Damn! I hate to be the only one in a thread with an alternate point of view!:0)

1894, like yourself I do a fair bit of Roe and have absolutely no problem with the Harris Bipod (though the model which allows sitting shots gets my vote - height of the crop ensures that!) but only IF I intend going out and waiting for deer or Fox to show in the evening.

However, walking the ground in the mornings I will generally shoot from a sitting position with a single stick pulled back against my thigh. Far quicker and less obvious to drop to a sit and squeeze off a shot. Grouping will never be as good as off a bipod - but does it need to be better than 1.5" at a 100yds - if the majority of shots are under 170yds? In this case, the answer to your question depends on the ground you shoot!

The single stick offers a raft of benefits but will never be 'Master of all. Glassing, my binoculars provide a much sharper image when used with a stick as support - standing OR sitting. Allows you to keep your balance when spotted mid pace by a leery doe. Laid across a hedge, it will provide a stable enough platform to get a good rested shot. When laid across the top strand of a Barb fence, it avoids castration or unintentional tailoring. You can use it to fend off Dogs, drag or carry carcasses and even support your equipment out of the dew during an early morning gralloch. Hell, it even helps me up hill - but I am getting older and basic training seems a long time ago! :0)

Does it sound as if I am sold on this one? If so, it's for a reason. I missed the largest Red Stag I have ever seen, mucking around trying to deploy a bipod. With hindsight, I would now have just dropped into a sit and the bullet would have hit within a couple seconds.... Did I mention the fun I have had crawling through long grass, catching the bipod every couple feet? Or the discomfort of a bipod on a slung rifle digging into your shoulder?

Please don't get me wrong here - I own a couple bipods and should I have opportunity for a prone shot then I always take it. Usually though, I find the binoculars are easily slid forward to rest the hand on - and give just the right amount of height for a very stable deliberate shot.

Just my two cents - from sunny Devon!

rgds Ian

Ian,

I'm a double stick fan! Used either together as a single stick in haste or uncrossed for deliberate.

I've decided not to go bipod for the simple reason that it'll ruin my singles stick shooting technique where I use the sling as a grip. I'll try the binos rest and will also use the sack.

Before I graduated to expensive harris bipods, I used one of those cheap metal rod rests you get from fishing shops. Cut the thing in half and used to carry it tucked through a belt loop on my trousers. Not perfect by any means but very useful for prone shots and far more useful than it's �1 cost would suggest!
These days I rarely use a bipod for roe prefering instead a pair of telescopic sticks. I do use use a bipod for Charlie and I would use it on the open hill...But for the run of the mill woodland roe stalking I prefer double sticks...