Atlas Bipod loading

[archp625]

I just bought a new Atlas CAL tall bipod. It seems really stiff to me. I watched a video of the owner of Gunwerks pre-loading his PSR bipod. Man that thing sure does move forward and reverse. My CAL does not do that at all. Is this normal or do i need to go with a different bipod?

 

[OSU Fisher]

If I'm thinking of the same video your talking about that's the v8 atlas. The v8 had a lot of slop in it that let you load it differently. The PSR and CAL dont. Opinions vary on this. I shoot the CAL as my main bipod. I dont feel the fore/aft movement in the v8 is necessary

 

[swampthing]

I believe you only need to "load" a bipod that flexes. I have no real world experience with this but have been researching bipods a lot lately. Looking to get an atlas myself.

 

[archp625]

If I'm thinking of the same video your talking about that's the v8 atlas. The v8 had a lot of slop in it that let you load it differently. The PSR and CAL dont. Opinions vary on this. I shoot the CAL as my main bipod. I dont feel the fore/aft movement in the v8 is necessary

Thanks for the reply. You very well could be right. It just looked like the PSR.

I’m just upset with the bipod jumping so much on a concrete bench. The more I look into it the more I realize I just need to shoot off my Caldwell rock and leave the bipod to prone shooting.

 

[Trevor73402]

That forward and backward movement in the V8 is why a lot of shooters didn’t like them and stayed with a Harris during competitions. I have 2 Atlas bipods now (both V8’s) and 99% of the time I still use my Harris’ setups. I’ve been meaning to get a Cal to try, just haven’t been on Snipershide enough lately to scoop one up from the classifieds.

 

[Trevor73402]

Thanks for the reply. You very well could be right. It just looked like the PSR.

I’m just upset with the bipod jumping so much on a concrete bench. The more I look into it the more I realize I just need to shoot off my Caldwell rock and leave the bipod to prone shooting.

Part of the jumping is the lack of recoil management by the shooter. I’m not taking a jab at you. Just stating that most of the time, it’s the shooter. With proper recoil management you should be able to shoot from concrete, wood, rocks, or any other hard surface with very little bipod hop. One tip I can give you is to take a hand towel and fold it over once and lay in on the bench and set the bipod legs on the towel. This will greatly help with the bipod hop. And don’t get discouraged, this is a problem that many many shooters have when shooting prone from hard surfaces.

 

[archp625]

Part of the jumping is the lack of recoil management by the shooter. I’m not taking a jab at you. Just stating that most of the time, it’s the shooter. With proper recoil management you should be able to shoot from concrete, wood, rocks, or any other hard surface with very little bipod hop. One tip I can give you is to take a hand towel and fold it over once and lay in on the bench and set the bipod legs on the towel. This will greatly help with the bipod hop. And don’t get discouraged, this is a problem that many many shooters have when shooting prone from hard surfaces.

Trevor,

Don't worry, no offense taken at all. I don't claim to be anything but a work in progress. I will work on my technique and take your advice and see what I can do. The bipod I had before was a Caldwell.

Can you elaborate on the recoil management part? My gun weights 9 lbs 11 oz with bipod and does recoil hardly at all. Should I hold the rifle tighter to my shoulder? Not as tight.

After reflecting on my day I will say two things. This was a brand new gun, glass, and bipod. I've not used any of them before Sunday. What I'm thinking some of my hop to the left could be coming from is my extreme right angle sitting. I'm a lefty. Do you think this is part of it and i need to be more square to the rifle?

 

[Trevor73402]

Trevor,

Don't worry, no offense taken at all. I don't claim to be anything but a work in progress. I will work on my technique and take your advice and see what I can do. The bipod I had before was a Caldwell.

Can you elaborate on the recoil management part? My gun weights 9 lbs 11 oz with bipod and does recoil hardly at all. Should I hold the rifle tighter to my shoulder? Not as tight.

After reflecting on my day I will say two things. This was a brand new gun, glass, and bipod. I've not used any of them before Sunday. What I'm thinking some of my hop to the left could be coming from is my extreme right angle sitting. I'm a lefty. Do you think this is part of it and i need to be more square to the rifle?

I could try to type a reply out to this, but I feel like you’d be better off if you actually seen it rather than read about it. Look on YouTube for “recoil management” by SHlowlight. I’m sure there are others, but some of his (Frank Gali) videos have Jacob Bynum as the shooter. Jacob is the owner of Rifles Only in south Texas.
Frank does some “fundamentals” videos that are very informative for a new(er) shooter. Let me know if you still have some questions. I’ll be happy to help any way I can.

 

[CApighunter]

Thanks for the reply. You very well could be right. It just looked like the PSR.

I’m just upset with the bipod jumping so much on a concrete bench. The more I look into it the more I realize I just need to shoot off my Caldwell rock and leave the bipod to prone shooting.

On a concrete bench I’ll wrap a ratchet strap around it with a 2x4 under the strap and load my bipod off of that. Seems to help with the bouncing.

 

[archp625]

I could try to type a reply out to this, but I feel like you’d be better off if you actually seen it rather than read about it. Look on YouTube for “recoil management” by SHlowlight. I’m sure there are others, but some of his (Frank Gali) videos have Jacob Bynum as the shooter. Jacob is the owner of Rifles Only in south Texas.
Frank does some “fundamentals” videos that are very informative for a new(er) shooter. Let me know if you still have some questions. I’ll be happy to help any way I can.

I will check those videos out for sure. Thanks so much. This is what I love about this forum.

 

[AirborneEScouter]

I have the PSR, it does not flex/load much (and I think I know the video you mentioned, does not move that much) unless you extend the legs out. I have a Harris as well that I think loads a little more than the Atlas. Problem with concrete benches is that they are usually slick and the bipod feet can't get a good bite.

 

[new2mud]

One tip I can give you is to take a hand towel and fold it over once and lay in on the bench and set the bipod legs on the towel. This will greatly help with the bipod hop.

One modification to this is to lay out a towel, place the bipod legs on the front of the towel and then run the towel under the rifle and back towards you. Then your support arm can rest on the towel and provide just enough tension to keep the bipod/towel from sliding forward under a slide load. You are basically making a soft surface that doesn't slide forward as easily.

 

[MallardAddict]

Put your bipod on a folded towel or carpet scrap to give it some cushion from the hard bench as well as some friction to keep hopping down