Air Arms Owners Club

What type of tripod is everybody using for mounting spotting scopes? I’ve been hunting around online for tripods for sale and so far have found that camera tripods seem to offer the most in terms of cost versus quality. I’m something really sturdy and found a number of manufacturers of photography tripods that easily fit the bill. Manfrotto and Really Right stuff to name just a couple. Is anybody else using a camera tripod for spotting purposes? If so which brand are you using? How much did it cost? How much would you pay up to for a decent spotting tripod? Looking forward to hearing everybody’s thoughts on this.

see lots in charity shops
I tend to use my rang finder for spotting .

spotting what? Paper targets or hunting prey? For hunting looking for bunnies I would have thought 8x35 roof prism binoculars would be better and easier to lug around.
Spotting scopes I would think are good for 100 yard centrefire at Bisley or bird twitching. I may be out of date. Or maybe too on-topic..

So no recommendations on a tripod then chaps?

Any good quality tripod is going to by quite heavy, thus difficult to lug around along with a rifle and anything else you take with you. If you really want to mount a spotting scope, why not go for a monopod?

Sowner wrote:So no recommendations on a tripod then chaps?

It might help if you answer supplementary questions about what you want to spot and where.
However get one that suits the height you want to use it at. A straight through scope like an Optolyth needs a tripod a foot taller than one with 45 degree eyepiece.
Get one with three struts across the legs. If you go Manfrotto price range you can't go wrong.
If you go charity shop make sure the removable camera piece is there, they often are missing

Thanks folks.

TenMetrePeter wrote:

Sowner wrote:So no recommendations on a tripod then chaps?

It might help if you answer supplementary questions about what you want to spot and where.
However get one that suits the height you want to use it at. A straight through scope like an Optolyth needs a tripod a foot taller than one with 45 degree eyepiece.
Get one with three struts across the legs. If you go Manfrotto price range you can't go wrong.
If you go charity shop make sure the removable camera piece is there, they often are missing

Apologies Peter. Hunting bunnies. Thanks for the advice.

ok personally I wouldnt carry a tripod and scope and a rifle, and all the other kit. I stopped carrying a scope even for bird watching. P.I.A.
I would spend £400 on a good pair of 8 or 10 x 35 roof prism binos. 8x44 if you shoot in bad light.
With a 30x scope, first you need binos to find the subject, you cant sweep the field with a 30x. Secondly if its that far away its too far away to shoot humanely even with firearms.