Bipods - what advantage

[tarponhead]

I like using bipods for a stable prone or seated shot, but I don't understand what advantage you get from spending north of £300 for some, over as little as £30-£40 for a Harris clone. Clearly I am missing something.

What?

My mate has just forked out £350 for a bipod for his Blaser - will it shoot any better than others?

 

[VSS]

I have 2 "clones" and one genuine Harris. The Harris was bought 2nd hand, so price of all three was similar.
The Harris is a bit sturdier, but you'd have to look pretty closely to notice it. It certainly doesn't give any advantage over the others.

 

[User00001]

I bought a Harris 'clone' (fake?) once on a whim, it was junk.

I have a range of Harris bipods and am very happy with them although, to be fair, I don't use them much now due to a change of circumstances.

I really want to like some of the newer designs from the competition, and can really see some of the benefits, but I just can't bring myself to commit to spending that sort of money, I've come close several times but talked myself out of it.

 

[NigelM]

I like using bipods for a stable prone or seated shot, but I don't understand what advantage you get from spending north of £300 for some, over as little as £30-£40 for a Harris clone. Clearly I am missing something.

What?

My mate has just forked out £350 for a bipod for his Blaser - will it shoot any better than others?

Interesting subject.

Just finished reading Nathan Fosters book on Long Range shooting - not that I am planning on shooting deer at 1000 yds - and he is very anti bipods. Feels they are unpredictable, bounce differently dependant on what surface they are standing on and are responsible for lazy and inaccurate shooting.

Specifically he is talking about Magnum type chamberings in hunting weight rifles - not mild recoiling chamberings or very heavy competition rifles.

He believes that resting the forend on a backpack and using the sling properly to steady the rifle and control recoil is a far more accurate method of shooting. I experimented over the Christmas break and found that once I had the hang of the new method the groups were very tight and I was getting no unexplained flyers.

I'm sure many will disagree but it seemed to work.

...and if that is the case paying £350 for a bipod is probably not very good value at all!

 

[User00001]

The shorter fake Harris bipods seem to be better than the longer ones, as the legs get longer the poor quality materials and looser tolerances show through.

 

[sparky9]

i do like the bipods that stay in your pocket until you need them, the rifle is lighter and better balanced, you have the advantage of using anything else to hand without them being in the way, and when you need it, it's in your pocket ready to put on in seconds.

 

[Tim.243]

Both mine are somewhere in the cupboard with dust on them, I zero off my sticks which they also in turn gives me a slight downward angle.

I did use them a lot when I first started but found the laying down bit crap with my neck lasting about 3/4 shots.

As I shoot shot guns a lot the natural stance of standing up suited using quad sticks with the pod going in the mentioned above.

There are situations where they are a must but not in my shooting as I don't take them with me..

Tim.243

 

[jcampbellsmith]

It's a very interesting topic and I've not found an answer I am 100% happy with yet. Having started shooting without a bipod or a moderator, I now use both. I've tried a wide range of bipods and have ultimately returned to this one for stalking - http://www.harrisbipods.com/HB25S.html

I mostly use it fully retracted for prone shooting, but occasionally will extend the legs a couple of inches. I find that shooting prone it's adequate to get the muzzle up out of the grass or heather. For range shooting I find it is 2 inches too high. I very occasionally use the bipod sitting with the legs fully extended.

I've yet to find a single bipod that will allow me to move from a low prone position through to sitting. Picking up on Tim's comments, I use the 4 sticks a lot, especially during the Spring, Summer and Autumn.

Regards

JCS

 

[Druid]

Bipods on a sporting rifle are not great in my book. Better left to the range kit in my opinion

 

[flytie]

The Blaser bi-pod your friend has bought will be made of carbon fibre or some such wonder product, like the Neo-Pod, and will weigh only a tiny proportion of the amount that your Harris does.

I am a big fan of Nathan Foster, but if you see how the British snipers shoot they nearly all have a bi-pod available to them, as do all the Precision Rifle Shooters in the USA.

Simon

 

[6MM-AI]

If I'm buying a Harris style bipod I won't buy any thing other than a Harris I've been there done that and they don't last!

 

[nun_hunter]

The Blaser bi-pod your friend has bought will be made of carbon fibre or some such wonder product, like the Neo-Pod, and will weigh only a tiny proportion of the amount that your Harris does.

I am a big fan of Nathan Foster, but if you see how the British snipers shoot they nearly all have a bi-pod available to them, as do all the Precision Rifle Shooters in the USA.

Simon

I've read the Nathan Foster bit and he is specifically talking about NZ shooting, so magnum chambering but in a lightweight mountain hunting rifle not a military sniper rifle of competition rifle.

After using a Harris, a fake Harris and an Atlas I've finally got a Javelin. It's off when stalking as most the time it's not used (especially while it's being carried) so no digging in the back. Harris bipod could be used as torture devices the amount of grief they cause your shoulder blade. The Javelin takes seconds to pop on and is super strong and as good as any other hunting bipod first stability and strength.

 

[Jagdmatch]

They have their uses, I quite like one on a heavy rifle for longer range shooting at targets but it can make the user reliant on the bipod or lazy with marksmanship principles. For some competitions you have to carry all of the kit before getting into a shooting position and rucksack rests are frowned upon although I think they are more effective with a forend hold which seems to be almost forgotten.
I am becoming a fan of magazine resting as an alternative on rifles this will allow this but then I think the squatting position is more effective than kneeling!
I am not keen on their use for stalking if it ends up with the shooter firing up hill with marginal backstops. The Javelin kit is very good however for that time when a bipod could be useful.

 

[frasca78]

I owned a "fake" Harris. It broke the morning I was packing my rifle for a competition.
Never more!

 

[andychas]

I like using bipods for a stable prone or seated shot, but I don't understand what advantage you get from spending north of £300 for some, over as little as £30-£40 for a Harris clone. Clearly I am missing something.

What?

My mate has just forked out £350 for a bipod for his Blaser - will it shoot any better than others?

I changed over to one of the spartan bipods recently, it was expensive (roughly equivalent to 3 harris) but, as you only need buy the one bipod and and have the studs on all your rifles, it works out pretty well from the money side if you've got a few rifles.
I very much like having the bipod "off" the rifle until needed, it makes resting the rifle on bags etc really straightforward.
As to whether they shoot better than a Harris, probably not, but I like not having bipod dig into my back all the time when carrying, and it cuts down on weight too.

 

[ejg]

I had a fake Harris for over ten years as my main bipod and it is still good. The first Harris I bought broke in two just as I wanted to fire the first shot with it. Mechanical gear can have faults. I had that replaced and is perfect since. In the meantime I have a few more Harris bipods and must say generally they are better made than the clones.
Harris is built like a Briggs&Stratton engine, of course we have better made and more expensive bipods.
edi

 

[McKenzie]

Interesting subject.

Just finished reading Nathan Fosters book on Long Range shooting - not that I am planning on shooting deer at 1000 yds - and he is very anti bipods. Feels they are unpredictable, bounce differently dependant on what surface they are standing on and are responsible for lazy and inaccurate shooting.

Specifically he is talking about Magnum type chamberings in hunting weight rifles - not mild recoiling chamberings or very heavy competition rifles.

He believes that resting the forend on a backpack and using the sling properly to steady the rifle and control recoil is a far more accurate method of shooting. I experimented over the Christmas break and found that once I had the hang of the new method the groups were very tight and I was getting no unexplained flyers.

I'm sure many will disagree but it seemed to work.

...and if that is the case paying £350 for a bipod is probably not very good value at all!

Couldn't agree more. I shoot an unmoderated wood & blue Sako 75 & it simply won't shoot a group smaller than 3" with a harris bipod on it (I've seen gunsmiths & gamekeepers get 6" groups from it). When I started shooting we were told (by BDS on DSC1) to always just leave the front of the rifle alone & use the left hand to support the stock. I look forward to bumping into the instructor at some point to tell him what I think of that! I don't know how many hundreds of rounds I wasted trying to pursue accuracy from that technique & nearly sold the rifle several times & pretty much gave up stalking for a while as it was so demoralising to know that you had to get to within 50 yards to consider a shot. Then, a few years ago I started doing a bit of research & reading & like you came across Nathan Foster, amongst others.

I can see that if the shape of your stock & weight of you rifle allow it to recoil straight back then the crossed-arm technique would probably work, but with a relatively light hunting rifle with rotational recoil I can assure you that it doesn't & this is where the use of a set sling or a Vulcan Death Grip of the forend over a pack have it shooting like a dream.

Incidentally, I've just fitted the Spartan Javelin bipod (the same as the £350 Blaser bipod, just £220 as it doesn't have 'Blaser' printed on it) & in conjunction with a Galco Safari sling it shoots very accurately indeed. I put this partly down to the fact that it comes with spiked feet so you can really dig it in.

Nigel, you might enjoy this:

 

[Mungo]

Of course, you can use a bipod AND hold the fore-end.

I find this works very well with my unmoderated .270. Shot with a cross-arm sniper hold (not holding fore-end), and it bounces all over the place. Shot with a bipod, but also holding the fore-end firmly (in fact pushing into the bipod a bit), and it shoot beautifully.

Like anything else: they're extremely useful tools when used properly in appropriate contexts. I always have one, either on the rifle or in a pocket.

 

[Bigboab29]

I've tried a lot of bipods over the years, I found the cheap harris clones were rubbish, this doesn't mean they all are the same but the ones I tried were junk. The harris bipods are great, solid, and will last a long time, probably the best value option available. I recently bough a neopod which I now use on all my rifles its an amazing bit of kit, so much lighter and less obtrusive than the harris, when you are not using the neopod you don't even notice it being there, but the it was £300 so you could get 2-3 harris for that price.

 

[VSS]

Of course, you can use a bipod AND hold the fore-end.

I find this works very well with my unmoderated .270. Shot with a cross-arm sniper hold (not holding fore-end), and it bounces all over the place. Shot with a bipod, but also holding the fore-end firmly (in fact pushing into the bipod a bit), and it shoot beautifully.

Like anything else: they're extremely useful tools when used properly in appropriate contexts. I always have one, either on the rifle or in a pocket.

I guess all rifles react differently to various combinations of hold / bipod / rest etc.
My P-H. 243 is clearly the complete opposite to your. 270 Mungo! For accuracy I need to keep my left hand well away from the fore-end when shooting prone off bipod. I have my left fist clenched under the butt, holding the sling at the point where it's attached to the rifle . My left elbow points more or less down range.
Probably highly irregular, but works for me and my rifle / bipod combination.