Post by moose1am on Dec 26, 2013 11:59:33 GMT -5
Hi:
I recently purchased a Caldwell Magnum Deadshot Field Pod for my personal use.
I've taken it out of the box and found it well packed inside the box with Styrofoam caps at both ends of the box and the parts inside wrapped up in bubble wrap to keep them safe during transport.
I did notice that the box is heavy IMHO.
So once I opened up the box and took out the parts and started to read the instructions I figured out pretty fast how to set it up. Just looking at the pictures to make sure that I knew which rifle holder was the front and which one was the rear. After that it was pretty easy to set the unit up for testing in the living room
The legs are very sturdy and heavy duty. The unit extends to 60" high by adjusting the legs. Each leg is independently adjustable. And there is a bubble level on the center hub to tell you when you have the tripod level. You can adjust the Rails to balance the rifle on the front and rear supports. The rails adjust well and easily and then lock into place. The plastic knob locks on the rail extensions IMHO is the weakest part of the unit. All the other locking mechanisms on the legs are made out of metal. The leg extension locks are made out of metal. So they are very sturdy and hold well.
The Rail Cam Level screws on and then locks the rails and cam tight together. Just don't over tighten it or it can damage the unit. I just screwed mine in tight enough to snuk the cam level locked.
The only thing that I don't like so far is that the small plastic insert that fits into the bottom of the tubing on the front and rear forks fell out. I had to super glue them back in and hope that they stay in place now. They came out when I was pulling the front and rear forks out of the hole the were in. These tube are hard to push down into the hole where they go even when the fork lock knob is loosened up well. But this was a minor inconvenience as I was able to find the parts on the carpet and replace them. If they fall out while I'm out in the field then kiss them goodbye. Then it could become a problem unless you can replace them before the bottom of the tubing gets bend out of shape. There are hollow light weight aluminum tube about 3/4" in diameter.
Once I had the unit together I placed my AR15 on it and adjusted the rails and front and rear forks to hold the rifle level and stable. There is a large round friction knob that adjusts the friction on the hub to allow it to move up and down easily or to hold it in one place. I thought this friction knob worked good.
There is a smaller fiction knob that used to tighten up or losen up the 360 deg rotation of the head. That knob is too small and hard to reach IMHO. They could have made it easier to use IMHO. It works though. It's just hard to use IMHO.
But once I had the rifle on the Field Pod and the thing leveled with the legs setup where I could stand and use the rifle I fell in love with it. It's very stable and makes for a steady shooting platform. I was able to sight down the scope and hold the rifle very steady. I could tell that he scopes cross hairs were very stable on a nearby target in side the house. Maybe when I take it outside and sight in on a distant target it won't seem so steady. I'll try to add to this review after I get this thing out in the field.
They unit has a strap that wrapps around the legs and then snaps onto a spot on the top of the unit. This way you can shoulder the unit and carry it into the field. The unit folds back up easily and quickly too. So if you can get it to your stand it should really help you shoot better. With the rifle balanced it's easy to move the rifle point of aim up and down and around. And if you are standing up with the unit's legs fully extended then it's pretty easy to walk around the unit and move the rifle around 360 deg. In case a sneaky coyote comes up from the wrong direction. You can move around quickly and get a shot maybe. Of course it helps to not move when they are looking right at you. But if they dip behind a small hill or bush then you can move without them seeing you move and be ready to shoot when they reappear back into view.
I envision using this Magnum fieldpod on a night stand where I'm standing up or sitting on a 5 gallon bucket with a swivel round padded seat on the bucket. I should be able to see eyes coming in and position the bucket or myself ( if standing) to point the rifle at the approaching coyotes.
The main drawback to his Magnum Unit is it's weight!!!!!
It weights in at 13 lbs. That's a lot of weight to be carrying to a stand if you have to walk very far. But for a stand that close to our vehicle (4 wheel drive type or four wheeler small type) you should be able to carry it to the stand more easily with the vehicle.
If you are hiking for a mile or more then this thing might better be left at the shooting range.
I noticed that some of the local stores have the original Fieldpod on sale for around $89 now. And they have the camo version as well. The original Deadshot Fieldpod only weights about 5 lbs from what I've read. So it's a lot lighter. But when I saw a U-tube video of someone shooting with one of these I noticed that the entire Fieldpod moved backwards and almost fell over when the guy in the video shot his gun. I mean it tilted back about 30 deg from vertical. That's one of the reason I decided to try out the Magnum unit first.
Now once I start hauling this magnum unit out into the field by myself I'll probably have a different view of it. It won't help me if I can't get it into the stand without killing myself getting it there. My AR15 weights about 7 lbs empty and with the scope and the RRA single piece scope ring mount riser unit the combination weights almost ten pounds. The scope and rings weight right at 2lbs 1 oz and then the Wicked light and the light mount on the scope add another 8 or 10 ounces of weight to the rifle. Add to all that the E caller and remote and other necessities and that stuff starts to get pretty heavey to carry by oneself.
I recently purchased a Caldwell Magnum Deadshot Field Pod for my personal use.
I've taken it out of the box and found it well packed inside the box with Styrofoam caps at both ends of the box and the parts inside wrapped up in bubble wrap to keep them safe during transport.
I did notice that the box is heavy IMHO.
So once I opened up the box and took out the parts and started to read the instructions I figured out pretty fast how to set it up. Just looking at the pictures to make sure that I knew which rifle holder was the front and which one was the rear. After that it was pretty easy to set the unit up for testing in the living room
The legs are very sturdy and heavy duty. The unit extends to 60" high by adjusting the legs. Each leg is independently adjustable. And there is a bubble level on the center hub to tell you when you have the tripod level. You can adjust the Rails to balance the rifle on the front and rear supports. The rails adjust well and easily and then lock into place. The plastic knob locks on the rail extensions IMHO is the weakest part of the unit. All the other locking mechanisms on the legs are made out of metal. The leg extension locks are made out of metal. So they are very sturdy and hold well.
The Rail Cam Level screws on and then locks the rails and cam tight together. Just don't over tighten it or it can damage the unit. I just screwed mine in tight enough to snuk the cam level locked.
The only thing that I don't like so far is that the small plastic insert that fits into the bottom of the tubing on the front and rear forks fell out. I had to super glue them back in and hope that they stay in place now. They came out when I was pulling the front and rear forks out of the hole the were in. These tube are hard to push down into the hole where they go even when the fork lock knob is loosened up well. But this was a minor inconvenience as I was able to find the parts on the carpet and replace them. If they fall out while I'm out in the field then kiss them goodbye. Then it could become a problem unless you can replace them before the bottom of the tubing gets bend out of shape. There are hollow light weight aluminum tube about 3/4" in diameter.
Once I had the unit together I placed my AR15 on it and adjusted the rails and front and rear forks to hold the rifle level and stable. There is a large round friction knob that adjusts the friction on the hub to allow it to move up and down easily or to hold it in one place. I thought this friction knob worked good.
There is a smaller fiction knob that used to tighten up or losen up the 360 deg rotation of the head. That knob is too small and hard to reach IMHO. They could have made it easier to use IMHO. It works though. It's just hard to use IMHO.
But once I had the rifle on the Field Pod and the thing leveled with the legs setup where I could stand and use the rifle I fell in love with it. It's very stable and makes for a steady shooting platform. I was able to sight down the scope and hold the rifle very steady. I could tell that he scopes cross hairs were very stable on a nearby target in side the house. Maybe when I take it outside and sight in on a distant target it won't seem so steady. I'll try to add to this review after I get this thing out in the field.
They unit has a strap that wrapps around the legs and then snaps onto a spot on the top of the unit. This way you can shoulder the unit and carry it into the field. The unit folds back up easily and quickly too. So if you can get it to your stand it should really help you shoot better. With the rifle balanced it's easy to move the rifle point of aim up and down and around. And if you are standing up with the unit's legs fully extended then it's pretty easy to walk around the unit and move the rifle around 360 deg. In case a sneaky coyote comes up from the wrong direction. You can move around quickly and get a shot maybe. Of course it helps to not move when they are looking right at you. But if they dip behind a small hill or bush then you can move without them seeing you move and be ready to shoot when they reappear back into view.
I envision using this Magnum fieldpod on a night stand where I'm standing up or sitting on a 5 gallon bucket with a swivel round padded seat on the bucket. I should be able to see eyes coming in and position the bucket or myself ( if standing) to point the rifle at the approaching coyotes.
The main drawback to his Magnum Unit is it's weight!!!!!
It weights in at 13 lbs. That's a lot of weight to be carrying to a stand if you have to walk very far. But for a stand that close to our vehicle (4 wheel drive type or four wheeler small type) you should be able to carry it to the stand more easily with the vehicle.
If you are hiking for a mile or more then this thing might better be left at the shooting range.
I noticed that some of the local stores have the original Fieldpod on sale for around $89 now. And they have the camo version as well. The original Deadshot Fieldpod only weights about 5 lbs from what I've read. So it's a lot lighter. But when I saw a U-tube video of someone shooting with one of these I noticed that the entire Fieldpod moved backwards and almost fell over when the guy in the video shot his gun. I mean it tilted back about 30 deg from vertical. That's one of the reason I decided to try out the Magnum unit first.
Now once I start hauling this magnum unit out into the field by myself I'll probably have a different view of it. It won't help me if I can't get it into the stand without killing myself getting it there. My AR15 weights about 7 lbs empty and with the scope and the RRA single piece scope ring mount riser unit the combination weights almost ten pounds. The scope and rings weight right at 2lbs 1 oz and then the Wicked light and the light mount on the scope add another 8 or 10 ounces of weight to the rifle. Add to all that the E caller and remote and other necessities and that stuff starts to get pretty heavey to carry by oneself.
