Rifle mounted Bipod or Carry a Tripod?

[Chris in TN]

There's not a one-sentence answer to this. I've killed a bunch of stuff with a Harris Bipod and still use them and will continue to do so. In scenarios where I can get prone behind a bipod and see clearly to shoot, the bipod can be incredibly fast and accurate. But it's useless in taller brush.

Get both. Learn both. Use whichever works best for circumstances.

 

[Wrench]

If you're planning to hunt/shoot from a tripod, practice a bunch and learn the recoil management. It's not as simple as tossing a rig on it and hammering.

 

[BluMtn]

The funniest thing I have ever seen, I was helping 3 gentleman on a late whitetail hunt, none of them had ever been whitetail hunting. I took them out in the wheat fields to a place I knew there would be some whitetail bucks. I parked the pickup in a draw and we crawled up to the top of a small rise and I looked over the other side and sure enough there were two legal bucks feeding in the next draw.

I told them to get setup. They were on their bellies and got their rifles in front of them. They had bipods and got them unfolded and setup. I told them that once spooked whitetails would not stop running full speed for 3 days so make sure you hit them the first time.

So they are all ready and it was decided that the gentleman that was to my right would shoot first then the middle would shoot and finally the left would clean up. I told them that was not a good idea, but if that was their plan go for it.

The first shooter says he is ready and told the others to get ready. He fires and misses by about a foot, as I predicted those bucks took off at 100mph and the other two shooters are trying to swing on those bipods and catch up to those running bucks, which they never did.

I though I was going to pee my pants laughing so hard. Those guys looked at me and they all made the comment about not knowing deer could run that fast. I will say though, by the end of the day they had all filled their tags. Most fun I have ever had was watching them shooting at deer.

 

[AlaskaRed]

I have made many attempts to make friends with a spartan precision bipod. Time after time I've found it causing issues in my shooting. All bipods are just unreliable and have too many moving pieces in them to ever be a part of my hunting shooting system. A range rifle go for it. So NO on a bipod for me.

A tripod is something that often makes it into my pack regardless of using it for shooting. So, may be worth trying it out for you and I would take it over a bipod any day.

Third option is there are plenty of simple adapters for trekking poles. Also take a look into some decent shooting sticks if you need them. The spartan precisions springboks have had some pretty good reports.

My rule of thumb is unless you absolutely need something in your terrain shooting off my backpack is the go-to. Too much uncertainty and unreliability when you start adding extra pieces in your your shooting sytem.

 

[Ajsomp]

No bipod anymore - used to have them on the gun and never got used. I carry a tripod for glassing first, shooting rest/support second. But if I’m not doing any glassing, I’m not bringing the tripod.

Shooting off my pack, shooting off trekking poles with the handles crossed over (no need for the wiser quick stix), finding natural positions etc. is my go to. Use a bag from @Unknown Munitions or @hereinaz on the pack itself. For prone shots they come in handy on weird uphill or downhill shots.

If I think I’m going to need something, it stays home. Only what I actually need comes along with me.

 

[wpeach1912]

The answer is pretty much it depends. Mainly on hunting style and terrain. I always have either a double pull ckye pod or gunwerks elevate on my rifles when doing western hunting. I always have a glassing/shooting tripod as well (Leofoto 324CLX with MA40L). I want to be able to take a long shot from the best possible position and potential significant angles, so I don’t mind the weight penalty. If I was forced to choose, I would take the tripod over the bipod since it is more versatile. My hunting style is frequently spot and stalk and the terrain I’m in frequently has opportunities for 3-800 yard shots. This last weekend I killed a bear. Was standing on a ridge glassing with my binos on the Leofoto, saw the bear come out, ranged it at 385, dialed my rifle, moved the tripod to a seated position, clipped in, and killed it. Took maybe 1-2 minutes. Could I have made the shot with trekking poles or my backpack? Probably. Was I glad to have my tripod. Certainly

 

[hoooogan]

Third option. Rifle mounted tripod. Best of both worlds.

 

[hereinaz]

Third option. Rifle mounted tripod. Best of both worlds.

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Done that!!!

Makes sense sitting on a glassing knob at last light.

 

[Rayland]

Do you not glass much? Have you glassed from a tripod?

I don’t glass as much as I should, it’s something I’m trying to force myself to do more of. I’ve only hunted the last two seasons and I've typically been moving around a lot, stop, bugle, wait a few minutes, and if I don’t hear anything, I keep moving.

I usually just get an elk tag in Montana. My first year I had a cow tag and, unfortunately, ran into a nice bull lol. My second year was unsuccessful for rifle, but I joined my buddy for archery. I don’t have a bow, so I just tagged along. I learned to bugle in the weeks leading up to it and was actually able to call a nice bull into 40 yards for my buddy, who dropped it.

To answer the question: no, I have not glassed from a tripod yet.

 

[CMP70306]

I personally run a tripod, here in the east my shots may not be long but in a lot of cases there can end up being a lot of stuff between the target and myself. Case in point the last deer I shot was a neck shot at 120 yards, the shot itself wasn’t far but the only shot window I had was through a 1-1/2” gap in a tree at 70 yards between us. With the tripod it was an easy shot but it wasn’t happening off a short bipod or offhand as I was sitting.

I started carrying a tripod after I missed out on a 140 class buck a few years ago. I was sitting on a hillside in the big woods and he showed up across the gully from me at around 200 yards. I would have been shooting through the tree tops offhand with no support due to the lack of small trees within arms reach and no way to lay down for my bipod nor rest the rifle on my knees due to the angle of the hill. He made one brief stop in a small window but after spending a couple minutes holding my rifle up I couldn’t get steady enough in the couple seconds he stopped and missed my chance.

With my tripod he would have been the biggest buck on my wall.

 

[Rayland]

I personally run a tripod, here in the east my shots may not be long but in a lot of cases there can end up being a lot of stuff between the target and myself. Case in point the last deer I shot was a neck shot at 120 yards, the shot itself wasn’t far but the only shot window I had was through a 1-1/2” gap in a tree at 70 yards between us. With the tripod it was an easy shot but it wasn’t happening off a short bipod or offhand as I was sitting.

I started carrying a tripod after I missed out on a 140 class buck a few years ago. I was sitting on a hillside in the big woods and he showed up across the gully from me at around 200 yards. I would have been shooting through the tree tops offhand with no support due to the lack of small trees within arms reach and no way to lay down for my bipod nor rest the rifle on my knees due to the angle of the hill. He made one brief stop in a small window but after spending a couple minutes holding my rifle up I couldn’t get steady enough in the couple seconds he stopped and missed my chance.

With my tripod he would have been the biggest buck on my wall.

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Appreciate you sharing this! I'm gonna pick me up a tripod! I don't want to learn the same lesson the hard way lol. Even If i don't find myself shooting off it much it may encourage me to glass more.

 

[180ls1]

I don’t glass as much as I should, it’s something I’m trying to force myself to do more of. I’ve only hunted the last two seasons and I've typically been moving around a lot, stop, bugle, wait a few minutes, and if I don’t hear anything, I keep moving.

I usually just get an elk tag in Montana. My first year I had a cow tag and, unfortunately, ran into a nice bull lol. My second year was unsuccessful for rifle, but I joined my buddy for archery. I don’t have a bow, so I just tagged along. I learned to bugle in the weeks leading up to it and was actually able to call a nice bull into 40 yards for my buddy, who dropped it.

To answer the question: no, I have not glassed from a tripod yet.

Cool. Undoubtedly, getting a tripod is the next thing you need to do.

 

[hereinaz]

I personally run a tripod, here in the east my shots may not be long but in a lot of cases there can end up being a lot of stuff between the target and myself. Case in point the last deer I shot was a neck shot at 120 yards, the shot itself wasn’t far but the only shot window I had was through a 1-1/2” gap in a tree at 70 yards between us. With the tripod it was an easy shot but it wasn’t happening off a short bipod or offhand as I was sitting.

I started carrying a tripod after I missed out on a 140 class buck a few years ago. I was sitting on a hillside in the big woods and he showed up across the gully from me at around 200 yards. I would have been shooting through the tree tops offhand with no support due to the lack of small trees within arms reach and no way to lay down for my bipod nor rest the rifle on my knees due to the angle of the hill. He made one brief stop in a small window but after spending a couple minutes holding my rifle up I couldn’t get steady enough in the couple seconds he stopped and missed my chance.

With my tripod he would have been the biggest buck on my wall.

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Years ago, I had the fortune of training with a professional/competitive shooter weeks before a hunt in Alaska. What he showed me got out to use.

This is one of my go to positions. So many times we are sitting on a slope, so it is common and easy.

If I hadn’t learned this a few weeks ago I would not have gotten one of my favorite bucks. Because I had practiced this position, I knew I could make it. If I did miss the wind, it would have been a pretty clean miss.

 

[hereinaz]

I don’t glass as much as I should, it’s something I’m trying to force myself to do more of. I’ve only hunted the last two seasons and I've typically been moving around a lot, stop, bugle, wait a few minutes, and if I don’t hear anything, I keep moving.

I usually just get an elk tag in Montana. My first year I had a cow tag and, unfortunately, ran into a nice bull lol. My second year was unsuccessful for rifle, but I joined my buddy for archery. I don’t have a bow, so I just tagged along. I learned to bugle in the weeks leading up to it and was actually able to call a nice bull into 40 yards for my buddy, who dropped it.

To answer the question: no, I have not glassed from a tripod yet.

During the rut, I would do the same, but stop to glass when you have the chance to sweep binos across the landscape with a tripod.

Outside of the rut, a common way to hunt is find glsssing spots that help you cover more ground with your eyes than your boots.

 

[Briant_az]

I have always carried a tripod on my pack and a bipod on my rifle. I lived in Az for most of my life and did a lot of glassing. I think I only shot off of my tripod once or twice.
One of those times was a really nice buck in MX. bi pod wasn’t tall enough for a seated shot so I tried to use my tripod. Missed that buck. As soon as I got home I bought a hatch out west bipod. They extend much higher that what I was using at the time.
If your going to get a tripod to shoot off of, practice. Some guys make it look easy, it’s because they know what they are doing.

 

[hereinaz]

I have always carried a tripod on my pack and a bipod on my rifle. I lived in Az for most of my life and did a lot of glassing. I think I only shot off of my tripod once or twice.
One of those times was a really nice buck in MX. bi pod wasn’t tall enough for a seated shot so I tried to use my tripod. Missed that buck. As soon as I got home I bought a hatch out west bipod. They extend much higher that what I was using at the time.
If your going to get a tripod to shoot off of, practice. Some guys make it look easy, it’s because they know what they are doing.

The benefits of using a plate and bag is that it is essentially an adjustable stump. All the skills of shooting off of a bag are transferable. The rifle sliding rearward has the same recoil movement as a bag on a bench. And, you can use your pack or shooting sticks for rear support.

Shooting with a rifle clipped into the tripod requires a lot more practice. The recoil management when the tripod moves is a new element. Just like shooting off a bipod requires some skill to “load” or take the slack out so shots are more repeatable.

 

[Briant_az]

The benefits of using a plate and bag is that it is essentially an adjustable stump. All the skills of shooting off of a bag are transferable. The rifle sliding rearward has the same recoil movement as a bag on a bench. And, you can use your pack or shooting sticks for rear support.

Shooting with a rifle clipped into the tripod requires a lot more practice. The recoil management when the tripod moves is a new element. Just like shooting off a bipod requires some skill to “load” or take the slack out so shots are more repeatable.

I didn’t even have a way to attach my tripod to my gun. I just tipped my binos over and tried to shoot of the top of it. Very dumb decision. Hopefully someone will learn from my mistake.
Ow that I live in Montana I still use both. I have really been wanting to get into some local NRL matches just to make me use and get comfortable with tripod shooting.