Bipods... never used one... a couple questions...

[Magnum Wheel Man]

so... I'm thinking about a bipod or two...

having never used one, I have to rely on info gleaned from the www

I'm hearing the Harris notched leg models are pretty good... I'm thinking I'd like one or two that can be switched around from similar rifle, to similar rifle...

do they make one, that easily detaches & could be swapped between several similar rifles ??? ( I do mostly casual bench shooting, but also like to shoot from other positions, where the bipod could be beneficial ) so... I've obviously never shot off sand bags with a bipod... does it get in the way ???

any other suggestions or advice, before I pull the trigger buying one ????

 

[wogpotter]

Comes up as a bad link??

FWIW my experiences with the Harris range.

Legs that "pop out" are more convenient than those that are pulled in by spring pressure.

Notched legs are good because they give you some leveling ability on uneven ground.

Tilt & swivel is a good thing for the same reason, its kind of a fine tune to the notched legs.

I find the 9~13" legs to be the most versatile.

Rubber tipped legs are better than metal "claw" types, particularly on hard (like shooting bench) surfaces.

Constantly swapping is IMO not a great idea for a couple of reasons. The bipod's mount plate has a sliding side-to-side adjustment, its designed to be set a few times only if over done it gets sloppy. It over works sling swivels & can loosen them. If you must then get the QR adapter, that Harris makes. http://www.harrisbipods.com/RBA.html I'd put a short (1"~2" only) Picatinny rail where I wanted to use it. Don't use the sling swivel screw as you can easily do damage by over-tightening the standard bolt.

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

thanks for the reply... www was just a generic term, was not meant to be a link...

 

[wogpotter]

OK that explains it.

 

[Lucas McCain]

I've used Harris bi-pods for many more years than I can remember. I own 4 different sizes and switch them from rifle to rifle as conditions and hunt style demand. If you are required to case your gun when in transit, you may well need to remove it to put it in its case.
Yes , it is possible to loosen your sling screw by over tightening the bi-pod screw, but some common sense applied when tightening will prevent that.
On some of the newer manufactured rifles they have gone to using the wood screw style sling screw on the front and back. I saw that as a problem area when using the bi-pods. I remedied it by installing a machine screw thread sling screw that uses a nut and that cured that worry.
As far as shooting from sand bags they do get in the way. but if you got bi-pods you don't need front sand bags do you.

 

[bamaranger]

got some

I own and use a few bipods, a Harris, a China cheapie, and a Sinclair that looks like it could take a Browning .50 cal.

The cheapie is on a .22 and it stays there, as it sort of a training rifle for me. The big Sinclair goes on a match rifle, which is just short of crew served at 16 lbs or so. The Harris gets on a HB varminter a bit, but I take it off for most of my shooting.

The reason being, I cannot seem to get a hunting set up where I can assume a prone position, or at least a set up where I would remain there. There always seems to be undergrowth, grass, crops, whatever. I find myself using shooting sticks the most, if I'm using a support at all. A fixed bipod long enough for shooting from a seated position is just to much hardware on the rifle to suit me.

 

[wogpotter]

I forgot this in my earlier post.
The Harris has a "spare" sling swivel mount in the "ears" of the clamp. The idea being to take the sling off the existing swivel stud, install the bipod there & attach the sling to the "extra" one on the bipod.
It works, but......
The way the flanges for the Harris are related to the sling swivel they will grind on your shoulder.
For that reason I mount the bipod in front of (above when carrying slung) the sling swivel. Actually I usually attach a new sling swivel just far enough forward & a second just far enough back so that this doesn't happen. If you aren't carrying slung a lot it isn't important.

 

[Doyle]

Personally, I find rifle mounted bipods almost as useful as nipples on a boar hog. If I'm in the field, I can shoot just as accurately and MUCH easier from a set of adjustable shooting sticks. If I'm on the bench, I find that wood blocks and padding are the ticket. Either way definately beats having the extra bulk of the bipod affixed to the rifle.

 

[zukiphile]

Personally, I find rifle mounted bipods almost as useful as nipples on a boar hog.

I had a rifle with bipod long ago, and came to a similar conclusion.

If I am walking out in the middle of a plowed or cut field, I don't care to lie face down in the dirt or mud for a shot. I could see shooting from a sitting position if I'd had the foresight to bring a bag or something water-proof to sit on, but my bipod legs weren't long enough to be useful for that.

If I am in an uncut field, I can't shoot prone because the grass is too high. What I really need is a fencepost or tree branch or wall to use as support, and when I find one of those, the bipod is just in the way.

Bipods look neat when the fellows on top of the White House have them, but I never encounter that setting.

 

[JimDandy]

I had a rifle with bipod long ago, and came to a similar conclusion.

I came to the opposite. While I don't use the bipod in the field, I do absolutely love it over wood blocks and sandbags on the bench. I get the same effect, and it's a whole lot easier to customize and move around a bipod than it is a stack of blocks and sand.

 

[zukiphile]

When I had the bipod, I never shot from a bench, so I can't comment on the utility there (though I can see some benefit in not resting the sides of a rifle on a concrete bench).

I've thought it would be nice to have a light weight sandbag filled with foam shipping media for walking around. I've used that idea for spotting scopes when I didn't want to bring a tripod, but haven't put anything together for a rifle yet.

 

[MarkCO]

Harris bi-pods are pretty decent, as are the Caldwells. The Atlas is a few steps up in quality and function and take a pre-load much better. There are some better ones but to me they get kind of silly unless you are shooting .338LM and up.

While some of it has to do with what kind of shooting you want to do, and how good you want to get, I find bi-pods work best from prone. Rests and bags work better off the bench. If you are just casual shooting on a bench, not under the pressure of competition or a timer, then things like a Bull bag and a rear bag will let you be more precise, more comfortable and produce smaller groups.

Take a look at the Caldwell bag set: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/79...set-nylon-unfilled-green?cm_vc=ProductFinding

They can be filled with polyfill from the hobby store to make a lightweight field system, or poly pellets, corncob media etc to make a heavier bench system. I have 8 bags, and 5 different pods (mono, bi and tri). If I can use a bag instead of a pod, I will everytime. Second choice is a trigger system tri-pod. Some hunting conditions, I use shooting sticks or Bog-Pods.

I'd suggest you go to the range and talk to some guys to see what they are using and what they like. See if you can try some options before you buy.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

I had a rifle with bipod long ago, and came to a similar conclusion.

It's all a matter of application. Try being a woodchuck hunter and being in the middle of a field looking at a woodchuck 400 yards away.

Or, sitting on the edge of a field with a 15" Encore handgun and looking at a deer 175 yards away. No tree branch is steady enough.

You'll find the usefulness of a bipod in a hurry.

My woodchuck guns (and if I shoot any from a bench that doesn't have bags) all wear bi-pods. Mine are all Harris but these days these are cheaper brands that are essentially identical in every way.

 

[zukiphile]

It's all a matter of application. Try being a woodchuck hunter and being in the middle of a field looking at a woodchuck 400 yards away.

I don't see myself making that sort of shot, bipod or not.

A product I've not seen, but I think would be warmly received in the market, would be a simple polymer bipod of the sort of design that pinches around an AR barrel, but with a larger aperture that grasps around a two inch free float tube. Light, cheap and easily mounted/removed without having to install a piece of rail or a swivel stud -- is that idea so bad that no one makes it?

 

[MarkCO]

Like this?

 

[zukiphile]

Functionally that is very close.

I had in mind something like this, but designed to clamp around a free float tube instead of a barrel.

 

[MarkCO]

Could be done. I think so many AR owners are enamored of rails and VFGs that it would not sell well enough to justify the development.

Hogue makes the 2" ID clamp for the AR with rails and a sling stud. I understand it is not selling near as well as they had hoped.

 

[TATER]

The way the flanges for the Harris are related to the sling swivel they will grind on your shoulder.

Wogpotter, Sling on your non-dominant side with the barrel down… When you go to shoulder the rifle, reach straight down with non-dominate hand
grabbing the forearm, bring the rifle up and out then to your shoulder. The sling will naturally wrap your forearm with this movement and you will be ready for your shot. By far the fastest way to make ready.
HTH

 

[zukiphile]

Could be done. I think so many AR owners are enamored of rails and VFGs that it would not sell well enough to justify the development.

You could be right. I don't care to hold a rail, but the market says my objection isn't widely shared.

Hogue makes the 2" ID clamp for the AR with rails and a sling stud. I understand it is not selling near as well as they had hoped.

I think that seems like a good product, but $90 is pretty steep, in my cheap opinion.

 

[MarkCO]

Agree on both counts.