Tripod vs Bipod vs Sticks

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mbaysinger89

Active member
I see that most people hunting at night choose to use tripods. I have tried using one durring the daylight hours and find them slow to deploy, difficult to maneuver, heavy to carry, and slow to adjust. What are the benefits of a tripod at night vs a bipod or shooting sticks?
 
Solid shooting platform. Yes, they are slower than other options, but I'll take stability over ease of use.

As far as weight, night goggles has a tripod that is almost as light as primos trigger sticks.
 
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Every option you mentioned tripod, bipod, and shooting sticks has their pros and cons. I used bipods for shooting coyotes for 20+ years and killed a lot of coyotes. They are better for sitting or laying.

What bipods and shooting sticks tend not to do well is allow rotation. Some allow a little vertical or horizontal movement, but you end up typically adjusting the legs to move.

The majority of night hunters stand. Having a tripod allows a person to rotate 360 without moving the tripod. It is much more stable than any bipods extended to standing lengths. I am one of the exceptions, I sit at night almost 100% of the time. Even sitting, having a tripod allows me a lot more freedom of movement, and I can choose to stand if I want to. As mentioned, a good carbon fiber tripod doesn't weigh that much, and should be fairly easy to deploy.

Once I switched to a tripod, it would be extremely difficult to go back to a bipod or shooting sticks for night time coyote hunting. One other thing to mention is at night you are either using a scanner or scanning with the rifle. If scanning with the rifle, again you would need a tripod. If using a scanner, you want the gun to be fully supported and ready for action while you scan. The tripod holds the gun in whatever position you want.
 
Korey laid it out spot on. I sit and use sticks for daytime calling (I have for years, won't change that), but stand at night with a tripod.
 
Originally Posted By: mbaysinger89I never considered standing at night. What makes that necessary? More of an angle for identifying in taller grass?



A lot of places I hunt are surrounded by fence lines, ditches, and woods on all sides and you never know which way they will come from. If I were seated, there's countless coyotes that would have gotten away while I struggled to adjust. Standing, I can easily walk the gun around the tripod and be on target quickly. Also, standing gives me more of a bird's eye view since coyotes like to travel in low spots.
 
All the things Rookiejx2 said are correct and are advantages to standing. The advantages to sitting are more stability, takes the pressure off your lower back, and it is warmer. It sounds silly, but in ND where I hunt it is so cold in the winter that standing up feels colder. I know I am in the minority but I do sit at night most of the time. I do have to readjust my tripod position once in awhile, if they come from an odd angle.
 
I sit as well and would definitely agree that it’s warmer. I use the old Stoney Point Rapid Pivot bipod. It stays connected to the gun and can be flexed to shoot from a variety of positions. I’ve been intrigued by the tripods but just can’t decide which one to get. I would primarily use it while sitting as well.
 
Mainly I stand because it give me faster more rapid scanning (since I don't have a scanner and have to scan with my rifle). Gives me better visibility too. But sitting would for sure be more stable if I had a situation where I had a smaller arc I was covering.
 
Originally Posted By: Str8ShooterI do as well and would definitely agree that it’s warmer. I use the old Stoney Point Rapid Pivot bipod. It stays connected to the gun and can be flexed to shoot from a variety of positions. I’ve been intrigued by the tripods but just can’t decide which one to get. I would primarily use it while sitting as well.

If you like Stony Point check out the Spartan Davros. It will thread on a set of "sticks" threaded 1/4 20 or 3/8. Acts alot like the Stony Point. Attaches with a recessed well and a stud with a rare earth magnet. Also will thresd on a tripod. Just got mine and so far I love it. I like the Stony too, just didnt hold up with the rubber yolk.
 
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To reflect on the "what will you do different this year thread" for 2021 I would like to get a tripod. I will probably need one if only because of "all over" back pain and stiffness. Standing gives me a break from dragging my arse off the ground. For now I love my Harris Bipod for the sitting position. Stable.
 
Bipod sitting in the day....tripod with quality ballhead for standing at night. On dark nights we just stand out in the middle of the open so obviously you need to be able to cover all directions doing that which is where standing behind the tripod comes in. Not to mention when your guns mounted on a tripod your hands free to scan with or run the caller etc.
 
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