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Posted this once already, but seems to have evaporated.. oh well!

So thanks to advice I got on this fine form, I have purchased a Nikon scope.

However, I need a proper stand for it. (the club ones arent up to the job..)

Are Freeland ones any good? They seem to be the main ones about..in fact I cant really see many others...

And on a second question, would I need a swivel mount to go with it to attach tot he standard tripod screw mount that the Nikon has?

TIA as always!

I use a Freeland, I've had it for many years now and is a very fine stand, very robust and stable.

Not what you would call compact though, unless the modern ones are different.

Hammerstein wrote:Are Freeland ones any good? They seem to be the main ones about..in fact I cant really see many others...

What do you intend to do with it?
e.g. Shoot prone, shoot 3P, coach from a chair?
Do you need to fit it into a shooting bag?
Do you need to carry it long distances between ranges?
Do you need to travel with it by air?

..

As said - Depends what you want to use it for?

.22 prone only then the black Opticron ones are fine but not very low unless you mount the pole upside down. (NSRA, Intershoot, Beds Target Supplies & Others).http://www.intershoot.co.uk/acatalog/St ... ories.html

For prone only fullbore or smallbore, Freeland are excellent but if you want it to fold up smaller the new Anschutz prone is a good design but for the darned ball joint.

For 3P shooting the Freeland with extra poles is ok if a bit wobbley imho for an expensive scope. It can topple easily & if a concrete range floor then -

Full bore & especially if coaching Ewing are the stand of choice & best - if you can get one now? but take a look at - http://www.longrangebpcr.com/scopes.htm some good ideas there

Personally I haven't found one that does most things well (folds up small, light weight but stable, stable for prone & coaching & 3P) but a good project engineer could knock you up a hybrid of the Anschutz counter folding base (poss with additional fold out legs?), the Ewing thicker more sturdy & stiff in 3P pole (fill the short top section with lead to take out wind vibration) & the Freeland tilt head & scope attachment that avoids the shaky / vibration prone ball joint that also stresses camera mounts on the scopes.

There is a business opening here! but is the UK market sufficient to make it worth it?

Ewing are excellent but, nearer to home - Dolphin have a new take on scope stands. A bit heavy but very stable.

I have an opticron and it does the job, scope I have isn't much use though... :(

The Gun Pimp wrote:Ewing are excellent but, nearer to home - Dolphin have a new take on scope stands. A bit heavy but very stable.

Interested - But nothing on their web site?
- that has horrible drop-down menus that go off the page so the last 3 4 listings cant be read?!

Got a pic / link?

rox wrote:

Hammerstein wrote:Are Freeland ones any good? They seem to be the main ones about..in fact I cant really see many others...

What do you intend to do with it?
e.g. Shoot prone, shoot 3P, coach from a chair?
Do you need to fit it into a shooting bag?
Do you need to carry it long distances between ranges?
Do you need to travel with it by air?

..

Almost exclusively prone... maybe the odd bit of benchrest.

Most of the ranges I go to have fairly easy access from the car parks, so portability isnt a massive issue.

No need to travel by air at present!

The Gun Pimp wrote:Ewing are excellent but, nearer to home - Dolphin have a new take on scope stands. A bit heavy but very stable.

Hmmm... cant find any reference to Dolphin stands.. Got a link?

I don't have a link but I'm sure there will be a contact e-mail on their website.

I used a Dolphin stand last week (borrowed from Fox Firearms shop) in a howling gale and it held the scope steady.

It was developed for F Class shooters, who like the scope as close to their rifle scope as possible. It allows the scope to be 'cantilevered' so you can position it very close to the rifle - it's about the only stand I've seen that allows this. It's very well made but heavy.