Bipods?

[nick parkes]

Ive just bought a harris bipod for my tikka 30-06 and wondered who's used them and how they've found them to be in the field? I never liked the idea of them at first, but now after the victorian bushfires my sambar hunting will be mostly on forest fringed farm land, and by the looks of last weekend shots could be out to 300m. Im confident out to that range on a very steady rest which the bipod offers, but have heard that if i decided to take it off my POI would change. Is this likely to be correct, and if so by how much? I've no interest in target shooting so if were talking millimetres then its no concern. Also first thing i noticed is that if the ground is not level, then the rifle sits canted. Do you bipod users take the extra time to adjust the legs so the rifle sits level or is it not worth worrying about when its only a slight lean?

[SCULPTY]

I love my bipod and use it for whenever I hunt roo, goats and foxes... I have found it to be very reliable when stalking up to within 200 meters and then shooting prone, or a quick shot off the bonnet.

If your 30-06 is bedded and floated there should be no reason why a harris bipod attached to the swivel stud would cause an alteration to the POI as it does not have any influence on the barrel/action.

[Luke]

if you have time to adjust the length of the legs the by all means do it!! if not then just compensate for it if you can. Go out and practice compensating for the lean or taking shots while sitting down instead of prone, or maybe you could just ambush the deer, i never been deer hunting so i wouldn't know if thats possible especially for Sambar.

Cheers

Luke

[epitome]

I own 3 bipods and a mono pod and use them ALL the time. One bi pod has a swiveling base that mounts to the rifle and stays there. I can click onto it either its bi pod or the mono pod, which I use as a hiking stick for walking through the bush. The mono pod is 1m tall and I can use it from the kneeling position over long grass.

One bi pod is a Harris, one is a Nikko Stirling and the last one (the combo set) is from eBay. The eBay bi pod is actually two from the same seller. I bought one and it broke the first time I used it. The seller sent me a replacement bi pod. So I turned the broken one into a mono pod.

If your barrel is free floated, your POI should NOT change between bi pod on or bi pod off.

[rick1970]

I own and use a bipod, but don't leave it on the rifles all the time. If stalking around heavy cover i find them more of a hinderance than a help. If your shooting at 300m from an unlevel surface, you will have to adjust it to minimise the cant as this will make a fair differance as the ranges increase. It CAN make a differance to POI, but its usually more to do with a rifle with a bit of kick and shooting with the bipod on a hard surface like a bonnet or a rock. Flexy plastic stocks and an unfloated barrel can also play havoc to POI with a bipod attached.

Sugest you try shooting it at a target to see how your rifle responds to it.

[nick parkes]

thanks for the replies folks. the barrell is free floated and the bipods on the swivel stud. Most times ill be using it will be when im sitting and waiting for the deer to come out to feed so should be easy enough to level up the legs, and then i planned on taking it off for when i hunt inside the forest. Heading to the range this weekend so ill try it with and without and see if i can notice any differance regarding POI.

[Patto]

Mate i have a swivel mount bipod - basically you dont have to stuff around with the legs then when on uneven ground. You basically just roll the rifle over so its upright.

Also another tip that i picked up from one of the more experienced guys on here, is basically have the legs of the bipod all ready extended and ready to go. Thaqt way in the event you need to go prone all you have to do is drop the legs and not worry about pulling them out. It just makes the action that much quicker and quiter.

As for changing POI i cant see how a bi pod will affect that. Whether off the bench rest, or with the bi-pod laying prone or off the bonnett my rifle keeps on pile driving.

[Rono]

I have one on my Sambar Gun it stays on there all the time

[nick parkes]

thanks for the help. dang, i wish id known about the swivel mount ones before. i saw them but assumed they allowed left to right movement. if i knew you could roll the rifle over to correct the cant i would have been more than happy to pay the extra $30!

[N!K]

i would recommend using a bipod for long shots. I dont use mine when sambar hunting as 90% of the shots are within 50 meters. If you plan on taking long shots definitely use it. I missed a good fallow buck 3 weeks ago from 40 meters with a bipod. Gettin my rifle bedded and floated soon.

Edited August 8, 2009 by N!K