Spartan/ harris bipod comparison
- Thread starter jrtunny
- Start date
stevenedwards
Well-Known Member
I have found that the Javelin is very convenient whist you do have something in your pocket the weight is negligible and I very quickly got used to not having the Harris on the rifle.
In terms of fumbling about there are different issues I found the harris can be a bit noisy if you don't go carefully the general construction and click stop legs and rifle can't do give a good platform. The Javelin is quick to fit and gives the option of panning a little but the twist lock legs are really good until conditions are poor, muddy, cold wet hands etc.
How much do you use a bipod if its a lot then perhaps the disadvantages of having a large metal contraption permanently attached are offset. If less frequently then a Javelin.
I put the harris back on for load development and zeroing. When a shot is likely to present I don't think there is any real time difference between the two, my tendency is to have the Harris legs retracted when carrying to minimise size but have the Javelin legs set at a useful length in my pocket.
Got rid of my javelin.
The front friction lock kept coming undone so the rifle would fall over, the legs again would come undone so the rifle would slowly start lowering when you were lining up a shot! I also accidentally pulled a leg off and the insert thingy (technical I know) popped off and I had to glue it back in. Just generally a faff.
The other thing that peeved me was I rang up to get some longer legs and I was told the model was discontinued so all they had was a few 40cm varieties. I had owned the pod for less than 6 months and paid £200. Pretty poor customer service in my book.
Nice concept, didn’t work for me, back on a Harris, and I use a vorn on the hill which is the only place I use a bipod so the weight/size isn’t a worry. All that being said the newer ones look better, especially the ratchet tac legs, but £330 is a ton of money.
The front friction lock kept coming undone so the rifle would fall over, the legs again would come undone so the rifle would slowly start lowering when you were lining up a shot! I also accidentally pulled a leg off and the insert thingy (technical I know) popped off and I had to glue it back in. Just generally a faff.
The other thing that peeved me was I rang up to get some longer legs and I was told the model was discontinued so all they had was a few 40cm varieties. I had owned the pod for less than 6 months and paid £200. Pretty poor customer service in my book.
Nice concept, didn’t work for me, back on a Harris, and I use a vorn on the hill which is the only place I use a bipod so the weight/size isn’t a worry. All that being said the newer ones look better, especially the ratchet tac legs, but £330 is a ton of money.
doric_prince
Well-Known Member
Got both Harris 9-13” with notched legs & Spartan pro hunt with both stand length legs and 40cm (both non tac legs)
harris
advantages - solid, quick to deploy, always on the rifle when crawling
disadvantages - heavy, in deep heather / long grass legs not long enough sometime., metal can rub through clothing / not comfortable slun on back / shoulder.
spartan pro hunt
advantages - light, long legs over comes deep heather, does not cause snagging when carrying through thick plantations / rubbing on shoulder / back when carried.
disadvantages - but perhaps slightly too tall (with the 40cm) to get a comfortable prone position when sometimes shooting off some flat / hard surfaces. Can be fiddly to clip in before taking a shot, familiarity is key here however if the gillie you are out with takes the rifle and readies it to set up the shot for you, this can cause confusion / faff unless they are familiar with it IME. Not as easy to deploy when crawling into position (i.e. you have to take it off the rifle).
I haven’t experienced the same issue as some on here with the rifle falling over, but the pro hunt model has a ratchet to tighten and stop the rifle rolling.
an alternative, If you want spring-loaded legs that fold down from the rifle, maybe The Valhalla model which can be completely removed like other spartan models or left in situ and the legs folded down- downside is it’s more expensive and heavier!
ultimately I haven’t gone back to the harris as I value the weigh and easy of carrying over the sight increased pain that is deployment of the Spartan. Over 70% of my shots are off sticks; so perhaps not as reliant on bipods as others. I’m sure you could get tolerate either depending on what’s best for you.
harris
advantages - solid, quick to deploy, always on the rifle when crawling
disadvantages - heavy, in deep heather / long grass legs not long enough sometime., metal can rub through clothing / not comfortable slun on back / shoulder.
spartan pro hunt
advantages - light, long legs over comes deep heather, does not cause snagging when carrying through thick plantations / rubbing on shoulder / back when carried.
disadvantages - but perhaps slightly too tall (with the 40cm) to get a comfortable prone position when sometimes shooting off some flat / hard surfaces. Can be fiddly to clip in before taking a shot, familiarity is key here however if the gillie you are out with takes the rifle and readies it to set up the shot for you, this can cause confusion / faff unless they are familiar with it IME. Not as easy to deploy when crawling into position (i.e. you have to take it off the rifle).
I haven’t experienced the same issue as some on here with the rifle falling over, but the pro hunt model has a ratchet to tighten and stop the rifle rolling.
an alternative, If you want spring-loaded legs that fold down from the rifle, maybe The Valhalla model which can be completely removed like other spartan models or left in situ and the legs folded down- downside is it’s more expensive and heavier!
ultimately I haven’t gone back to the harris as I value the weigh and easy of carrying over the sight increased pain that is deployment of the Spartan. Over 70% of my shots are off sticks; so perhaps not as reliant on bipods as others. I’m sure you could get tolerate either depending on what’s best for you.
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Think I would agree Spartan is a nice light weight compact unit and I do like not having it on my rifle all the time but for quick easy deployment, the Harris has to be better. However am still not using the Spartan for now on my main rife and the Harris is on my second rifle.
The Spartan drove me mad as for some reason however I fitted the mount to the rifle it worked loose with the constant removing of the bipod. Maybe for stalking in a one shot scenario it would be ok but over a day of driving around in a gator or truck and removing it not so good. I tried everything to make it work and failed. Atlas or Harris a better bet in my opinion.
Rasputin
Well-Known Member
Bought a Spartan hated it at first iirc I even posted on here about it. Now five years later I wouldn’t be without it so useful and couldn’t imagine going back to a sping one. Even simply stuff like using the socket as a hole to shoot of my sticks (viper flex) makes it very stable.
Koenig
Well-Known Member
I am a big fan of simplistic point and shoot. I don’t like faffing with scope/adjustments or anything else that takes time, is fiddly and causes movement which deer spot. I use a Harris when needed, but take it off if in a high seat of stalking on flat ground. It just gets in the way and upsets the balance of what is otherwise a very point able well balanced set-up for use with quad sticks. A friend of mine likes his Javelin, it is well made to be fair, but it’s just another level of complexity as far as I am concerned. Each to their own however.
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