months ago #11311 by txlongshotb4
Replied by txlongshotb4 on topic Re: For Tripod users, Planning a weekend DIY.
I'm curious to know how this turns out. When I went to Sniper school, my unit bought me a manfrotto tripod. It's a camera tripod on steroids. They had it outfitted with an aluminum shoe that was padded with a sandbag that attached via velcro specifically made for shooting...I still to this day do not know who manufactured the shooting rest. Anyhow, It served me well at school, and I still have it today, and it's served me well many times since in theater, on ranges, and at the deer lease.
I'd caution you to rethink attaching it to the rifle via any QD mounts, and my logic behind this is two-fold. First off, it's gonna be top heavy with a rifle on it, and accidents happen. If that thing falls over and the rifle cannot fall free, then the rifle is going to become the heavy and wrong end of a fulcrum, with much the same effect as a hammer being slammed into a surface. The damage is going to be a lot worse than if it simply falls off of the rest.
My second point of logic-and the most occurring of the two, hopefully, is the mechanics of body position. A dis-advantage to using a tripod is that your body looses almost all contact with a grounded object like a shooting bench or the ground from the prone, and the primary anchor point of both shooter and rifle becomes the tripod itself.This puts the axis from which any traversing of windage and elevation must occur anywhere from two to four feet out in front of your shoulder, which means you litterally have to side-step to track a target. It often makes it necessary to re-position the tripod and/or the relative position of the rifle on the tripod. Having the rifle mechanically bound to the tripod is going to make this whole procedure a big pain in the ass.
I always liked to use the tripod for the Barrett .50 cal, because it got it up off of the ground, which significantly helped to keep the gigantic cloud of dust that the muzzle break produces from entering every orifice of my body and my gear at supersonic speeds. Since the Barrett is a stupid heavy rifle to support, I would "secure" it to the tripod by finding and resting the balance point on the tripod, and then lashing a bungee cord over the top of it and securing the ends tightly on the throw levers that lock the telescopic legs.(That's some Joe engineering right there!) I could then enjoy a hands free working environment and still obtain a sight picture rapidly...and if I knocked the tripod over the bungee cord system would fail and the rifle would fall free of the rest.

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12 years 8 months ago #11312 by txlongshotb4
Replied by txlongshotb4 on topic Re: For Tripod users, Planning a weekend DIY.
I forgot to mention...A lot of the guys at sniper school came with camera tripods-they are on the packing list-that did not come with a rifle rest. The go-to solution to this problem was a piece of 4 inch PVC heavy duty pipe, cut into a two inch length, and then cut in half along it's circumference-the effect being a two inch wide "U" shape. This section then had a hole drilled into it's center, and was secured to the tripod by a simple nut/bolt/flat washer combination.(leaving it a little loose so the support can traverse.) The "cradle" area of the rest can then be padded with some open cell foam or even a few socks, and secured with good ol' 100MPH tape (duct tape for civilians)It's primitive, crude,and ugly, but it's very effective even in the worst possible scenarios-but that is the genius behind the American soldier's ingenuity, and that is a prime example of why I'll never understand why the Army doesn't ask Joe what he thinks of new gear and how to improve it BEFORE they spend 30 billion dollars to field it Army wide. (ahem, ahem....ACUs....)

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12 years 8 months ago #11315 by 13fcolt
Replied by 13fcolt on topic Re: For Tripod users, Planning a weekend DIY.
You brought up some good point there bro. I hadn't really thought about the idea of the thing falling over, since I was looking at the over all stance of the tripod and pushing those spikes into the ground.
I did look long and hard at the manfrotto, even larue is making stuff for them, but it is not cost effective for me. I experimented with my chessy tripod I used for my chronograph and the sass did a fine job collapsing a leg. that was a scare.
My basic intent is portable (on a budget) stability. 99% of the time the only place a shooter can go the distance, is far removed from a range with a bench (or grass short enough to see over on bags or bipod).
One of my thoughts about having a solid attachment was so that I could lock the rifle in position when working handloads, removing as much operator error as I can, maybe even a T&E of some sort. Also, having a padded cradle to use as a rest for more active shots was something I was thinking if this turns out to be worthwhile.
I also found that adapters are cheap $4-$6, and available to make the 5/8x11 thread mount work with standard 1/4 camera threads. that alone just made this a $40 option to use with existing rifle rest fixtures.

It's all just brainstorming right now, but I should have more to report by the weekend and of course, your feedback is welcome.

I have a love/HATE thing with the M107...and dust clouds.

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I once made some shooting sticks for it out OE254 sections and 550.. oh yeah, joes got it all figured out.

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12 years 8 months ago #11317 by txlongshotb4
Replied by txlongshotb4 on topic Re: For Tripod users, Planning a weekend DIY.
First of all, that's a great picture! It truly captures to effect of the muzzle break. It's a suicide rifle for snipers...that dust cloud can be seen for miles, might as well super impose a big red arrow in the sky pointing right at you, with a caption above it saying "the guy who just blew your battle buddy into tiny pieces is right here." I have a Hate/hate relationship with the Barrett...I can't stand that P.O.S...accuracy is sub-standard, even with the best ammo the military has in inventory. I wish the Army could get out of the pretty and cool-looking phase and get back to what does the job the best. I'd take a McMillan TAC-50 any day...I'd rather fire one accurate shot than five (or even two) hail-Mary shots.

Anyhow, a few remarks about the tripod. Man, they're great for field use. Like you said, finding the right spot to shoot from the prone just never happens in the real world, and the versatility of a tripod is bar-none for that application...but it isn't going to do the job for testing hand loads. It's a relatively steady platform-as in relative to free gunning, but I've never been able to achieve the type of dead-still sight picture that I can from a bench from a tripod. I've got some ideas about a very modified rest for the rifle to help stability, but I've never put them into practice. I can't really articulate these ideas into words, but I'll try to come up with a crude drawing and PM you tomorrow. The biggest issue, aside from stability, is repeatabilty. By nature, the tripod is light, and the weight of the rifle makes the whole thing very top heavy. Even with the legs buried deep into the ground, the recoil of the rifle is going to cause a huge shift in point of aim. For field applications when trying to proof hand loads, I like two saw horses, a four foot long 2x 12, a small shovel for leveling, a folding chair and a sand sock or two...but if you can get your truck to the firing line, then an empty cargo bed and a lowered tailgate might as well be the honeymoon suite at a 5 star resort hotel.

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12 years 8 months ago #11346 by 13fcolt
Replied by 13fcolt on topic Re: For Tripod users, Planning a weekend DIY.
Well turns out the particular tripod I was looking for is so affordable because it is discontinued and being cleared out. The regular lowes price was $70, still not bad, but I was hoping to keep the whole project @ $75 or less. Lowes did say that they would try to order one for me at the sale price, but couldn't guarantee anything.
The tripod replacing it has 2" more adjustment, but runs $90.

I did find it online for $10 more, $45 with free shipping...if it is still in stock.

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12 years 8 months ago #11350 by Redscout02
Replied by Redscout02 on topic Re: For Tripod users, Planning a weekend DIY.
I want to see a picture when your done with this, I guess I don't see the need. Nothing by that but why not just using cross sticks? I have use them for everything.

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12 years 8 months ago #11366 by 13fcolt
Replied by 13fcolt on topic Re: For Tripod users, Planning a weekend DIY.
Sticks have a place but are not quite as stable. I'm basically trying to get as close to a portable range as I can practically keep in my bronco. It may not be for everyone though. This idea may yet evolve into a portable bench of some sort, but anything light and collapsible may not be any better than a good tripod, plus there is the lack of level ground that could make a table about useless for the field.

So far I think I'm going the right direction.

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12 years 8 months ago #11368 by jtallen83
Replied by jtallen83 on topic Re: For Tripod users, Planning a weekend DIY.
I've spent hours and hours looking through magnified optics on a tripod, builders level. If you can figure out a solid, balanced mounting method you'll have something. The trick will be getting the movement you need without re-adjusting the tri-pod. Before the day's of auto-leveling for these levels it was a real bitch because if you even slightly bumped the tripod you had to relevel everything. For this reason they have made some real solid tripods. You can set them up on a 3-1 slope so they will handle about anything you can stand on. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures when you get it together.

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