Bi-pods - practical uses?

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Durby

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I see more and more rifles with bi-pods on them, and was wondering if they are worth it. I built myself a tacticool Remington 700, and want to use it for hunting and target shooting. Its a 338 Win Mag, and for shooting off a bench I could see myself using a bi-pod, and it would come off easy enough for hunting. I was just wondering if bi-pods are practical, or a waste of time and money.
Thanks
 
I use one for varmint hunting and it is great for that. Big game hunting I really don't see the need since I am a stalker and don't really have a need to take the long shots.
 
Well if you want to make long shots with out carrying a shooting bench with you i would say there is some use. And the weight will help with recoil i am sure.

I dont use one but am planning to buy one, so take my comment for whats it worth:)
 
I use on on my -06. Two years ago on a moose hunt, it allowed me to lay prone and watch a really big bull for about 30 minutes. On other occasions, it allowed me really good views of the moose we were watching.
 
I have one for my precision AR15 with heavy bull barrel -that sucker is really heavy.

The one on my bolty only stays on during trips to the range.
 
Two wooden dowels, some camo duct tape, and a cheap bike innertube are more versatile and cheaper than a bipod. Lower maint, no rust, no problems with dirt or mud, quiet, and disposable if need be.

I own a nice little bipod. So far, it's never been on a gun. A guy gave it to me; he never used it either. And he's done more hunting than most of us ever can hope to.

I do kinda like Kel-Tec's built-in bipod. You'll never use it, but there's no weight penalty for having it.:)
 
They are really great for scratching the paint on the hood of your new $38 grand 4x4 pick-up truck!

And I can prove it! :banghead:

rcmodel
 
I see more and more rifles with bi-pods on them, and was wondering if they are worth it.
Click to expand...

I'm of the opinion that they are not nearly as worth it, as most people who have them are their rifles seem to think. There are very few places where they are actually helpful/useful, in the grand scheme of things. They are actually a hindrance, not a help, if shooting from a benchrest. They are useless for any kind of stalk hunting in high rainfall areas with much flora (i.e. "in the woods"). They pretty well flat useless period in the woods. If the game is close enough to shoot, it is plenty close enough to see you go from the standing to the ground position and bolt. There's no time when stalking and no tolerance for extra movement. You see the game; you shoot - quickly. And if you're talking about ambush, then... If there are trees, there are weeds, bushes, and grasses, rendering a bipod all but useless.

Having said that, both Larry and Zak - the two people above who say they are practical above - mention or picture eastern Colo. - a dry open climate. THAT is the exception to the general rule, I believe - In dry climates with large open areas where long shots on game can be had, and there is minimal flora to interfere with your shot, then yes they can be useful.

So if you're building a pronghorn/goat/sheep rifle, then sure (or a long range practical rifle) - In that case, be sure to get one that will extend out to 12 or 13 inches or more. The little 6" -9" jobbers are pretty well worthless if the shortest little grass is in your way.

I have a bipod on exactly ONE rifle, and it's my (theoretical) Western pronghorn/goat/sheep rifle, in .25-'06 with a sporter weight barrel. Actually, I call it a multi-role rifle, since it's both a pronghorn rifle and a lightweight interdiction rifle of sorts. It's not *light* at all actually, compared to other hunters, but it's light compared to my other precision rifles. It's my jack-of-all-trades rifle, I suppose.

My two cents.

P.S. If you're French, you just take along a buddy - no need for a bipod:

frenchsniper.jpg
 
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Depends on if you plan on using it or not. If you're a "hop out of the truck and start blasting" hunter, probably not. If you shoot varmints, targets, or sit and wait you may find use with one. I have two, both came with the rifle when I bought it, and they are on just about every time I go out. Someone at sportsmans warehouse once said that real men/shooters/hunters don't use bipods. Poppycock.
 
I like them at the range. Could see using them in some hunting situations but they would not be practical where and how I usually hunt.
 
If I'm shooting from a stand or close-in mid-west woods hunting, forget the bipod. I'll take a nice light rifle with a low power scope since the average distance we've taken deer in Wisconsin is about 40 yards.

But out here in CO/WY/NM, we can see a long ways. If I want to make a longer shot, I want to use the most stable position, and the bipod is an excellent tool. For higher positions, I'll use sticks and possibly in combination with my pack.

-z
 
If ya varmint or target shoot they come in very handy, groundhogs hate the bipod. Portable and stable are huge benefits when shooting/hunting longer distances. Sorry about the truck RC, sposed to lay the case down first, then the rifle!
 
Like a lot of accessories, they'd be great if they would disappear, and reappear instantly, only when you need them.

But I haven't found any with this feature. And while we hunt high desert sometimes, there are few shooting spots that are set up like the pictures above. A bipod is only as good as what you can put it on.

Now for those purposes where people already use very heavy rifles, what's another thingamabob hanging off the things? Having little interest in these applications, I have little interest in hanging a bipod off a perfectly good rifle. Sandbags, rests, etc. work fine when I'm sighting in.

Depends on what "practical" means. And there's such thing as something that is practical, yet has downsides that make it less so.

Sticks, though, are nice to have sometimes.
 
Bi-pods - practical uses?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I see more and more rifles with bi-pods on them, and was wondering if they are worth it. I built myself a tacticool Remington 700, and want to use it for hunting and target shooting. Its a 338 Win Mag, and for shooting off a bench I could see myself using a bi-pod, and it would come off easy enough for hunting. I was just wondering if bi-pods are practical, or a waste of time and money.
Thanks

Let us see a picture of the Tacticool Rem 700.
 
I love my AICS II stock because I can pop a Parker Hale bipod in and out in seconds which gives me all around versitility. Whether it's the PH or the Harris, if you do use one I find that leaning hard into the bipod helps keep the 'springiness' to a minimum which helps with shot follow through. I typically can shoot >.75 MOA prone off the bipod by doing this. Also, get one that tilts and has adjustable legs.
 
In a dry climate, I could see the use. Add much vegatation and they are often going to put you too low for a good shot unless you like to shoot through weeds and so forth. I prefer shooting sticks of some kind and leave the bipod at home.
 
Depends.

All my varmint rifles have one and my deer rifle (.308) has one that is easily removeable should I decide terrain not be suitable for using it.

Buy a bipod that has an extra sling swivel stud built into it, unless your rifle has a second stud already. I'd sooner go without the bipod than the sling any day on any rifle. Bipod gets you steadier, but the sling gets you almost as steady a lot faster if you use the "hasty sling" method. Looping up properly gets you nearly bipod steady, but takes a while to get tightened up, so isn't practical for in the field.
 
the sling gets you almost as steady a lot faster if you use the "hasty sling" method
Click to expand...

True enough. And you don't have to find a flat spot for your rifle to use the sling.

Prone shooting in cholla country? Yeah, right.:) Not so good with those little low cacti that cover the ground in the Western Montana plains, either, even though that is one of the places where, in theory, a bipod would work well.
 
I live in the afore mentioned SE Colorado , and there is a harris bipod in my riflebag to be attached if terrain/game warrants . Other than that the rifles are equipped with slings for use when too far from a fenceline to use an old post as a rest.
 
Use of a bipod depends on the terrain and foliage. Where I hunt, you need either a taller bipod, or an area with a drop off so you can see over the grass. But I use one every year, with typical shots at 300-400 yards across central Montana rangeland.

Most don't weigh all that much, you can fold them up and you can still use a sling.

deer.jpg
 
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