Personally I think the short tripod would be most used during practice for shooters. A shooter might not always take a spotter along to the range when practicing, and if shooting in the prone position he could use the short tripod too check his shots without moving, or needing a spotter along.
Of course all the old drawings or paintings were picturing matches, so that's what we have as images today. There's got to be a reason these short tripods were produced and sold.