Tooooo many misses.

My normal stand is 40-45min long with most opportunities coming in the last 10 min..

The top leg section setting makes a lot of sense to me.

Thanks again for you taking the time to help "this old guy out". Mike
 
That's some really good insight JTP.

Jmeddy, keep after them. I missed more than I'm comfortable with last winter for sure. Those hills would be a serious challenge for anyone I think. While we have plenty of hills and I hunt in them regularly, with open ground I usually have the option of setting up on flat ground or on top of a hill. I'm convinced I've been busted on top of hills or in the wide open while standing a few times last year so started sitting sometimes if there's any moonlight.
 
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As I have gotten older, I sit on about 98% of my stands. If the spot forces me to stand such as the grass is too tall, or I won't be able to see the coyotes because of the lay of the land, I will stand. I don't sit on a swivel seat as I walk too much and carry too much crap, so have a light beard buster chair that saves my back, and keeps my butt off the cold ground and only is about 1lb. If a coyote comes in from a side or rear position, the gun is connected via acra swiss to the ball head, so I grab one leg, and lift the gun and do a quick reposition to get in the general direction of the coyote and then the minor adjustments the tripod and gun allow for. On rare occasions if a coyote is moving really fast, I may have to adjust a 2nd time but rarely.

When I was younger I laid prone, especially during the day. Now that is too hard on my back and is so limiting as far as seeing coyotes coming from different directions. For the guys that stand, I totally get it and realize the reasons for it but it isn't something I plan to ever make a habit of.
 
For us it's pretty much a hard rule, the coyote is only gonna show up down wind of the call. It makes set up pretty straight forward. Flat land is the norm in my area but most of the time if we are set up to shoot downwind of the call we don't have to shift our set up.
 
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Haha, you know what is funny is everyone's situation is different. The way my back is, if I get down on the ground I might not get back up after the 3rd or 4th stand. Especially the colder it gets and the longer I sit. Even though it hurts after a while standing is better for me. But if we were doing 30-45 minute stands my opinion of that might change.

We do lots of stalking too though. Not just pigs but coyotes. Certain fields, certain times of year will always have coyotes out in them. If they have been called several times the sound of a call may make them take off. So instead we just grab tripods and go after them. Maybe, if anything, just use a real low-key squeaker to pull them a couple hundred yards. Or a really clean high pitch cottontail, blown real soft.
 
I had a lot of misses which I finally narrowed down to setting my ball head's friction enough to just barely support the gun and then just aiming at the coyote without loosening that friction. I now tighten the ball fully and when I mount the gun and have supported I loosen it, aim/track/pan and leave loose while shooting and only tighten back up when I want to step away from it so it stays put.

When I first started with tripod, I was told by guys to run enough friction to support gun and still pan/track, and then tighten or lock when ready to take shot and that might've been good advice for some, but it cost me lots of frustration and buying selling scopes, different tripods and questioning myself with a result of low confidence. I still miss here and there, but as mentioned having ability to record and look at it also is highly valuable tool.
 
Most younger people would laugh if they saw me getting upright after sitting on the ground.

I was shooting yesterday off the tripod with a 22 and also found that l shot better with the ball “not too tight”. If it was just a little too tight and l took shoulder contact off the stock it would “drift/spring” back a little (just a few degrees) in the direction l moved it from.

Thanks again to all tips.
 
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Yes, I always shoot with the ball fairly loose, that way I am not fighting it. Shooting precision LR would be different on a non-moving target, and time to lock in perfectly stable. But any type of dynamic situation being able to adjust slightly without fighting the tripod/ball head tension is a big plus.

I have feet spread apart, slight bend at the knees, lean forward to slightly load the tripod, and my off hand is on the handguard/forend of the rifle.
 
The last couple years, my favorite thing to do is to hang steel at 100, 200, 300, and 400 yards.

Then I practice my shooting positions.....

Off the bench using a front & rear bag, basically to confirm zeros & drops.

Off the bench with a bipod.

Laying prone with the bipod.

Standing with the tripod.

Sitting off the tripod.

I spend more time with the last two positions, as that mimics 99% of my hunting scenarios.
 
Standing IMO is the way to go, it offers far more mobility in a fluid environment.

JPinTX gave a very good detailed advantage to standing that I agree with completely as well as tips. The biggest key is setting it up lower than what you think to accommodate off chambers in terrain. The top of my scope is about level with my chest, I have to widen my stance to get on the gun when all legs are opened completely. Another thing is I never collapse my tripod, it saves time when doing a milk run from spot to spot and you don't have to worry about tight legs and proper height every set.

One last tidbit is I own both ball heads and leveling bowls and I run the leveling bowl always. Its far more stable when locked up, lighter and IMO much easier to control and faster with a simple twist of the wrist.
 
Do you lock it down right before you take your shot? I've noticed that most ball-heads have some "stiction" or lack of smoothness when aiming or fine positioning that I feel attributes to inaccuracy proportional to the amount of "drag" used. I personally no longer use anything with a 'drag" setting to support the rifle as I've lost faith in those features after having several rifles tip and almost fall because of wind, not enough drag etc. I just loosen to shoot and tighten to walk away and think of it as nothing more than a gun holder...lol
 
I do both, if it's a long shot and I feel I have time I will. Locked down its rock solid but coyotes don't typically stand still very long so I don't lock it solid. Also if there are multiple targets and I know I will have to move to the next target immediately I'll just have tension but not lock it.

I've said it many times in various post that the only advantage a ball head has is it offers more vertical travel but from multiple states and the rockies of Montana im yet to need more travel than the 75mm leveling bowl has and the leveling bowl superior in every other way!
 
I have really appreciated all the tips everyone has taken the time to post.

When practicing with the 22 l did see how much more restrictive my changing positions became but standing or adjusting my 3 legged chair on many of my hillsides would be practically impossible. That being said l will be trying other positions.

I did try a bowl head my friend uses on his spotting scope (don’t know what size it was) and it did not give me near enough vertical adjustments.

I will keep my tripod legs extended but most times l know l will have to adjust for level.

I ended up with a leofoto 284 because of “alf’s response to me a few months back. Weighs 3# which makes my load without the swagger just 1-1/2# heavier. I do a lot of walking and weight is a big factor.

Anyhow, thanks again, Mike
 
I have never used a leveling bowl setup, but have looked at the "wrecking ball" and RRS ones. I wonder if they would eliminate the "stickiness" a ballhead has when tightened enough friction to support the rifle. I really despise the ball head allowing the rifle to tip over when not tightened enough. It seems it starts tipping , and then gains momentum and tips over to where it bottoms out and almost tips over the whole rig. I would think the spring loaded "wrecking ball" or similar leveling head would be smoother and still capable with fine aiming without sticking just like a ball head, but is that amount of friction enough you can walk away supporting the rifle and still smooth enough when making fine aiming adjustments without having to loosen up the the tension?
 
I preach about getting your gun to balance on the pod with a full mag and almost no ball head tension and I will preach it some more lol. Last guy that stepped behind my gun panned around with it said "Oh man I shouldn't have done that, that's gonna cost me." I have an RRS leveling but it's not near as slick asy BH55.
 
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Finally had one of walk into a bullet. 190y according to onx. He came into about 130 and stopped with telephone lines centered the length of his body. Then he got spooked (cattle walking on the other side of a fence and on a hillside so he could not see what was making the noise l guess) and he walked away. I howled to stop him and bang flop.
I was on my swivel seat. I tried standing Saturday nite and after 2 40 minute stands l hurt from my low back to my big toe—-won’t be doing that again!!

Forgot to hit record AGAIN.
Sometimes l remember to record as soon as l sit down as kirsch does and others l forget—maybe someday l get it right. Tehe
 
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Bang flopped another last night off the tripod.
This time I did record as soon as I sat down. 130y per onx.
Hopefully I will learn to post pics/vids someday.
 
Originally Posted By: jmeddyBang flopped another last night off the tripod.
This time I did record as soon as I sat down. 130y per onx.
Hopefully I will learn to post pics/vids someday. Congrats on the recent kill.

If you start an account on Youtube (it is free). Once you have it on there, I or someone on here can walk you through posting it on PM.
 
Originally Posted By: jmeddyBang flopped another last night off the tripod.
This time I did record as soon as I sat down. 130y per onx.
Hopefully I will learn to post pics/vids someday.
Nice going. Glad to see the tripod is working.

I can post actual YouTube videos anywhere but here on PM, best I can do is just a link.
 
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