BIPODS- A busy market now!

[Reburn]

Great feedback so far, keep it coming, much appreciated!

Alright- so I was able to get to Scheels last night and get hands on with a couple of these bipods and here are my thoughts. NOTE: I will try to be succinct in how I discuss some features-- CANT- the ability to lay/tilt the rifle off a 90 degree vertical axis but there is also LEG CANT- ability to lock the legs into positions between the 0 degree stowed position and the 90 degree vertical firing position, which can include forward or rearward cant (based off muzzle direction) and SPLAY- the ability of the legs to move out at an angle sideways from the rifle, providing adjustment for height, uneven terrain, etc- this increases the 'footprint' of the bipod as the feet are now spread further apart.

Atlas- they had the tall BT47, solid bipod like my short Atlas, need to explore the NC and LW17 versions and the weight differences. Feet are changeable and there are even 3" leg extensions. It feels hefty but in a quality way, not bulk. **NOTE: This bipod actually was close or lighter than the GRND (as claimed on spec sheets) but definitely FELT heavier, if that makes sense**

MDT GRND POD- Really solid value, the cost is decent, lightweight, VERY user friendly and intuitive. It has throw lever rifle CANT as well as adjustable LEG cant. It can take ATLAS or CKYE feet and a few different mounting options. I think an important part to explore and for now my biggest question is Can I change the mount interface easily from a PIC to ARCA to the others? Very impressed with this piece and will be reading reviews on it for sure.

Gunwerks Elevate- Yes they had this in store! I wanted to love this bipod but I'm not quite sure it gets there for me for the cost. The pic attachment appears flawless and easy, the ergonomics and appearance are in line with gunwerks standards. PROS: Light, LOTS of adjustment, nice attachment system, may be the best value for range of height vs weight IF it is durable. CONS: NO LEG CANT, its either stowed or completely vertical. There is adjustable sideways SPLAY for the legs (they claim 4 positions, 120 degrees)- this is also a complaint as the splay of both legs is controlled by a small single silver button- so you can't really do it one handed. Youd have to plant one leg firmly and basically do one side at a time or both hands for one leg at a time. The feel of the 3 piece legs (twist lock AND spring activated) wasn't super solid but they did work flawlessly in the store. Durability will be the key here- I haven't watched gunwerks maintenance video yet.

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Thanks for bringing up HATCH and EVOLUTION. Seems like evolution has lots of leg lengths and accessories, weights are very similar. Anyone had both or have an idea on the pros/cons.

And we better add MTN Gear Mountain Bipod to the mix as well (4-15"), 5oz (claimed), 70 degree cant, incredible splay, and full pan.

Thanks!!!

The hatch is good. It has limitations. I have one. It gets left at home ALOT.
Its discussed in this thread.

Has anyone figured out a hunting bipod yet?

I have a Hatch. It’s the closest thing to workable in the field, but the leg deployment method (pull on the leg) is lame and there’s more slop than I like. I also have an Atlas. It’s great off a bench or flat prone, but near worthless in the field as there aren’t too many benches or flat...

rokslide.com

 

[SDHNTR]

Has Hatch come out with their new improved version yet?

 

[SDHNTR]

I just finished my review of the Gunwerks. https://www.rokslide.com/gunwerks-elevate-bipod-review/

I also have reviewed multiple Spartan bipods, and have a thread going above on the mtn gear.

The Javelin Pro from Spartan is great when you want a bipod and weight is a big priority. The mtn gear is a little lighter, has more adjustments/versatility but durability hasn't been proven yet.

The MDT Lightweight Double Pull is the absolute best hunting bipod on the market if you can stand the $900 price and the weight penalty.

Gunwerks Elevate offers close to the same versatility as the MDT but it's not as fast/easy to adjust and not as sturdy or robust. It is WAY less expensive and a lot lighter.

As has already been mentioned, everything is a tradeoff.

You still can’t sit or kneel behind that MDT Double Pull can you? And they don’t make a lightweight triple, right?

 

[Reburn]

Has Hatch come out with their new improved version yet?

Nope.
Looks like the price went up some too.

 

[pyrotechnic]

If you go with Atlas I would highly recommend checking out the CAL. The V8 and PSR is just too damn stiff. With them set completely loose on 20lbs rifles I was still fighting the bipods to get them to tilt and lifting up a leg usually. They also don't loosen up over time and only get worse once you get some dust and dirt in them. With the CAL you set tension just like a Harris and works much better and smoother than their ball socket one.

I too much prefer the CAL, have been using my tall PSR a bit lately and I think what you're fighting is the bipod being slightly panned and then trying to adjust tilt. It will tilt easily if the legs are perfectly square to your muzzle. Introduce a slight pan (which it will do 100% when you load it on anything other than a uniform surface) and it destroys your ability to tilt.

 

[XLR]

You still can’t sit or kneel behind that MDT Double Pull can you? And they don’t make a lightweight triple, right?

At the tallest position you should be able to sit behind a double pull. Kinda depends on the terrain but its at the lower end of what I prefer.

Got to looking at new bipods and the market for bipods is CRAZY! Lots of stuff coming from many different companies. Would love some real world reviews and comparisons from those who have tried one, a few, all of them...

I have a TBAC, Single pull, and triple pull that I will use on different occasions.

The TBAC is great for ranges and anywhere with a hard surface. I also have the leg extensions that put it into a little better range for hunting. I prefer the TBAC over an ATLAS because they have about the same range, but you can pull the legs down just by pulling and then extend the leg all the way by just pressing a button on the TBAC.

The single pull is nice because of the adjustability that you can get while hunting mountain terrain. If you are primarily staying out of the rocks and will be shooting in dirt then its awesome. The only reason I dont like it in the rocks is because of the spiked feet (which you can change to rubber ones). I still tend to run my TBAC while hunting in the high country though.

The Triple pull is the cats meow if you are able to carry the extra weight. IT IS HEAVY and I mean real heavy on the end of your rifle for shooting off hand. I would take it off and just have it in a place that's handy to get to if you think you will have some offhand shots. There is a reason everyone is running one in the NRL Hunter matches though.

 

[khuber84]

Ckyepod liteweight dbl pull will do mostly everything you need for shooting prone at about any angle. I hunted 2 years with standard gen1 ckyepod which served double duty in prs. It's multi postinal adaptability is excellent. I'd say a 4# Tripod setup for glassing/shooting is the way to go overall. They just take a lot longer to deploy. I usually carry my ckyepod and a Tripod.

 

[Happy Antelope]

This is what I’ve kind of settled on. Since I’ve found shooting from a bipod in the field is often not realistic.

I’ve had several. I’ve found that I don’t need pan feature as it’s just one more thing to move/adjust.

Harris - bulky, heavy, and very limited options.

Rugged ridge - didn’t care for the twist locks legs and the ball head liked to creep for me when shooting.

Spartan - lightweight but lacks adjustability on leg position similar to Harris.

Atlas - using the CAL now. Make sure you get legs that don’t rotate or it’s hard to load on the bench. Made that mistake with my first Atlas

Evolution - very similar to the atlas in features but a little lighter.

Hatch - A little heavy and long legs on the gun when carrying. The best of the group for hunting scenarios with the extra height.

My next purchase will be the gunwerks to give a try.


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Are you referring to the Spartan Lite? The tac has good leg adjustment up and down, but yes not forward and back, but I would never do that in a hunting scenario (Although the Valhalla will and the new Spartan stuff being shown this week at Shot will), the other item you missed on the spartan is the ability to turn the rifle without lifting it off the ground and track an animal. Plus, it does not have to stay on the rifle and can swap between rifles in a few seconds. Not to mention lighter than all the rest.

For a hunting bipod a little creep on the Rugged Ridge is fine, keep in mind that is not a benchrest type of bipod, it's for hunting. You want to be able to track an animal similar to when shooting off a bag. That ball gives you a lot of movement freedom, perfect for hunting. You want to shoot off concrete or a bench than the BT-72 etc like you said is the tool for the job for sure. Can't see why anyone would need anymore. Been the gold standard for a long time now. Or honestly step up to a prone tripod if absolute stability is what's needed.

Have you read the reviews on the gunwerks on here? Is does nothing that any of the names above does not already do. A bipod is a bipod if the gun is just resting, seen kids shoot a mile on a Spartan, a Harris and Atlas all the same. Companies adding colors, etc few have actually changed the whole idea of a bipod like say Atlas and Spartan did. I guess Swagger did also a little bit.

Guess what I am saying is a sheep hunter and a Benchrest shooter should not be using the same bipod ever.

 

[Agomez]

See lots of Ckyepod at nrl hunter. Useful in hunting if don’t mind weight.

 

[JohnJohnson]

See lots of Ckyepod at nrl hunter. Useful in hunting if don’t mind weight.

This is the way I went because I don't care about weight too much as long as it's not ridiculous. I just got an MDT single pull standard weight Ckye pod because the lightweight version only allows you to tension the pan, not lock it. My dumb ass found that out after buying the lightweight version and I ended up returning it + taking the 7oz weight penalty of going with the standard weight since I can unlock/lock the pan feature by pressing a button. Any situation a single pull Ckye (4" - 15.5" height I think) can't handle, I'm just clipping into my RRS tripod to shoot.

 

[LongOdds]

What about the Accu-Tac Bipods? Slip through the cracks,lol?

Never realized the bipod market had so many options.........

 

[Dobermann]

What about the Accu-Tac Bipods? Slip through the cracks,lol?

Never realized the bipod market had so many options.........

Pretty heavy for a backpacking hunting option.

 

[JohnJohnson]

What about the Accu-Tac Bipods? Slip through the cracks,lol?

Never realized the bipod market had so many options.........

An Accu-Tac BR4 is about 20z. For 17oz (and twice as much money) you can use a lightweight Ckye pod and have a metric ton more modularity/height adjustment. For 14oz and about the same price, you can get a TBAC bipod which seems more suited to hunting than the Accu-Tac as well.

 

[Cameron.25]

I use the mtn bipods. You get a lot for the weight, its impressive

 

[sodaksooner]

Used a javelin pro this season and picked up the bino harness carrier. Worked like a charm. Super steady, easy to adjust and adapt to terrain. Rock solid with little movement. only a 220 yard shot on a younger velvet buck but i was very impressed, and did well at the range too. Not saying it is the ideal solution but worked well for my hunt.

 

[doc holiday13]

Buy an atlas for prone / range work.

Buy a tripod for everything else. Or just shoot of your pack.

This

 

[Shadow Illude]

Wiser precision mount for my tracking poles in the event I need a low or high bipod. Saves weight and is very functional.

 

[chicoredneck]

I’ve used a variety of bipods - I’ve been hunting with a bipod on a rifle for 20 years now. Currently, I’m running just a Magpul bipod with spike feet and the pan locked out. I’ve found I don’t need all the different angle options for legs. I just need cant in a bipod. The Magpul is light, cheap, and so far been durable. The Magpul gets some criticism for having play in the legs. I like this as the play can be locked out by preloading the bipod and it lets you know you have sufficient forward pressure on the rifle.

For any shots that requires more hight, I just put my rifle on a tripod.

 

[sodaksooner]

Wiser precision mount for my tracking poles in the event I need a low or high bipod. Saves weight and is very functional.

I have this too. Nice setup, but i need to work with shooting off the sticks more.

 

[bojangles808]

i have a confession to make, i really like this thing for 20$. thought id only use it to screw around with at the range but started carrying it in my pants side pocket in the field. 9 oz. folds up easy andeasy to deploy and adjust heights. what would the downsides be though? maybe not as forgiving as off a bag or pack with sliding under recoil? other than that I feel dirty for liking something so cheap. trekking poles for seated and this with a ultralight bag or rainjacket for rear bag has been my go to lately.