Just been playing around with my scope and an old pistol grip from the days when I used to shoot 35mm film and had a long lens. I was truly amazed to find that with the pistol grip attached to the screw hole closest to the eyepiece on the mounting bracket the scope was beautifully balanced to handhold. I was using it with full zoom and getting no shake at all. Can't wait for the freeze to end so I can try this out on the local reservoir, if this is as good when watching wildfowl across a stretch of water I might just leave the tripod at home full time.