Bipod help?

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409LongRanger

409LongRanger

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I am new to the long range side of shooting. Have hunted my whole life otherwise. I have a Bergara 6.5 Creedmoor. A Nosler M48 in 28 nosler. And a Christensen Arms 6.5 PRC. I am currently building the Christensen, bought it just a bare rifle. I put a Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25/56. I am trying to find a good bipod for it. Any ideas? I’ve seen builds where they take sling studs off and put a picatinny rail on for the bipod. Just looking for some ideas.
 
Harris bipods are phenomenal. I have the pivot head version, 12-30" tall for ground sitting. It clamps very sturdily to the sling swivel.

I have a cheaper Caldwell XLA that is the short benchrest size. Its good enough for target work. For hunting, you reall need the pivoting head.

The good thing about the sling swivel mount is the bipods can be removed in 30 seconds without tools. Pic-rail versions might not be as easy.
 
For a hunting bipod you might look at Magpul (as ugly as that might be on a nice bolt gun) it is light and sturdy enough for hunting use. They make ones that mount directly to the sling stud, M-Lok, or Picatinny.

If you don't mind spending the money its hard to beat an Atlas though it will not be as light as some others it is an extraordinarily tough and versatile bipod. A lot of the competitive long range shooters are using Atlas.
 
Ive got a Harris 9-13 that i used on my Ridgeline quite a bit. They are am excellent pod, and id be willing to recommend them.

@MCMXI recently gave me a Spartan Javelin bi-pod that i like even better. Its smaller and comes off easier, so i can just shove it in a pants or pack pocket. I believe they are what Christensen has on their site.

I also like the design of the Atlas pods....i say that because all ive had was a knock off, havent bought a real one yet. I think i still prefer the Javs design as a hunting pod, but i do really like the adjustments and features on the Atlas....assuming they are the same as the knockoff i tried.
 
Your Christensen sounds more like a "tactical" long range heavy gun so an Atlas could be a good choice, a Thunderbeast Arms too. I have a couple of Atlas bipods on Accuracy Internationals and they're excellent for that application. I use Atlas' Picatinny QD adapters on the bipods to lock onto Picatinny rail on the underside of the chassis. I don't currently have a "tactical" tripod but if I did I'd most likely have a Picatinny adapter mounted on the head for quick changeovers. You could also look into the ARCALOCK system but it'd more than likely be easier to install a section of Picatinny rail on the Christensen than an ARCA rail.

For hunting I'm now exclusively using Spartan Precision bipods and tripods that @LoonWulf mentioned. The tripods break down into trekking poles, can be used as bipods or tripods, and the bipods are extremely light. The whole system uses rare earth magnets for quick on/off.
 
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409LongRanger said:
Thanks for the info. What model Harris do you have? Do you have to buy any of their adapters to make it work?
Click to expand...

I bought it many moons ago but i remember an "S" being in the model. It came ready to hook on to any standard sling swivel. No adapters needed. I do have a YHM pic rail adapter and the bipods mate right up to it too. Ive not weighed it, but id say its about a pound.
 
I have the Harris that mounts to a sling stud. When I sold my 700 and bought an AR with MLOK hand rail I had to get an MLOK sling stud adapter to mount my Harris ($10 from Amazon, $30 from Harris). I have the HBRMS version with swivel and notches. Notches are nice because its easy to set up. The swivel function compensates for uneven surfaces but I shoot off a concrete bench....

Your Bergara has a swivel stud, the standard Harris mounts directly. Your Christensen has an MLOK hand rail, you'll need the MLOK swivel stud adapter.
 
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MCMXI said:
Your Christensen sounds more like a "tactical" long range heavy gun so an Atlas could be a good choice, a Thunderbeast Arms too. I have a couple of Atlas bipods on Accuracy Internationals and they're excellent for that application. I use Atlas' Picatinny QD adapters on the bipods to lock onto Picatinny rail on the underside of the chassis. I don't currently have a "tactical" tripod but if I did I'd most likely have a Picatinny adapter mounted on the head for quick changeovers. You could also look into the ARCALOCK system but it'd more than likely be easier to install a section of Picatinny rail on the Christensen than an ARCA rail.

For hunting I'm now exclusively using Spartan Precision bipods and tripods that @LoonWulf mentioned. The tripods break down into trekking poles, can be used as bipods or tripods, and the bipods are extremely light. The whole system uses rare earth magnets for quick on/off.
Click to expand...
It’s a Christensen West River Mesa. Not sure what it’s classified as. Thanks for the information.
 
Harris winds up getting consistent recommendations for being the right combo of sturdy, light, reliable.
Figuring out which in the range of sizes is tricky, and something only experience really teaches.

I have a Harris on the front stud of my .243 and it serves well on a bench. I have a Versapod, too, which is handy with its AR bayonet lug adapter for bench use.
 
An Atlas is a way better bipod than a Harris for precision shooting but it comes at the cost of weight .... and cost! :D It's more adjustable for each leg, it's more stable, is less prone to loading errors, the legs can be dragged rearwards without collapsing, it's not a corrosion experiment, and so on. I'd like to buy a couple more Atlas bipods for my other Accuracy Internationals but I have more pressing purchases. For now I simply move the two I have to the other rifles as needed.

I'd like to try a TBAC bipod since I've heard good things about them ... also not cheap!
 
I'll add another positive opinion of Harris. I have a 9-13 swivel one. I bought an American Defense AD-BP adaptor for mine, which is a QD adaptor to attach it to a picatinny rail. That way I can share it between all my rifles, all of which have picatinny rails. Some with an adaptor over the sling stud, one has an Anschutz style rail that I bought a picatinnty section for, and in the case of my AR a picatinny section installed via MLok. Alot cheaper solution than buying a bipod for each rifle.
 
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OP needs to explain a few things before we can give real recommendation

1 what are you going to do with it
2 what terrain are you doing it in
3 how fast do you need to start and stop doing it

usually people size the legs based on what they want to shoot over (eg nothing shooting from a bench vs tall grass etc).
you should understand shooting positions have evolved over time. It used to be that normal sized people would try to get as low to the ground as possible for stability etc. 6-9” bipod legs worked well for that.
However there seems to be a trend toward higher positions and 6-9” may be a bit short.
Also people with barrel chests or beer bellies often have difficulty with low prone and need higher bipods.
 
taliv said:
OP needs to explain a few things before we can give real recommendation

1 what are you going to do with it
2 what terrain are you doing it in
3 how fast do you need to start and stop doing it

usually people size the legs based on what they want to shoot over (eg nothing shooting from a bench vs tall grass etc).
you should understand shooting positions have evolved over time. It used to be that normal sized people would try to get as low to the ground as possible for stability etc. 6-9” bipod legs worked well for that.
However there seems to be a trend toward higher positions and 6-9” may be a bit short.
Also people with barrel chests or beer bellies often have difficulty with low prone and need higher bipods.
Click to expand...
In all honesty it may see some hunting but mostly just shooting for fun. Nothing serious just playing around with them. If I go hunt Wyoming or Colorado again I may use it for the but I also have several other guns meant for long range in my opinion. My Bergara HMR is 6.5 creedmoor and Nosler M48 in 28 Nosler.
 
I've got Atlas, Harris(s) and Magpul.

Each comes into it's own depending on the application. Precision shooting I prefer the Atlas, the adjustability is awesome, but as MCMXI stated it comes with a cost in price, weight and speed. It's not the quickest bipod to deploy.

For an all around rig, I'd stick with a Harris with the "cant" or "S" feature in their mid length 9-13". For me the 9-13" is tall enough for short grass while prone, and short enough to shoot off a backpack or bench. A Harris is quicker to deploy due to the spring powered legs and their not locking in the closed position.

The Magpul is light, and cost effective, but I've only been playing with it for a couples months so the jury's still out.

Honestly though, none of my hunting rigs, except for varmint rifles where bipods. 90% of the time here in KS the grass/vegetation is just too tall to go prone. I normally carry a tripod for sitting and if need be will just shoot off my backpack.
 
All I have ever used is Harris. The shorter when fully stowed, the better. Also make sure it has the side canting feature. No idea on model #'s, these are what we were issued in the mil.
 
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