I am researching various tripods, heads and rifle clamping systems.

If you have knowledge/experience with military or LE applications or know of some good sources for information, please let me know.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Be safe, have fun shooting...

not LEO or mil, but ten years of PRS/sniper match experience with a lot of tripod shooting.

net is, all the clamps suck.  with practice and some oddball techniques for stabilizing the tripod, you can shoot sub moa, but it takes way too long to be practical.   instead, get an armageddon gear game changer and just put it on top of the tripod and shoot off that, or use one of the various devices that support the front of your rifle on one leg and the rear on another leg.  this is as stable as shooting off a bench if you get the technique right and have a solid tripod (e.g. RRS SOAR)


edit: somewhat more detail...  for the money, you'd be much more effective buying an expensive tripod with no head or grip.   that will let you shoot off of it and you'll be able to aim much faster and transition targets faster.   the ONLY downside is you have to hold it.  you can't let go or your rifle will fall.
get a tripod head if you want to use an LRF, binos, spotting scope, etc

I would say mil and LE is many years behind competitive shooters when you are talking about shooting technique.

I echo the above, a flat platform and a bag is much faster and easier to use. I would not spend less than $500 on the tripod.

Taliv,

Thank you for your input. I'll be looking into everything you mentioned...

Slu54,

Thanks for your input. I'm definitely going to look at some tripods soon.

I think I'll need a head and clamp too, as it will have to mount a camera and possibly other related gear. Everything needs to be locked down secure, but with QD access if needed.

I'm providing info as a photographer and shooter.

Tripods are NOT created equal.  95% of the pictures you see with rifles on a tripod are pictures of absolute junk tripods.  Cheap tripods never stop moving, they essentially sit their vibrating and oscillating with every little touch.  For photographers doing long exposures where the shutter hangs open for a long time, this equals a ruined picture from motion blur.  I'm sure you can understand how this translates to shooting.  You do not want a tripod that shakes, rattles, and bounces with every touch.  I'd strongly recommend Gitzo or RRS - you will get sticker shock at the prices, but they've been making amazing tripods for years and there is a huge used market where you can scoop up bargains.

For a mounting interface, use a ballhead and run an arca plate directly attached to your rifle.  Again, all ballheads are not equal.  Cheap ones creep after being tightened or don't lock where you want them.  Cheap ones also can't take much weight.  Using saddles and the like are just another point for movement and vibrations.  For a head, I'd strongly recommend Kirk or RRS.  Kirk is "dated" and out of style in the photography world, but they were one of the first making bombproof ballheads that could take a ton of weight.  They can now be had pretty cheaply.

I'd wager 99% of the shooting tripod setups you see could not do this.
Gitzo legs, Kirk BH1 head, RRS arca adapter.

I use for hunting. I have these swagger-like sticks that you can fold up and carry around. I hunt with a shotgun and never used an AR for hunting.

My experience: it's pretty good for quick set up in the field.

For ARs I only use a harris bipod that you can deploy mostly for target practice. It works pretty well and I guess it could be used anywhere.

Shadow Tech PIG0311-G Tripod
Shadow Tech Hog Saddle-Mod7
Feisol CB-50DL ball head (love the quick lever for quick movements and ability to relock quickly)


ultra stable all around. zero complaints for my first tripod setup.

Listen to all of this

I really want to echo @taliv input again since you have gotten some other perspectives.

Based on my experience, things that rigidly attach the rifle to the tripod, such as saddle or ARCA, are slower than putting a stable sandbag on your tripod and using that as an interface. When I say slower, I mean slower to pack and unpack, slower to transition between rifle and binos or rangefinder (it's nice to use the tripod as a stable platform to scan, laze, or spot for your buddy), slower to scan from target to target, simply because you have the added step of tightening and loosening. In terms of being able to leave the rifle on the tripod unattended, if you have a good tripod and a good sandbag, just rest the rifle's center of mass in the sandbag and it's not going anywhere.

Setting aside time, from a position stability perspective, I would say that rigid attachment is different, not better than, using a stable sandbag atop a tripod. With rigid attachment, any vibration or movement of the tripod is transmitted without dampening to the rifle, whereas the sandbag will smooth some of that out. Again, strictly from a shooting stability perspective, both can work but the technique is different.

My opinion only: maybe rigid attachment works or is even ideal when you have a great deal of time to set up, but I prefer just a sandbag for any time limited situation.

Another thing: good tripods are light because you don't want to lug around a heavy ass tripod all day. But when shooting, you want it to be heavy. It's typically not a problem if you are shooting a 20lb+ bolt gun, but if shooting an AR or similar, hanging some weight from the apex once deployed can add to stability.