I have been using one for about 4 years and completly beat the living tar out of it. We use it for everyting from shotguns (turkey season) to crossbows, to rifles. It is deffinetly something that you have to practice with so that you can find the right balance point and control the recoil. I have found that if I put one leg in the direction that you are shooting, the recoil and follow through is better.
The tripod will recoil and rotate backwards on two legs, and come straight back. If you have the one leg close to you and the other two pointed in the direction of fire, under recoil it will "rock" on the that one leg and can cause recoil to move the gun right or left.
I have found it helpful where you can shoot from prone to standing along with using it for a spotting scope mount.
Something else to consider is putting an Arca rail on the bottom of your rifle forend. That will then directly attach to your ball head. I have done that for a few of my rifles and I find it to be more stable when compared to the ballhead and hog saddle.
If am jumping from gun to gun or letting other use the tripod/hog saddle it just works and works well. I have two buddies that have used my setup and they have now purchased their own.