I've never used an attached bipod, but I'm going on an elk hunt and wanted to give one a try. I was leaning toward a Harris, but I'm not sure which size to get for shooting prone. My height is about 5'10.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank!!

Harris for sure, used them for years on almost all of my hunts. I have several of them - all the multi extension versions so you can shoot prone, or sitting, and be sure to get one with the tilting head too.

9-13" Harris

I personally like this size, the longer ones are not long enough for most hunters to sit and shoot from and be comfortable. I have found the 6-9" don't give you the height needed if hunting ground with sage or cover.
I prefer the ones that don't swivel, I'm sure they work as well, if practiced with.
Hope this helps, good luck hunting Elk.

I carry african style shooting sticks.

what just a hunter said

Do this!

Gives you 3 points of contact, you can use a rolled up jacket under the buttstock to get the desired sniperriffic shooting set up.

Where I hunt elk south of Dubois, Wyoming a bipod doesn't do anything for you. Excepting shooting cows on parks in the moonlight. It's pretty ace for that.

quote:

Originally posted by WV2WY:
9-13" Harris

I personally like this size, the longer ones are not long enough for most hunters to sit and shoot from and be comfortable. I have found the 6-9" don't give you the height needed if hunting ground with sage or cover.
I prefer the ones that don't swivel, I'm sure they work as well, if practiced with.
Hope this helps, good luck hunting Elk.

Make that twilight.

I hunt in as many new places as possible. The last place I hunt is usually anyplace I've already hunted.
As such, I can think of plenty of places where a bipod would be great and many where it would be of no use or possibly a slight hindrance.

I have 2 rifles that carry bipods most of the time.
One is an Atlas bipod, the other is a Harris.

Remember that they shift point of impact to some degree, so if you choose to use one, sight in while using the bipod then shoot while not using it so you can see how big a problem you have. Ideally you get yourself out in the field and test your zero while shooting off the ground with the bipod. The composition of the ground that the bipod rests on will also influence point of aim to some small degree as well.

Good luck, there is nothing wrong with trying to be better shot, and that usually means being a steadier shot.

Bi-pods are a pain in the ass, especially if using horses. I have guided elk hunters for over 30 years and never could see why some hunters think bi-pods are the way to go. My experience is they are heavy, clumsy, noisy, and slow. I carry shooting sticks for myself and clients or most times just use my backpack to shoot off of. Use whatever makes you happy.

Shoot off your pack. Bipods are a pain in the ass. Noisy and cumbersome. The only way I possibly might use one if I was posted on a watch and going to be sitting for several hours watching one area.

They work on occasion
Majority of time they are worthless/in the way, unless you are long distance shooter-read not a hunter
My advice is to get close and personal
That's what hunting is all about

My vote goes to Versa-pod! quickly attachable and detachable. The adapter is really great for a handstop for shooting off hand.


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TBD - I'll give you numerous reasons why a Harris bi-pod in the 11" - 25" model or something similar is the way to go if you are elk hunting, but again, its just one man's opinion.

1. The variable length legs can be extended or retracted in literally 2-3 seconds. Takes much longer when using shooting sticks.

2. Relying solely on a pack to shoot off, ya really bad idea. One situation might be conducive to shooting prone, but the next might require you to be sitting - in most cases making a pack useless. But again a bipod can be extended from a prone length to a sitting length in literally a couple of seconds, or vice versa. I shot another 190" muley on public land in Colorado this past fall. I knew roughly where he was after spotting him from about 800 yards, but lost sight as it took me 15 minutes to get over to him. As I got within 250 yards, he saw me at the exact same moment I saw him! I had NO time to take my pack off and certainly no times to set it all up! I flipped my bipod legs down in 2 seconds, dropped to the ground prone, and fired all within probably 5-7 seconds. Had I needed to take off my pack, set it up, get comfortable, etc, that buck would have been LONG GONE!!!

Regardless, get something - anything other than a pack! I'm certain I've guided close to 300 hunters in the past 23 years, and I cannot tell you how many times I've seen the "pack rest" turn into a disaster. If everything is "right", a pack is great - but that's like the ole "I'll just rest it on a fence post" theory. That's great as long as you are carrying your own fence post with you everywhere you go.

3. When guiding I always carry shooting sticks for the client, and we work together. I carry/set up the sticks, he gets on the sticks/shoots - but as the hunter myself,I don't do that. A bipod attaches to your gun, making it hands free. If not, you have a gun in one hand, shooting sticks in the other - and then what about if you need to crawl, or glass again quickly cause the animal moved, etc, etc. I only have two hands, I'm pretty sure everyone else does too.

4. Bipods aren't cumbersome, not at all - they are attached to the gun. Carrying a gun over your shoulder all day, now that's cumbersome. Get a good pack, a really good pack, one that allows you to carry your gun strapped on your pack - like a Kifaru for example, Outdoorsman makes a good one too. Then the bipod isn't even a consideration, nor is removing more than one item from your pack.

Just a few considerations, good luck!!!

The last two days were spent with friends on damage control elk hunts. Three elk were taken shots were from 275 to 450 yards. All rifles involved had Harris bi-pods, one was the longest version. I carried a Primos Pole-Cat free standing bi-pod also.

None of the elk were killed with the help of the Harris bi-pods. Two were off the Pole-Cat, one off a tree branch.

Why? Well, two elk presented severe uphill angle shots, we had loads of time, comparatively, on these two BUT the tall Harris was not tall enough and there wasn't enough time to fiddle-fart with the leg adjustments to get it "right". Plus even if my friend had the time the only realistic shot from his position was sitting, total no go for the Harris. Pole-Cat to the rescue.

The other severe up hill was accomplished with the aid of a convenient tree branch from an awkward position where neither the Pole-Cat or Harris was useable.

The last shot was from a sitting position in an open area whilst trying to sneek up on a herd in a large field. The tall Harris again failed on the up hill angle, though only about 10 degree as opposed to the 30+ of the first two elk. The prone position was impossible because of the tall grass that had afforded the cover to get close enough for a shot to begin with.

The high degree of "adjust-ability" of the Pole-Cat worked perfectly. I find that if I pre-set the Pole-Cat to a good height, a bit high, when sitting, I can adjust the height by rocking it back and forth, sliding to various spots on the fore-end etc without having to actually adjust the length. Quickly, quietly, with minimal movement.

So, if the Pole-Cat is so great why the Harris at all?

Down angle shots, especially severe 30+ angles or "ridge-top" shots taken from a prone position off the sides or near the tops of ho-do's out in flat country, prone shots taken after long crawls over open ground covered with short sagebrush.

I also like the full length standing height Pole-Cat for black timber hunting. How that work? Well when the only shot presented, or the only shot you might actually get all season on public land is 75 to 100 yds through an opening in the trees. The elk have already made you, you're on a impossibly steep slope, and the trees (which up until that moment had always been right there) are now too far to get to with the cow elk that's giving the eye bolts and takes the whole herd into the next county... Or walking through river bottom hunting whitetails in waist high grass and crap and there he is, 150 yds broadside, sticks are really nice then.

The Pole-Cat also serves as a good walking stick, very nice to have when humping up and down steep grades where elk like to hang out.

I like the short Harris for those times you have the chance and terrain for a solid prone shot. I've shot a couple elk, mule deer, and a bunch of antelope using a short bipod on both my muzzleloaders and rifles. A short bipod also makes a great rest when you just want to set your rifle down to glass, nap, or whatever. Depending on the terrain, I'll also carry either Stoney Point shooting sticks for sitting/kneeling or my Primos Trigger Sticks for kneeling/standing shots. I like the versatility of both the short bipod for shooting prone and the other sticks for shooting from more upright positions.