BIPODS- A busy market now!

[Dobermann]

So which bipod(s) do you think strike a middle good ground between features/design, weight and cost?


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This is pretty subjective, and everyone's use case, experiences, preferences - and style of shooting with bipod - will vary.

Having said that, I know @THLR has use the NeoPod, and another one that has the apex over bore that, from memory, last I looked up, was either not available, or hard to get shipped out of Europe.

For me, at this point in time:

• For ultralight weight, but no long-distance shots (due to play in design, which I dislike and distrust): Spartan Javelin
• Not as lightweight, but better recoil control and longer shots - with apex over bore, so better recoil control: Tier One Evolution Carbon 230 mm - *first gen*. Their second gen bipods are not as good of a design, and the carbon is heaveier the first gen with aluminium legs. On the first gen, the legs quick deploy like a
• For field shooting - the TBAC Bipod is lower profile than the Tier One and slightly less weight.

But this is fairly limited use so far, and everyone's mileage may vary.

One thing I can say is that I had the Ckyepod and the slop was horrible. CS tried to tell me I needed to pull it apart to corect this myself, but the complexity of what they were suggesting was beyond what should be expected for something straight from the factory. The poor quality control combined with MDT's poor customer service had me not wanting to look at their bipods again for a long time.

 

[ckuhasz]

The setup I'm currently contemplating pursuing is a set of MSR's DynaLock Ascent Carbon Backcountry trekking poles at 16.58oz paired with Wiser Precision's Quick-StiX trekking pole adapters at 2.38oz, Quick-Clip at 3.1oz and 3rd Leg at 7.1oz for a total weight of 29.16oz for a tripod set up for shooting out of prone, glassing, hiking and tent.

I've been looking between Spartan Precison Equipment's Javelin Pro Hunt Tac at 8.3oz for the long option (9-12") or Gunwerk's Elevate 2.0 for bipods (5-19") at 12oz.

My intent would be to run both setups in conjunction with one another for elk hunting out West to accommodate most situations? Any thoughts, advice, etc.?

Would love some firsthand insight in general but absolutely on the bipods I'm thinking about.

 

[Dobermann]

The setup I'm currently contemplating pursuing is a set of MSR's DynaLock Ascent Carbon Backcountry trekking poles at 16.58oz paired with Wiser Precision's Quick-StiX trekking pole adapters at 2.38oz, Quick-Clip at 3.1oz and 3rd Leg at 7.1oz for a total weight of 29.16oz for a tripod set up for shooting out of prone, glassing, hiking and tent.

I've been looking between Spartan Precison Equipment's Javelin Pro Hunt Tac at 8.3oz for the long option (9-12") or Gunwerk's Elevate 2.0 for bipods (5-19") at 12oz.

My intent would be to run both setups in conjunction with one another for elk hunting out West to accommodate most situations? Any thoughts, advice, etc.?

Would love some firsthand insight in general but absolutely on the bipods I'm thinking about.

paging @mxgsfmdpx ...

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

paging @mxgsfmdpx ...

I’ve used a double Spartan bipod setup for a few years now. Some hunts one or the other stays back at camp or in the vehicle but in general I take both bipods.

Spartan tac hunt goes in the bino harness or my pocket. A second unit with the Javelin long legs which gets used way more often, gets strapped to outside of my pack, hand carried, slipped down the back of my shirt, etc.

Basically the idea is you can take really any type of field shot between short bipod, long bipod for seated and kneeling, or shoot off the pack with no bipod since they don’t stay on the gun permanently. Any of those shots can be taken in seconds by snapping in the appropriate bipod or just throwing the pack down and getting ready.

Once you get used to not “loading up” or “pre-loading” like on traditional style bipods and use it as simply an aid to you actually controlling the rifle you’ll find that the Spartans are about perfect for a front “rest” in certain prone and seated/kneeling positions. I’ve used both the long and short bipods with dozens of kills over 1,000 yards (vast majority being varmints and predators).

I’ve been meaning to make a video on this with timed shots on gongs at distance. Basically pack on, stalking/hiking and time how long it takes to get a shot off with each setup. Spoiler alert, it’s incredibly quick. Faster than quick sticks, faster than a fold down style bipod, faster than trekking poles, and with practice it’s easier to build a bit more solid shooting positions overall.

 

[ckuhasz]

I’ve used a double Spartan bipod setup for a few years now. Some hunts one or the other stays back at camp or in the vehicle but in general I take both bipods.

Spartan tac hunt goes in the bino harness or my pocket. A second unit with the Javelin long legs which gets used way more often, gets strapped to outside of my pack, hand carried, slipped down the back of my shirt, etc.

Basically the idea is you can take really any type of field shot between short bipod, long bipod for seated and kneeling, or shoot off the pack with no bipod since they don’t stay on the gun permanently. Any of those shots can be taken in seconds by snapping in the appropriate bipod or just throwing the pack down and getting ready.

Once you get used to not “loading up” or “pre-loading” like on traditional style bipods and use it as simply an aid to you actually controlling the rifle you’ll find that the Spartans are about perfect for a front “rest” in certain prone and seated/kneeling positions. I’ve used both the long and short bipods with dozens of kills over 1,000 yards (vast majority being varmints and predators).

I’ve been meaning to make a video on this with timed shots on gongs at distance. Basically pack on, stalking/hiking and time how long it takes to get a shot off with each setup. Spoiler alert, it’s incredibly quick. Faster than quick sticks, faster than a fold down style bipod, faster than trekking poles, and with practice it’s easier to build a bit more solid shooting positions overall.

Very much appreciate this!

So let’s say I wanted to stick with the trekking poles and quick sticks for seated or kneeling shots and only running one bipod (need a setup for glassing). Would the javalin with short legs be the route to go? If so, would you recommend the tac hunt or base model?

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Very much appreciate this!

So let’s say I wanted to stick with the trekking poles and quick sticks for seated or kneeling shots and only running one bipod (need a setup for glassing). Would the javalin with short legs be the route to go? If so, would you recommend the tac hunt or base model?

Either one works great. Tac hunt is a bit more intuitive for adjusting leg height one handed. I don’t really fuss much with the leg height on the short version. I leave it locked almost fully extended as the legs on mine are very short when fully collapsed. I then just adjust rear rest as needed (off hand only, offhand on top of rear bag, offhand on top of bino harness, etc).

 

[WRO]

Well it would be a step up from a Caldwell but I'd much rather recommend an ARCA rail mounted bipod. Hunting folks don't tend to have ARCA or pic rails for bipod mounting though.

Of my crowd, the vast majority run pic mounted bipods. I don’t own a rifle that doesn’t have a pic rail, makes it easy to justify a 500.00 QD bipod because I can swap it between rifles easily.


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[ckuhasz]

Either one works great. Tac hunt is a bit more intuitive for adjusting leg height one handed. I don’t really fuss much with the leg height on the short version. I leave it locked almost fully extended as the legs on mine are very short when fully collapsed. I then just adjust rear rest as needed (off hand only, offhand on top of rear bag, offhand on top of bino harness, etc).

Good to know.

Never even thought about using the bino harness for a rear support. Thats a great idea to save weight as I was contemplating carrying a bag.

 

[JohnJohnson]

Of my crowd, the vast majority run pic mounted bipods. I don’t own a rifle that doesn’t have a pic rail, makes it easy to justify a 500.00 QD bipod because I can swap it between rifles easily.


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That's understandable but some ARCA is still very useful for locking into a tripod for shooting if you have a good shooting one. It has a lot of benefits.