Bipod recommendations?

[gwchem]

Can anyone recommend which bipods I should buy? This is for a hunting/target shooting mix, for my Ruger American in .308. A mixture of sitting and prone, and if it matters, I'm very tall, so maybe on the longer side.

 

[Augie]

Harris swivel with leg notch and add a pod lock.

 

[SummitCnty]

I bought the Caldwell bipod that would accommodate you sitting. Very very unhappy with it. Ended up throwing it away. It was noisy, a PITA to mount to the swivel stud and didn’t like to stay on.

Second the Harris.

 

[Overwatcher]

Harris swivel with leg notch and add a pod lock.

second that.

 

[sleev-les]

I'm an Atlas fan. Harris second

 

[trickg]

OMG. What a rabbit hole of a subject. I did tons and tons of reading about this bipod and that, yada yada yada, blah blah blah..... Ultimately I couldn't seem to make heads or tails out of what I was seeing online with the articles and videos.

Then there's the subject of the cost. Atlas bipods are very expensive - supposedly worth it, but pretty costly for what they are - and even Harris bipods can be a bit pricey depending on what you get.

My suggestion to you would be to do what I did - get cheap clone of whatever it is you think you'll like before investing in something more expensive. I have an inexpensive clone of a Harris, and It's actually not bad, although I do think I'll change the mount to a spigot mount rather than to use the sling stud, although that wasn't terrible once it was tightened down properly.

There's a lot of badmouthing of the clones, and I get it, but consider that the clones are roughly 1/10th of the cost of the real deal, and with some of the videos I watched, they may not be the quality of the real McCoy, but they have 95% of the functionality - it makes it an attractive proposition to be able to try something to see if you'll like it before making a hefty investment.

 

[NoahNoahNoah]

Atlas or Accu-tac.

Q is working on one called the kick stand that is supposed to be pretty cool. But who knows when it will drop.

 

[slsc98]

Only posting this as I just came across a pre-order price while searching for something else: https://www.brownells.com/shooting-...cm_mmc=affiliate-_-Itwine-_-Avantlink-_-35987

 

[Squaregrouper]

Harris is the go-to for quality. Caldwell is a fraction of the price and have never let me down.

 

[ToolAA]

I’ve compared the Atlas to an Atlas clone The atlas is made with machined index star and indexing hardware along with the picitanny mount. The clones have a stamped index star and the indexing hardware is often just stamped too. The body is sometimes cast not machined.

Here is where it might matter for some shooters. At longer distances and higher magnification the extra slop and play between the bipod legs and the index spur will appear to rattle and move un unpredictably.

 

[ChrisD]

Thread resurrection here. I’m looking at purchasing a bipod, tried the search and found this thread. Looking for a length primarily for prone position shooting for hunting and practice. I’ll likely be swapping it between two rifles, a Ruger American and a Remington 700, so I’m thinking a sling stud mount might be the way to go. Most likely going with a Harris. With that in mind, any first hand info on length, 6-9” or 9-13”

 

[ToolAA]

Thread resurrection here. I’m looking at purchasing a bipod, tried the search and found this thread. Looking for a length primarily for prone position shooting for hunting and practice. I’ll likely be swapping it between two rifles, a Ruger American and a Remington 700, so I’m thinking a sling stud mount might be the way to go. Most likely going with a Harris. With that in mind, any first hand info on length, 6-9” or 9-13”

Can’t go wrong with the Harris in terms of value. If you are going to be firing from mostly prone and, unknown conditions, including possibly shooting downhill I would say go with the 9-13”. It’s way easier to shove the legs into softer ground or raise the stock, then trying to get more height from a smaller bipod.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ChrisD]

Can’t go wrong with the Harris in terms of value. If you are going to be firing from mostly prone and, unknown conditions, including possibly shooting downhill I would say go with the 9-13”. It’s way easier to shove the legs into softer ground or raise the stock, then trying to get more height from a smaller bipod.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks, I was kind of leaning towards 9-13”. Unknown terrain is a factor, I’ll be using it on a Western hunt October 2023. A friend went a few years ago, and recommended getting a bipod, although we really didn’t go into details. I want to pick one up in the near future to get some practice time using it before the trip.

 

[holesonpaper]

You can't go wrong with a Harris... I have others, including more expensive names, but a Harris is generally inexpensive, reliable, strong, easy to manipulate the legs, relatively light - basically everything you need/want in a bipod.

 

[KRC]

Atlas Bipod $219.95
SAME bipod on eBay $22.22

Rifle Bipod Quick Release Detach Mount 6.5-9"Adjustable Fit 20mm Picatinny Rail | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Rifle Bipod Quick Release Detach Mount 6.5-9"Adjustable Fit 20mm Picatinny Rail at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Can be easily modified to attach arca rail clamp ($9.95 on eBay).

 

[E.Shell]

I hope that you guys buying and/or suggesting these knock-offs aren't the same ones bitching about China dominating the manufacturing world and/or selling cheap crap to stupid Americans. Because that would be short-sighted hypocrisy, right?

 

[ToolAA]

Atlas Bipod $219.95
SAME bipod on eBay $22.22

Rifle Bipod Quick Release Detach Mount 6.5-9"Adjustable Fit 20mm Picatinny Rail | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Rifle Bipod Quick Release Detach Mount 6.5-9"Adjustable Fit 20mm Picatinny Rail at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Can be easily modified to attach arca rail clamp ($9.95 on eBay).

Looks the same, but not the same at all. This is not a knock on someone buying one at all, They are probably ok for 100yds with generic low precision applications.

A few years ago I purchased an Atlas bipod on Amazon but advertised as a genuine Atlas. Price was about $230 IIRC. They sent me a knockoff, which was promptly returned. Before I did return it, I compared the knockoff to my other genuine Atlas.

The differences were as follows:
1) All atlas hardware was steel vs knockoff was likely aluminum. This is critical especially for the rail clamp, which will easily strip or stretch under force when tightened.

2) The spur on the knockoff wad stamped steel where the Atlas was actually machined. This is critical because the tolerances are much looser and the legs will rock back and forth in each indexed position.

3) The cut of the height adjustment notches was different on the knockoff. What I mean is that on the genuine Atlas you can gently pull back the release collar maybe just 3/16” and the leg will drop out. On the knockoff the legs were binding and you actually have to Pull them out. That makes a difference when you are on the ground probe and need to adjust the height. You want to be able to do it with one hand while still keeping your eye looking through the scope.

How much does all of this stuff matter? To me it mattered a lot. I lean in hard agains the bipod when shooting because I want to limit the amount of correction I need to make for followup shots. When on rough terrain, I often have to cant the legs out at a 45° angle to get the height exactly where I want it to be with my head behind the glass in the most comfortable position at the same time. So I put a lot of stress on the legs, particularly at the joint where the index spur meets the round stopper on the leg. The real deal Atlas may wiggle 1/32”. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but at 600yds that much wiggle probably equates to 3-6” of reticle movement on target. So imagine how unstable the knockoff would be. Maybe 2-3x the Atlas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[OneGunTex]

Get a Spartan Javelin Lite

Got one for my mountain trip. It is lightweight, stays on your belt when you're not using it so it doesn't get snagged on stuff, and attaches quickly. The mount still allows for a sling attachment. It's a favorite of the hunters over on Rokslide if you're familiar with that forum.

I'm sure the Harris and the Atlas are good bipods, but they're heavy and bulky contraptions, not just a simple snap on bipod for mobile work.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

 

[gwchem]

I went with the Harris 9-13. I'm tall, but haven't yet used it on the shortest setting.

 

[redsandman6]

i have a magpul, harris, and caldwell. harris is the best i have. i added a adm quick detach to my harris so i can move it to different rifles. the caldwell is on a 22lr rilfe. it works good for that

Harris Bipod QD Mount

The AD-BP Bipod Mount enables you to attach a Harris bipod to your railed forearm. Not compatible with the Tac Lever (Lever interferes with the bipod itself). It is precision machined from 6061 T6 aluminum and finished in hard coat T3 Mil-Spec anodize. It features the Patented QD Auto Lock(tm)...

www.admmfg.com