This is equipment related!

Having recently aquired some arable roe stalking (arable fields that is!) for the first time I find myself able to take prone shots at deer. Crop height could make a bipod desirable but I'm ambivalent.

First a bipod is going to interfere with my standing shots and second I'm worried I'll get reliant on it. I think that if I have to use a rest I'll use my roe sack.

1894, try the Snipe pod bipod set up. JJHack showed it to me and it is the slickest thing I've ever seen. All you do is attach the mounting clip to the front sling swivel. The bipod is carried in a small pouch on your waist. When you need it, you simply take it out, shake it out, and snap it in place. This whole process takes about 5 seconds. On top of that, it only weighs about 6 ounces or so. I'm looking to get rid of my Harris bipods and replace them with the Snipe Pods soon.-
Keep in mind, that even the Harris bipods are removable and only take a few seconds to a minute or so to install. If you carry a rucksack, you can carry it in that until you need it. I've found my Harris bipods to be very helpful for prone shooting for varmints to very long ranges and they are available in many different heights.- Sheister

1894

I have a Harris bipod on my Heym and find it extremely useful. I don't think you'll find it interferes with freehand shooting.

Regards,
Eric

If you decide to use an attachable or fixed bi-pod, remember that it will generally alter your POI. In some cases, it can significantly alter your POI.

You might want to consider using the Stony Point shooting sticks, or for that mater, make a set at home. While they are not as transportable as the Harris bi-pods, shooting sticks allow for rock solid holds and will not significantly alter your POI. They can be made to any comfortable shooting height.

I use both, the Harris bipods and the Underwood brand shooting sticks, and find them both very usefull.

I have done enough silhouette shooting to learn that offhand is not the best way to hit anything.

I use the Harris bipod a lot. Especially for varmint hunting and for big game hunting in rather open terrain. I especially like the bipod when hunting antelope in the open in Wyoming.

If hunting in more diverse terrain, I am inclined to take the shooting sticks. One of my favorite spots to hunt in California is a prime example. I usually start out the morning in very heavy timber where I would not have the time or the need to use the bipod or the sticks. But, by late morning I find myself in an open canyon where shots may be 400 yards. Then I pull out the shooting sticks and try to shoot in a sitting position with them.

Having said all this, about the only time the Harris bipod will does not work well for me is on very steep hillsides where lying down does not allow for a good shooting position.

The only negative I can speak of on the bipods is that on occasion the darned things bite my left hand when I push it out too far on the forend then shoot at game in an offhand position. I shot four times offhand at a running antelope once in Wyoming and when the shooting was all over, I was the only one bleeding.

In regard to the bipods changing the point of impact, it is something to consider. Most of my rifles do not change significantly at all. One used to, until I had it bedded and that solved a number of problems. But, it is something you might want to check. Most rifles will shoot just slightly higher off the bipods if there is a difference at all, but my .338 Win Mag shoots just a little lower. (I guess I did not need it, but I belly crawled up on a bull elk last fall in New Mexico and shot him off the bipod at all of 50 yards.)

Try the bipods, I think you will find your success at hitting game will be improved. I have made one shot kills on wild boars twice this last month while lying down and shooting off the bipod at ranges of about 125 yards and about 200 yards.

Good Luck, R F

Harris bipods are expensive, and they tend to make your rifle front heavy and have potential to get caught on brush. However, if you shoot at any sort of range at all, they are indespesible and well worth the extra weight and cost. My brother rescently put a Harris 25C pivoting bipod on his .300 Mag. We haven't hunted with it yet but took it to the range to see how it works and make sure it doesn't change point of impact, and let me tell you, I was amazed with the versitility and stability of the system. With the legs in their shortest position they were about perfect for prone shooting while fully extended allowed them to be used from a sitting position. In each case it was easy to keep the crosshairs on target with very little perceivable movement, I felt like I could keep it there all day. Our hunting allows for some pretty long hunting and I plan to be able to take those shots when they present themselves. I can guarentee you that reguardless of what rifle I decide on this summer it will wear a Harris bipod like my brother's and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to improve their long-range shooting in the feild.

At times I have found them supurb, other times they have been a pain. I have found myself on a couple of occasions getting the bipos ready and laying down for a shot that could easily be made off hand. By the time I have gotton ready the game is gone. But overall the increase your hit probabilities on longer shots 10 fold.

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bipods are the way to go in open terrain. Put a harris on the front of your rifle and soon you won't even notice the weight. I actually think it helps "dampen" your swing on moving game. I have never had a problem with changes in POI.

There is an alternative to the bipod, and that is the shooting sling.

My Steyr Scout has an integral bipod, but I have not found an opportunity to use it in the field. Instead I sling up and shoot prone (very infrequent), sitting or kneeling (more frequently). Mostly the bipod gets used as a prop for the rifle if I want to ground it.

An alternative to shooting off-hand is the snap shot. Jeff Cooper has a good description and photos of how it is done in his book _The Art of the Rifle_. If you are going to buy it, I recommend the new edition with color photos (it is also a smaller format book than the first edition). You can get it on amazon.

The ready position for delivering this shot is with the butt stock along your hip, and the eyes, muzzle and target lined up. You merely raise the butt stock to the cheek and slide the muzzle forward on the eyes-muzle-target line and deliver the shot when the sights are on target. You don't stand there watching your wobble area get bigger, you shoot quickly. A practiced shooter can deliver this shot in under 1.5 seconds on targets to 100 yards.

jim dodd

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"if you are to busy to
hunt, you are too busy."

I believe that bipods ahve a place on varmint and gopher hunts, not for big game. Everyone that I have seen with one has had it catch on brush, come loose, or take so long to deploy that the game buggered off. There is usually a better rest available anyway or a daypack/jacket hat ect.I get a blast out of a hunter bragging about the nice stock on his rifle and then screw a spring loaded hunk of pot metal on it and sneakl around

I can't think of a handfull of times that I COULD use a bipod? I seem to be able to find a rest most of the time & like JIm D. use my sling. I'm good on elk out to 300 w/ a sling & sitting. If in open country & w/ time, I'll use my pack as a bench rest. Why carry the weight?

I love my bipods...
Agree with you PC, they make the long range shots a lot more reliable. I don't find that it alters the handling of my rifles much at all. I still shoot my rifles off hand a lot but for those 200y shots the bipod makes it a clean kill.
I don't consider them to be "cheating" at all...

I use harris bipods a lot they are not that expensive 50 to 60 dollars US. They make the long shots a whole lot easier. I have installed two studs on a lot of my rifles one for the sling the other for the pod. Makes taking on and off easy. Just store in you day pack when in the timber and when it comes time to watch that open area takes about 60 seconds to put on.

folks that put bi-pods down probably haven't used one. When I first showed up in Wyoming with a bi-pod, I got quite a razzing from the rest of the guys. On my last hunt, every single guys had one on his rifle.
As far as hanging up on "stuff", I've worked out some pretty brushy draws and didn't have a problem. 'course you have to kinda watch where you're going.
Needless to say, here in West Virginia, I don't use a bi-pod.

Pro-BiPod. I saved all my monies to get me a Harris from Cabela's... it was wroth it. I got the 13.5-27 inch model. Me being relatively tall, I thought I would need the tallest bipod. I was right. I am only a little over 6 foot, and the 13.5 prone heigth does all right. From the bench... I wish I would not have gotten the pivoting model. It pivots pretty easy so off the bench this is hell, but on uneven ground it is a life-saver. If you know you will be on pretty flat terrain, and will have time to adjust the bipod, I would opt for a non-pivoting model. If you are going to be up in the mountains, several miles from civilization and where the terrain is steep, then by all means get the pivoting model. But remember, it is better to have and not need; than need and not have. So I would get the pivoting model (like I did) and when shooting from the bench where you need to be absolutely steady and where the surface is flat and level, then just take the bipod off and use a sandbag or rut-sack.

1894

I've tried bipods on other people's rifles, and I still prefer my crossed sticks (home made, Homebase garden canes, but cut through with an aluminium insert that lets me take quickly uplug them them down to half length.
At full length they are solid enough to be a walking aid on rough ground, and sitting with them I can shoot very nearly as well as off a sandbag certianly up to 250yds.
They don't add weight to my rifle either(Sako's weigh enough anyway).

Nick

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