Crossbow Hunting with the Reaper Grip by Kopfjäger
Apr 06, 2020
Nowadays, when it comes to hunting products, the market is flooded with ‘new and improved’ gear every day. There are products of all kinds that can help a hunter or shooter become more successful. It is a great time to be a hunter, but it also leaves us wanting more. And here is why wanting more, especially with the Kopfjäger Reaper Grip, can be a good thing…
Every hunter who goes out into the field is usually focused on many different aspects that can make their hunt successful. These aspects can range from scent control, wind direction, weather patterns, and more.
When diving deeper into the aspects of successful hunting, most variables fall back onto the hunter. These variables tend to lean more towards practice, patience, reliability of gear chosen, and precision.
That is where the Reaper Grip by Kopfjäger comes into play for me. When I am looking for new gear to use in the field, I only choose products that are proven to be dependable. The Reaper Grip fits that bill.
Functionality
The Reaper Grip is an easy-to-use mount that can grip almost any weapon. It grips weapons by 6 total fingers that rise from the base and tighten down on the firearm and/or crossbow.
The fingers are covered by a rubberized sleeve that prevents scratching or damage to your weapons.
The Reaper Grip mounts to almost every tripod with a base thread. Once mounted, the Reaper Grip is loosened and tightened by a three-prong head on the right side of the grip. It opens wide enough for almost every firearm. I only found one firearm that was too small for the grip to hold securely, and that was a Marlin 22.
However, you can purchase more of the rubber grip sleeves individually, allowing smaller firearms to still be secured. The Reaper Grip has a threaded lever that protrudes from the rear of the ball pivot point to allow for the grip to be adjusted and pointed at your target.
There is a flat mounting point on the left side of the Reaper Grip which allows for mounting optional accessories. The user can mount anything from video cameras to additional infrared lights.
Personal Experience
For many years, I have been an avid bowhunter. I have been shooting compound bows for almost 14 years now. This year, I decided to try out a new type of hunting. I picked up a crossbow a few times, instead of my compound, to give it a shot.
Crossbow hunting has been taking the hunting community by storm since a law passed in 2009 permitting hunters to use them in Texas. Just like hunting with a compound, shooting crossbows requires practice in order to achieve consistency and precision.
Hunting during Archery-Only Season with a crossbow opened many possibilities that I may not have had with a compound. Keeping the crossbow steady and on target while shooting is now much easier than ever with my Reaper Grip.
I recently returned from the Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge in South Texas for an Archery Only hunt.
This hunt is a “Drawn Permit” hunt that occurs each year for the opportunity to harvest Whitetail Deer, Nilgai Antelope and wild hogs. To test the Kopfjäger tripod and Reaper Grip, and see what its limits may be, I took it with me.
The Crossbow Hunt
The hunt on the refuge was spot and stalk only, meaning that there were no vehicles allowed on the grounds. I wanted to see how the weight of the tripod and grip would affect the hunt. Any spot and stalk hunter knows, after hiking miles each day for scouting and hunting, any excess weight can cause unwanted fatigue.
The Kopfjäger Tripod and Reaper Grip are not the lightest on the market. However, I was willing to bear the weight due to the reliability of the products. We packed everything in a few miles the first day, and there was no notable strain due to the weight of the grip and tripod combination.
Remember – we were using a carbon fiber tripod instead of aluminum or any other material. We came back empty handed, but not due to lack of opportunity. The Reaper Grip performed flawlessly and kept the crossbow gripped tight in all scenarios we put it through.
There was not a time that I can recall where I felt that the grip did not perform.
Conclusion
The Kopfjäger Tripod and Reaper Grip combo is one of the best and more stable setups that I have used. When it comes to functionality, I believe the Reaper Grip performs better with a crossbow or bolt-action rifles.
Most crossbows and bolt-action rifles have a slight curvature to their stocks. The way the fingers of the Reaper Grip curve allow for a very snug and secure grip on a hunter’s weapon of choice.
This is a very well-developed product and the functionality allows for multiple uses.