Looking at the Gunwerks Revic hunter stabilizer tripod and RRS tripod
- Thread starter Tidus56
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
First, I would look at application and rifles. You mentioned shooting and optics so that takes the tripods to a certain diameter to accommodate. How will you lockup the rifle & optics on your tripod? Best is ARCA if your rifle will accommodate it. If not, go Spartan system. The saddles sort of work. I would probably mount a lightweight fill bag rather than saddle but either is not even close to the ARCA or Spartan pin. ARCA and spartan pin also help recoil since the tripod is now part of the recoiling mass. If your pack is hanging on the Tripod apex now you have maybe 50lbs of rifle/tripod/pack weight controlling recoil. It's a nice side benefit.
Once you decide how you will attach, if it's ARCA, no question RRS Anvil 30 is best. Ball heads are ok. If Spartan system, Davros Pro first, adapted Anvil 30 second (plus would work with ARCA easily for multiple varying rifles and optics) then adapted ball head. I have ball heads, Anvil Pro and will be getting the Anvil 30. When I went to buy the Anvil 30 they were upgrading to the new R-Lock system so I decided to wait.
Tripods, RRS is best period. Though not by the margin that the Anvil 30 is over other heads. I have Leofoto, Artcise and Innorel, IMO all are like 80-90% of RRS. RRS is USA made here in Utah, that's worth a lot. They are the standard to judge by no question. Someone please correct me if I am wrong but as far as I know EVERYTHING else is imported and rebranded. Once you step away from RRS, save your money and pick the original import rather than a rebranded and marked up price import. As far as size goes with RRS to pack go 2 series, if weight and bulk is of less importance and you want concrete bench stable, go 3 series. With imported, tube sizes, 40mm main tube is my largest and is roughly comparable to 3 series. My Leofoto/Davros Pro setup I hunt with is 32mm main tube 3 section. If you compare the tube sizes to RRS, the imported of same diameters will be comparable to stability of RRS.
Pick something you can comfortably stand and shoot from even downhill. That means a taller tripod than you would use on flat.
Less sections are lighter, stiffer and deploy faster but are longer on your pack. The have less joints and the lower sections get progressively smaller as you go down. I recently changed to a 3 section Leofoto over a 4 section Artcise after shooting with a buddy that is short. He could extend 3 rather than 4 legs and was like measurably faster deploying than I was. 3x the fourth extension adds up. The 4th section also get noticeably less stable. New 3 section tripod is 1lb lighter with some careful component selections at a little more $ and couple of inches longer pack height.
I would do the compact head not a bowl. The RRS is super slick and integrates the Anvil 30 in a pocket, and it's lighter. There are a lot of details you can dive into that each make a measurable difference on weight and performance but you have to pick a direction to start down.
If I was starting over I would do the Leofoto I have with Davros Pro because there isn't a RRS solution that does the same thing. I would also get a 3 Series RRS w/Anvil-30 for the ARCA stuff.
First photo are 32mm main tubes three on the left, right is 40mm.
Second photo are the two tripods on the right in a Kifaru door Gunner and 22 Mag. I couldn't fit the 40mm Tripod in the Door Gunner, it's snug in the 22 Mag. The Leofoto w/Anvil weighs 3-1/2lbs all in. I plan on putting an Anvil 30 on the larger tripod.
Once you decide how you will attach, if it's ARCA, no question RRS Anvil 30 is best. Ball heads are ok. If Spartan system, Davros Pro first, adapted Anvil 30 second (plus would work with ARCA easily for multiple varying rifles and optics) then adapted ball head. I have ball heads, Anvil Pro and will be getting the Anvil 30. When I went to buy the Anvil 30 they were upgrading to the new R-Lock system so I decided to wait.
Tripods, RRS is best period. Though not by the margin that the Anvil 30 is over other heads. I have Leofoto, Artcise and Innorel, IMO all are like 80-90% of RRS. RRS is USA made here in Utah, that's worth a lot. They are the standard to judge by no question. Someone please correct me if I am wrong but as far as I know EVERYTHING else is imported and rebranded. Once you step away from RRS, save your money and pick the original import rather than a rebranded and marked up price import. As far as size goes with RRS to pack go 2 series, if weight and bulk is of less importance and you want concrete bench stable, go 3 series. With imported, tube sizes, 40mm main tube is my largest and is roughly comparable to 3 series. My Leofoto/Davros Pro setup I hunt with is 32mm main tube 3 section. If you compare the tube sizes to RRS, the imported of same diameters will be comparable to stability of RRS.
Pick something you can comfortably stand and shoot from even downhill. That means a taller tripod than you would use on flat.
Less sections are lighter, stiffer and deploy faster but are longer on your pack. The have less joints and the lower sections get progressively smaller as you go down. I recently changed to a 3 section Leofoto over a 4 section Artcise after shooting with a buddy that is short. He could extend 3 rather than 4 legs and was like measurably faster deploying than I was. 3x the fourth extension adds up. The 4th section also get noticeably less stable. New 3 section tripod is 1lb lighter with some careful component selections at a little more $ and couple of inches longer pack height.
I would do the compact head not a bowl. The RRS is super slick and integrates the Anvil 30 in a pocket, and it's lighter. There are a lot of details you can dive into that each make a measurable difference on weight and performance but you have to pick a direction to start down.
If I was starting over I would do the Leofoto I have with Davros Pro because there isn't a RRS solution that does the same thing. I would also get a 3 Series RRS w/Anvil-30 for the ARCA stuff.
First photo are 32mm main tubes three on the left, right is 40mm.
Second photo are the two tripods on the right in a Kifaru door Gunner and 22 Mag. I couldn't fit the 40mm Tripod in the Door Gunner, it's snug in the 22 Mag. The Leofoto w/Anvil weighs 3-1/2lbs all in. I plan on putting an Anvil 30 on the larger tripod.
Last edited:
pony doctor
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2014
- Messages
- 118
You might check out the Jim Shockey (Trigger stick )tripod! I got one and it is a Dandy!
Tidus56
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2018
- Messages
- 2,053
Take away my man, I have plenty of info and options now.
Elk Hunter 338
Official LRH Sponsor
RRS gives Best of both worlds .. the RRS head systems allows for pic rail and arca attachments in the same head throw lever quick... HOG saddle style are the thing of the past honestly .. with almost every rifle having a rail attachment point its a sleeker way of doing it
Last edited:
Ideally, you mount a ARCA rail on the stock of your rifle and you can connect that directly to the head on the Revic tripod. This is the cleanest method. Alternatively, like you mentioned, a Hog Saddle can be screwed on and then clamp to the forend of pretty much any rifle.
The issue is the fitment, while the saddle gives the most versatility it is not nearly as quick to lock in nor as steady as some of the arca offerings.
Currently my main rifle has an MDT HNT26 chassis with the arca rail on the front that allows me to clamp in, for my other rifle I plan on buying a lightweight arca rail from Salmon River Solutions to mount just in front of the action screw.
btap1991
Well-Known Member
From what I see on the forum and real world you got Outdoorsmans which is made for hunting and then rrs which is just built right I have a hard deciding between the two of them
cactusjack
Active Member
Looking for others experience/opinion: I recently had a chance to shoot my 6.5PRC off of a tripod in the usual positions from prone to standing. I had to use a Hogg saddle because my rifle doesn't have an ARCA plate. When the saddle was snugged up, my shots tended significantly to the high side (like 3-4 MOA), whereas when I left the saddle loose enough to allow the rifle to slide with recoil, shot placement was as expected. Has anyone had a similar experience? I would think direct attachment to an ARCA plate would have the same effect. Any solutions? I'm planning a new 7mm rifle with arca and would really like to leave the saddle rest at home.
I've had the same identical experience when using a Hogg saddle on a tripod when it was snugged very tight - 3 MOA high for shots for me. In this case I had two legs back and one forward. When loosening the saddle (not completely but allowing to slide back), the shots were exactly where they were supposed to be.
Regarding the tripods - I have the Revic hunter and Backpacker as well as the RRS Ascend-14. If weight is not an issue, the Revic hunter is an amazing tripod (and ballhead) at ~4.5 pounds. For backcountry I'm going with the RRS Ascend-14 as it is 3.2 pounds (with center column) versus the 2.6 pounds of the Revic backpacker. The RRS is much more solid that the Revic backpacker so it's a no brainer from a stability standpoint. You can remove the center column which drops the RRS down by 5 ounces.
The carbon fiber legs of the RRS are bigger in diameter than the Revic backpacker and on par with the Revic Hunter. Regardless of which one you choose - you can't go wrong as they all serve a slightly different purpose.
Okanogan
Well-Known Member
I've got two RRS but have never shot off a Revic. If budget isn't an issue, I would definitely recommend RRS with the Anvil 30. You don't hear too many folks with the RRS stuff set up complaining about it or upgrading to something better.
I have most of my rifles set up with ARCA plates and only rarely use my Hogg saddle any more.
As to the comments of shifting point of impact off a tripod, my experience is that I generally don't see a shift but my Valkyrie has a noticeable shift even though it has an ARCA plate. I think your best bet is to test each set up before heading to the field so you know what to expect.
One other comment about setting up with ARCA plates, not every stock is capable of mounting one. I had a GAP build with a Manners Ultralight classic that just didn't have the meat to accept the plate mount and I changed over to a EH1 stock instead because I wanted the plate that bad for hunting. I figured by the time I added the weight of the Hogg saddle to my set up, the Ultra classic wasn't saving me any weight and I just really like using the ARCA plates for the firm lock up they give me.
I have most of my rifles set up with ARCA plates and only rarely use my Hogg saddle any more.
As to the comments of shifting point of impact off a tripod, my experience is that I generally don't see a shift but my Valkyrie has a noticeable shift even though it has an ARCA plate. I think your best bet is to test each set up before heading to the field so you know what to expect.
One other comment about setting up with ARCA plates, not every stock is capable of mounting one. I had a GAP build with a Manners Ultralight classic that just didn't have the meat to accept the plate mount and I changed over to a EH1 stock instead because I wanted the plate that bad for hunting. I figured by the time I added the weight of the Hogg saddle to my set up, the Ultra classic wasn't saving me any weight and I just really like using the ARCA plates for the firm lock up they give me.
