Hog Saddle or Pig Saddle?

[35remington]

I went through Skylar at SWFA, used my Texas Hunting Forum discount. I think they take off 8% (basically sales tax) and then give it free shipping. Which means the price on the website is basically price to your door. Which in this case was 134.95 for the pig saddle.

Also, the Pig Saddle is not polymer. It is steel, weighs about double what the Aluminum Hog Saddle does. The Pig Saddle did used to come with a polymer knob, but I think now it is supposed to come with an aluminum one. We will see when mine gets here.

Thanks for clarifying what they are made out of. Fingers crossed for Santas elves.

[Jethro]

No problem. Here is a pretty good review that explains some of the differences along with some testing.

And I was wrong, pig saddle doesn't weight twice what the hog saddle does, but it does weigh more. 21 oz for the pig, 15.8 for the Hog.

http://precisionrifleblog.com/2014/03/26/shooting-rest-hog-saddle-review/

[Jethro]

I got my Pig Saddle in from SWFA last week, and have been able to play with it a bit. I really like it so far.

Most of the stuff you read online says you need a large ball head and tripod rated for 20-40 lbs. I already had a good quality Manfrotto tripod and ball head that I bought years ago for use with a camera. However, it it the medium size, and just rated for 11 lbs. So, that had me kind of concerned as to how well it would work. It turns out my concerns were unfounded. It is going to work great for what I need it to do. I believe the tripod model number is a 3205, and you can find them on ebay for like $80-100. From a seated position (95% of what I do), I think it will be all the tripod I ever need. If a guy was going to be shooting a fair amount from standing, then the heavier tripod would probably be required. My use will primarily be banging steel out 600-800, and used as a hunting rest out 500-600 yards max.

The first thing I did was set up at my range out here at work and shoot some of those small 4" decorative pumpkins set out at 175 yards. They were slightly over a hump from me, so I only had about 2" of vertical to play with. But it was no problem at all hitting them. The main thing is just working with it in the beginning and finding how to make your position steady, and getting the height adjustments worked out right.



I let a LR shooting fried of mine play with it yesterday while we were out hunting, and he thought it was plenty steady for hunting out 500-600 as well. We both felt like the Pig Saddle was very steady, and the main reasons for moving up to the Hog Saddle would be if weight and very hard use (durability/military/competition) were a concern.

[35remington]

Very cool thanks for the review. Are you a lefty? If not then I'd think your dope chart would be much easier to see if you put it on the other side of the stock.

[Jethro]

Yes, I shoot lefty. I have also been accused of having my scope level on the wrong side on my LR rigs as well. That is my friend behind my rifle in the second picture, he shoots the "right" way.

That is my coyote calling rifle which is why I have a quick chart on the stock with dope out to 600. I shoot it out 800-1000 some, but not much because that light barrel heats fast.

Something I need to work on this week is a different sling setup that I can wrap around the leg or clip back to my belt for added stability.

[Horitexan]

I was just about to drop the coin on the Hog Saddle and now you've got me second thinking myself again! Lol!


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[Jethro]

If you got the coin for the Hog, and the $300 tripod, and the $100 ball head, go for it. I didn't. I was matching the saddle to my tripod, more or less. Cash outlay if I just put the Pig on what I had was $135. Cash outlay to go "Whole Hog," was gonna run me north of 7 bills minimum. Even more if you go with a carbon fiber tripod. Pretty easy choice for me being as how I had some other things I wanted to spend the money on too.

The setup I have will work just fine for what I am doing. If I needed every bit of stability I could get for hunting past 600, or for competition or military use, then I would go top end everything. But I have been shooting deer and coyotes off sticks and bipods out to 300-400 yards for years and years, so have a pretty good basis on solid field positions too. Neither unit is going to work miracles without solid fundamentals. I would like to have the heavier setup, all things being equal. But the cost vs return just didn't fit my budget. I can use the difference in price better elsewhere.

If money was no object I would get the Hog on a Really Right Stuff tripod and ball head.

[AndyRealtree]

Wow.. Not at all what I was hoping this thread was about.. Lol

On the bright side, at least now I know what the heck these things are called

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[KC Huntin]

I got my Pig Saddle in from SWFA last week, and have been able to play with it a bit. I really like it so far.

Most of the stuff you read online says you need a large ball head and tripod rated for 20-40 lbs. I already had a good quality Manfrotto tripod and ball head that I bought years ago for use with a camera. However, it it the medium size, and just rated for 11 lbs. So, that had me kind of concerned as to how well it would work. It turns out my concerns were unfounded. It is going to work great for what I need it to do. I believe the tripod model number is a 3205, and you can find them on ebay for like $80-100. From a seated position (95% of what I do), I think it will be all the tripod I ever need. If a guy was going to be shooting a fair amount from standing, then the heavier tripod would probably be required. My use will primarily be banging steel out 600-800, and used as a hunting rest out 500-600 yards max.

The first thing I did was set up at my range out here at work and shoot some of those small 4" decorative pumpkins set out at 175 yards. They were slightly over a hump from me, so I only had about 2" of vertical to play with. But it was no problem at all hitting them. The main thing is just working with it in the beginning and finding how to make your position steady, and getting the height adjustments worked out right.



I let a LR shooting fried of mine play with it yesterday while we were out hunting, and he thought it was plenty steady for hunting out 500-600 as well. We both felt like the Pig Saddle was very steady, and the main reasons for moving up to the Hog Saddle would be if weight and very hard use (durability/military/competition) were a concern.

Found one used for less than $70. Here is description. I assume this would work.

Simple, lightweight and rugged describes the 3205 tripod. It is the scarce black version of the popular 3001. The legs are adjustable to three angles, have reliable wing style thumb locks, and the center column is reversible for low angle shots. The working height is 11.3" to 54.2" with a load capacity of 11.1 lbs. The folded length is 21" and it weighs 3.8 lbs.

[Jethro]

Yes KC Hunting, that is exactly the one I have. The ball head I have is a Bogen/Manfrotto 3262, but it is not the QR version you see a lot of if you google it. The ball head is working OK for me so far, but is probably the weakest link in the system. If I was buying one, I would go ahead and get a large and not medium rated ball head. Not that much more money in the grand scheme of things, but would be more solid. I may end up upgrading mine.

Well, I changed a picture in photobucket yesterday, now the TBH website won't let me go back into my post and update the link. So this is the picture that is missing from my earlier post...

[Horitexan]

If you got the coin for the Hog, and the $300 tripod, and the $100 ball head, go for it. I didn't. I was matching the saddle to my tripod, more or less. Cash outlay if I just put the Pig on what I had was $135. Cash outlay to go "Whole Hog," was gonna run me north of 7 bills minimum. Even more if you go with a carbon fiber tripod. Pretty easy choice for me being as how I had some other things I wanted to spend the money on too.

The setup I have will work just fine for what I am doing. If I needed every bit of stability I could get for hunting past 600, or for competition or military use, then I would go top end everything. But I have been shooting deer and coyotes off sticks and bipods out to 300-400 yards for years and years, so have a pretty good basis on solid field positions too. Neither unit is going to work miracles without solid fundamentals. I would like to have the heavier setup, all things being equal. But the cost vs return just didn't fit my budget. I can use the difference in price better elsewhere.

If money was no object I would get the Hog on a Really Right Stuff tripod and ball head.

I don't have the cash to buy a whole system but I already have a good Manfrotto tripod and head that I use for filming. So, all I really need is the Saddle. I'm getting it as much for my wife and kids as for me. I'd like for my wife to be able to shoot out to 400 with more confidence. She's limited to about 300 before her groups open up too much off her Caldwell tripod system. My hope is that it'll offer her such an improvement in stability that she'll feel comfortable shooting further. She loves to go along when we go culling does for some other ranches; and we get to play around with some fairly long range suppressed shots. The deer are pretty confused about what's happening with those quiet shots at 400-500yds. It's not uncommon to get 2, and sometimes 3, before they realize what's really going on. Lol the 'cheap' in me wants the Pig and the "gear guy" in me is screaming for the Hog. Lol

I like those RRS tripods but, when I can afford it, I'm going to get one of the Norwegian made carbon fiber tripods that HogSaddle.com sells - http://stores.hogsaddle.com/prst-carbon-fiber-tripod/ Its only 4.1 pounds, made for shooting and goes low enough for prone shooting. Pretty cool!

There's NO way I would spend nearly $1k on a tripod from RRS. Carbon fiber breaks and I'd lose my mind if I broke a $1k tripod. Lol!


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[Jethro]

The struggle is real, I get it, lol. Trying to find that balance between performance/cost is tough sometimes. I bought mine as much for my daughter as I did for me, so I get that too. And for the record, I am an aluminum guy too.

Here pretty soon I am going to break my tripod down and cerakote the the ball head, top end of the tripod, and upper legs of the tripod to match the Pig Saddle. Lower sliding legs I won't worry about. I wouldn't pay to have that done, but since all it costs me is time, I might as well.

What model tripod do you have already?

[meltingfeather]

If not then I'd think your dope chart would be much easier to see if you put it on the other side of the stock.

[NTex]

I think theirs is metal and the pig saddle is polymer? Not certain tho.

The pig is metal not polymer, at least mine is. I bought this pig along time ago, might have changed.

[Horitexan]

The struggle is real, I get it, lol. Trying to find that balance between performance/cost is tough sometimes. I bought mine as much for my daughter as I did for me, so I get that too. And for the record, I am an aluminum guy too.

Here pretty soon I am going to break my tripod down and cerakote the the ball head, top end of the tripod, and upper legs of the tripod to match the Pig Saddle. Lower sliding legs I won't worry about. I wouldn't pay to have that done, but since all it costs me is time, I might as well.

What model tripod do you have already?

I can't even remember what the model # is but it's pretty stout. It's whatever the studio recommended back when I started filming for them and I was using a pretty big tape camera. It's not lots of fun carrying it but I've sure toted it and a big ol camera and other gear all over the place. So, a 4lb tripod would be a dream! Lol.



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