I bought one of the chinese atlas bipod copies on a whim, and it turns out they're not that bad. My specimen cost $36 with free shipping. They're available on amazon and ebay, sometimes sold as airsoft accessories; I got mine here (with a $5 coupon):

http://www.dxsoul.com/product/...r-20mm-gun-901433729

It's a pretty faithful copy of the original $300 atlas. I have one, so I think I'm in a position to offer this opinion. The copy even has "atlas bipod patented" engraved on the front. The main thing I was looking for in this bipod is the cant ability that most cheap bipods don't have. This one sort of has it in original form. The main knob on the bottom adjusts the tension on a weak spring in the central assembly. If you loosen this knob then the spherical pan/cant rises enough to move, but the spring is far too weak and the bipod is floppy. However, if you tighten this knob, then it pulls the top piece flush with the bottom and locks it up solid and there is no pan or cant ability. I replaced this spring with a stack of suitable belleville washers, lubed the friction surface of the knob and put loctite on the threads and now it works like a real atlas.

Also, the spring loaded buttons used to rotate the legs were loose. I adjusted them so they would clear the "gear" pieces but not go too far and rub, then loctited them.

So with a tune up, this bipod is pretty functional. I currently have it on a 223 and it works well. I don't think I'd suggest putting one on your $5k match rifle, but for the price I think it's pretty good. The QD rail attachment is handy too, so I think I'll be mounting 1913 rails on a few more of my varmint rifles.

Some people have been scammed with these copies. The copy has stamped "gears" instead of machined, the feet are not as soft/pliable, and the pan is not limited. The Atlas will pan only so far before hitting an internal stop, but the Atras will go around and around. And if you don't loctite the knob it can loosen/tighten as you pan the rifle.

I got another one of these to tune up for a friend so I took a few pictures to keep this forum alive.

First, I adjusted the push pins that lock the legs in place so that they clear the "gear" but don't go too far and hit the aluminum housing. Loctite on the threads holds them there. The picture shows the head centered in the channel behind the gear.



Next is the cant pivot pin at the top. The pin is too short and is a sloppy fit in the machined slot. So I drilled out the hole in the central shaft and fitted a longer, larger pin. The picture shows the original pin.



Then it's reassembled with a stack of belleville washers. The pic shows before/after and you can see the whimpy stock spring. There's a pocket for the spring in the aluminum housing, so I just left it in place with the addition of the washers. The knob is reinstalled with loctite to the desired tension then left alone for the glue to set. After the knob is loctited, the bipod can swivel and cant without the knob coming loose or getting tighter.



Last picture is installed on a rail along with a QD cup for the sling.

Looks fairly nice. I like the Harris style more personally but it's crazy how cheap they can make those things overseas.

Thanks for the write up. I have had my eye on these copies for a while, but have been hesitation on pulling the trigger. For the price, they are probably worth a try, though I have been very happy with the accuracy I get shooting off my Harris bipod.

Did yours come with the pic rail to mount the bipod, or did you buy that separately?

Where do you get the rail and how does it mount on the gun?

The problem with the harris bipods I've seen is they don't pan or cant, so you're always having to mess around with the legs to change their length or position. The harris legs are also pretty rigid, so with any amount of recoil the legs drag, and you lose sight picture so you can't see impacts and then you have to go through the adjustment ritual all over again. The atlas type bipod lets you plant the feet and make most adjustments without moving them. Also, the atlas has a little slop in the legs at their pivot point. This means you can load the bipod forward, and under recoil the gun will rock back without dragging the feet and will usually rock back forwards to the same spot so you can see the impact. This is really only a concern with something that has recoil. A semi-auto 22lr would probably work fine on any bipod.

The atlas mounts to a standard 1913 (aka picatinny) rail. They're available from many sources. Do a search on amazon or similar site. Some guns come with them standard, or they're easy to attach using glue, screws, existing sling studs, etc. Here's a cheap one that's still made of metal (you can get even cheaper but they're usually plastic):

http://www.dxsoul.com/product/...ount-black-901422712

jpl, thanks. I would need to mount the rail myself. AIU

Just a quick update on these. I have two that are still working well (after modification) on a few different guns, and one is getting used on a light 338-300Rum:



Shooting this off the atras digs two small furrows in the ground. It seems to handle the abuse fine so far.

JPL, good post, I may just have to order one and modify it. Clever post title, it took me a minute!

Bump because I fixed all the broken pictures and update:

I've modified 3 of these now for myself and friends and they are all still working. I've put rails on several of my rifles from rimfire to the lightweight 330-300RUM and the QD feature makes it easy to move among them.

I've seen these down to $15.99 once in a while:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/401640368887

Maybe its just me or maybe it's due to currently be going through the patent application process and expense that this touches such a deep nerve. I find this Atlas Copy regardless of the price, just plain piracy. Note the word PATENTED the pirates felt "obligated" to include F---KING THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Designed,pateneted and made in America to then be stolen and then resold in America

Brilliant !!!!!

D'Arcy--I couldn't agree more. Even though the "Atras" is less expensive (CHEAPER) and performs almost as well after re-working, I'll vote with my wallet and buy an "Atlas", not some knock-off from China or wherever, from a company/country that doesn't respect a US patent. I also fault US officials for piss-poor policing of these types of violations. The last to blame would be those who--reasonably enough--wish to save some money.

I'm not holier-than-thou, simply sick to death of US inventors who play by the rules, getting f*ck*d over. I'm willing to pay our guys for their work.

Dave Manson

Yes, it is a cheap copy made in china and I pointed this out at the beginning of the thread. I have never added up what I've spent on this hobby, but after spending thousands on what I consider to be the important pieces of a rifle I'm content to save a little on an adjustable stick. There's nothing new about bipods and the atras comes up short on what is probably the best feature of the atlas anyway.

I've personally sent over $1000 to accushot, so I felt justified in creating this thread to share some information and try to keep this forum going. If you want to complain about the ethics of chineze and the state of the global economy there are many much more glaring examples you could spend your efforts on somewhere else. Let's please talk about long range shooting here.