Hunting Tripods for Hog and Coyote Shooting: Why You Need One on Every Hunt

Photo courtesy of Trevor Kalata

I'll start with a confession: I hate marching. Absolutely hate it. I mean, I was all right with it 70lbs and 15 years ago, but years at a desk will do things to a human body. If there were a way to do wild hogs and coyote eradication hunts without walking across half of East Texas in the dark, I'd be all for it. Unfortunately, that option doesn't exist.

On this hunt, we were moving across multiple farm properties, crossing pastures, skirting tree lines, and stepping over more fences than I cared to count. And every single one of us was hauling a shooting tripod strapped directly to our rifle.

The Team

Before going any further, I should explain who "we" is.

Scott Ehrler is more at home chasing coyotes, deer, and elk in Wyoming, where long sightlines and open country are the norm. Trevor Kalata grew up hunting and started running pigs back in sixth grade, so hog behavior and thick cover are second nature to him. Different backgrounds, different instincts—but both know what it takes to do this kind of work without screwing it up.

This particular hog eradication hunt was done outside Nacogdoches, moving across multiple farm properties. Between a rifle, ammo, water, and everything else you end up hauling after dark, the last thing you want is another piece of gear that feels loose or awkward. But our tripods for guns came with us anyway, locked in tight and out of the way, because leaving them behind would've been a mistake.

When Fatigue Catches Up

Fatigue doesn't just make your legs sore. It changes how you think. When you're tired, you rush setups. You skip steps. You start leaning into bad positions because they're faster, not because they're better. You tell yourself the shot is "good enough" instead of asking whether it actually is. Misses happen. Animals get wounded instead of dropped.

That's why how you carry gear matters. A shooting tripod bouncing around or pulling at your shoulder wears you down faster than one that's locked in tight against your rifle. When each man carries his own tripod on his back, secured to the rifle and balanced properly, it stops being a burden and becomes part of the system.

The KJI K700 AMT Aluminum Tripod with Reaper Grip weighs less than six pounds. That doesn't sound like much until you've hauled it for a couple of miles in the dark. Aluminum keeps the weight reasonable while still providing the stability you need when animals finally show up. After a few hours on your back, those saved ounces keep your head clearer and your patience intact.

Reading the Ground

A lot of people picture a tripod for gun hunting as something you set up, watch a field for a few hours, then pack up and move on. That's almost never how it works in the real world. Whether you stop and deploy depends on the field, the sign, and what's happening right then. Sound matters. Wind matters. Feed matters. If there's no reason for pigs or coyotes to be there, standing around just wastes time and energy.

Most of the night, we were moving, with shooting tripods riding on our backs, attached to our rifles and ready to come off fast. Sometimes you set up for ten minutes. Sometimes you move fifty yards and everything changes. Other times, you don't deploy at all and keep walking. That's why movement is necessary, even when you'd rather not be moving.

When Animals Don't Wait

Pigs and coyotes have a habit of appearing where you didn't expect them and leaving the second something feels off. When that happens, you don't have time to dig through a pack or wish you'd brought different gear. You need stability immediately.

Having a shooting tripod already with you—secured to your rifle, not stashed somewhere else—means you can get stable fast. Standing, kneeling, or sitting, you won’t need to scramble before you take the shot. You're already halfway there. The Reaper Grip on the K700 makes this faster. It clamps onto the rifle without fuss, which matters when you're trying to get steady before animals bolt.

How to Actually Carry a Shooting Tripod

Carrying a tripod for hunting sounds easy until you've done it for a few miles in the dark. That's when you realize there's more than one way to carry it, and every method comes with tradeoffs.

Closed Carry: Easier on the Body, Slower to Deploy

Closed carry is what makes sense when you know you're in for a long walk. Legs collapsed, tripod secured tight to the rifle, riding flat against your back. It's cleaner, more compact, and way less annoying when you're pushing through brush, crossing fences, or hiking across big pastures.

The big advantage here is comfort and control. A closed shooting tripod doesn't snag branches nearly as much, it doesn't bang into your legs, and it's a lot easier to keep balanced so it doesn't chew up your shoulder after a couple of miles. When you're already tired, that matters.

The downside is speed. If pigs or coyotes suddenly break cover and start moving, you're not instantly ready. You have to stop, unclip, open the legs, set height, and then get on target. If the animal doesn't pause—or never stops running—you may never get the shot.

Closed carry is the choice when movement is the priority and you don't expect a surprise encounter every fifty yards.

Open Carry: Fast When It Counts, Miserable When It Doesn't

Open carry is the opposite philosophy. Legs partially or fully deployed, tripod carried ready to drop and shoot. This makes sense when you're working areas where animals might appear suddenly and disappear just as fast.

The big advantage is speed. If a hog or coyote pops out of cover and hesitates for a moment, you can get stable almost immediately with your shooting tripod. There's no fumbling with legs or locks. You drop it, lean in, and take the shot before the opportunity vanishes.

The downside is everything else.

An open tripod for gun hunting is a branch magnet. It catches brush, vines, wire, and fence posts constantly. If you're carrying it by hand and something forces the legs closed, it can pinch hard enough to wake you up real fast. It's also louder, harder to control, and far more tiring to carry over any real distance.

Open carry works best for short movements, edging along a field, or working areas where you fully expect animals to show up quickly. It's a terrible choice for long treks unless you enjoy fighting your gear all night.

Carrying It With the Rifle Attached

Since each man was carrying his own tripod attached to his rifle, balance mattered no matter which method we used. Too far off to one side, and it pulls on your shoulder. Too low and it smacks the back of your legs. Too loose and it rattles every time you move.

The goal was always the same: keep the shooting tripod tight to the rifle and tight to your body. Whether open or closed, nothing should be swinging, clanking, or shifting around while you walk.

If your shoulder starts hurting, that's usually a sign the weight isn't riding straight down. Adjust it sooner rather than later, because ignoring it just means you'll rush setups later when fatigue sets in.

Picking the Right Carry for the Moment

There's no single right answer. Closed carry makes sense when you're covering ground and managing fatigue. Open carry makes sense when you think you might need to shoot right now and won't have time to deploy.

The mistake is committing to one method all night. Conditions change. Terrain changes. Animal behavior changes. The smart move is switching carry methods based on what you're actually doing, not what sounded good at the truck.

The whole point of carrying a tripod for gun hunting is being ready. Sometimes that means comfort and endurance. Other times it means speed and stability with zero warning. Knowing when to switch between the two is part of using the tool correctly.

Being Ready When It Matters

This kind of hunting is about readiness more than comfort. You're moving, carrying gear, and reacting to opportunities that don't announce themselves. When each man carries his own shooting tripod, securely attached to his rifle, you're never caught flat-footed. You're tired, sure—but you're ready.

And when pigs or coyotes finally give you a chance, you want to take that shot from the most stable position you can manage, before they decide they've had enough and disappear for good. The KJI K700 AMT with Reaper Grip makes that happen. It's light enough to carry all night, stable enough to shoot from when it matters, and quiet enough to keep you in the game.

Key Takeaways: Choosing and Using a Shooting Tripod

Weight matters on long hunts. At under three pounds, an aluminum tripod for gun hunting like the K700 AMT won't exhaust you before animals appear.

Carry method matters as much as the tripod itself. Closed carry for long distances and comfort; open carry when speed is critical and encounters are imminent.

Attachment systems save time. A shooting tripod secured directly to your rifle means you're always ready—no digging through packs or makeshift setups.

Balance prevents fatigue. Keep your tripod tight to both the rifle and your body to avoid shoulder pain and maintain control.

Adapt to conditions. The best hunters switch between carry methods based on terrain, animal behavior, and how much ground they need to cover.

Whatever you’re hunting, the right shooting tripod—carried the right way—transforms your hunt from a test of endurance into a game you can actually win.