Tripod question

[Lost Arra]

I've never hunted from a tripod stand but there is an area adjacent to where I hunt that looks like it would be perfect for using one. It's an old cut over area that is just now getting skinny oaks in the 12-18' range with a lot of brush. Deer trails everywhere.

I have access to a serviceable tripod (after I replace the seat).

My question : Is all the shooting from tripods done from a seated position? There doesn't seem to be much room for standing. Is a traditional bow a problem in a tripod? I do have one short bow that would help. A compound would be no problem.

I was thinking about having my seat turned so I would shoot off to my left side and I might have a little more clearance.

[Drycreek3189]

I've hunted out of one quite a bit, and the first deer I killed out of one I stood to shoot. It still had the rail around it. After that, I removed the rails and shot seated. All mine have 42" platforms and the seat is on an S shaped rod so you can sit farther back from the "front". Mine are made by Realbark from Henderson, Tex. I traded work for the first two, then bought two more. I like them much better than ladders. I've modified mine a bit to enable camo netting to be wrapped around the back side to break up my outline.

His tripods are expensive, but they are way better than any others I've seen.

[76aggie]

I have hunted out of tripods for a number of years and they are actually my favorite hunting platform provided you have good cover. My tripods don't have much of a platform on them but rather a rail for your feet. I always preferred to shoot sitting down primarily because it is just excess movement when you try to stand up. Practice shooting from the tripod in a sitting position and you will learn to love it. I have shot a 62" recurve from my tripods for years and never had any problems at all with clearance. If you happen to have two or more of those skinny oaks in a small group near a good trail you will be in business. Before you hunt, make sure you bring your bow to your stand in the brush and make sure you can adequately draw in the cover you have available.

[Grady_jones]

I prefer having no shooting rail when bowhunting in a tripod, make sure you wrap it in thick mesh or something do cover up your lower half.

[jerp]

As others have said, brushing it in is key. I don't have a picture but I will describe how I do it when the tripod is in a clump of small live oaks. First make sure you have enough cover behind you so you don't get profiled. Sometimes that involves wiring-up some extra brush directly behind you (I like to use branches from an artificial Xmas tree) Masking your draw is obviously very important as well. I like to tie a piece of paracord between two trees directly in front of the tripod then drape it with camo burlap, securing it tightly at all four corners. Make sure it comes down far enough to hide your lower body. (I use two layers so you can't see through it) Set it at a height where you can just barely shoot over it when aiming at your closest likely shot.

[RickBarbee]

Get rid of the rails.

Tripods with small platforms will generally allow you to set & shoot with ease, and if you cant your bow you can shoot even the longer bows from the larger platforms, plus the seats on the tripods are usually height adjustable.

I don't cant my 64" bow, and I have no problem shooting from the setting position as long as I am setting at the height of the average hunting stool.

I also hunted with a 70" longbow for many years, and never had any problem getting it done from a tripod, or a tree stand without standing.

Point is - If you want to do it bad enough, you'll figure out a way to do it.

Rick

[gonehuntin68]

I like tripods that don't have big platforms or cross braces. Cross braces and big platforms make it much more difficult to set them up in heavy cover. As someone else said, make sure once you set it up, take your bow up and make sure you can draw and shoot through all your shooting lanes. I always shoot sitting down. I just realized this was in the traditional forum. I shoot a compound but I still think everything I said would still apply to shooting traditional.