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A quick review on Hardy carbon fibre bipod RR-EO1
I was on the lookout for a new bipod for a while, the old trusty Harris has been with me for many years but a lighter model does have some attractions, as everything seems to be getting heavier nowadays.
There are a few criteria that are important to me when picking a bipod: Steady comes first, then easy to deploy/adjust comes second, lastly weight and cost. I have tried two other popular carbon bipods from friends' rifles, Backlanz, Spartan Javelin. They are all super lightweight and well made, but to me they always feel a bit wobbly, probably because I got used to the cant(lean) lock of the Harris. So when I saw the cant lock on Hardy's latest carbon bipod, RR-EO1, I was immediately drawn to it. Weight is a bit heavy compared to the other two, but the price is quite cheaper. So after few hum and haw I finally made the decision to put an order in, only to miss out their sale by half a day, damn it!
The bipod arrives soon after in a nice box, alone with a picatinny rail(optional), tee-nuts and screws for attachment. The two tee-nuts which are bedded in the stock are well thought out solution for a heavy recoiled rifle. Recently I have noticed a small crack around my harris bipod stud, due to the recoil no doubt. It will be an interesting study to find out if a muzzle brake or a suppressor actually increase the recoil force to the rifle accessories like bipod, scope. Anyway, back to EO1, once all is setup I took it to the range. First thing I noticed is once the cant lock is tightened the rifle is very steady, I will say it is on par with my old Harris. The adjustment of the leg height however is a bit tricky, you turn the collar/lock anti-clockwise to loosen it, there is a spring inside the bipod which pushes the extension leg out, you then turn the knob clockwise to lock it again. For hunters we all want to adjust the bipod while staying behind the scope, while I probably can do that one handed but in the end I used both hands. Although this is a common problem for carbon legs, you can not have notches in them. Back to the range, I knew my gun was zeroed around the grey circle above the cross (see the target), and after two shots I decided that was enough powder/projectiles/primers wasted on shooting paper, they are all worth gold nowaday. Needless to say I was very impressed by the bipod at the range. Compared to Harris, it saved me about 3-4 Oz. It seems to be as strong as Harris, and with less things hanging outside. I can't remember how many times things got stuck in Harris bipod's springs. To attach bipod to the rifle, you first flip the locking lever, then tighten it further by turning a knob at the opposite side. I would say it is strong but I probably won't keep the bipod on my rifle all the time, there is still a chance that the lever got caught on the bushes and forced it open. Besides, to put it on is really a breeze compared to the Harris, although not as quick as Spartan. Overall I am really impressed by this little bipod, a good product which is well designed and well built, and won't cost you an arm and a leg which seems to be a trend in the shooting/hunting world nowadays. Lastly, you can also purchase longer legs and steel tips (mine comes with it), and I do know a few places where those long legs could be handy... Hot barrels!
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