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Always looking to stir the pot, i put this idea out there. I believe leaning into your bipod is counter productive. Here's the evidence.
A - Leaning slightly into it as certain shooting dvds say you should.
Attachment 133551
B - Just letting the bipod sit vertical
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What say you? Anybody else had similar results
A lot of this will be relative to
Rifle especially bedding , floated barrel and caliber
bipod brand / style
Surface the bipod is on eg concrete, grass etc
Shooter if they can lean in the same amount everytime
Ive had some rifles they didn't like any pressure and others that shot much better with it loaded and others that shot the same regardless
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When testing at the range - find what works best
When hunting do EXACTLY the same thing that worked best
I don't recommend "leaning into it" so much as prefer a bipod that has some "play" forward/back in the legs that can be lightly pushed forward, then has some freedom to move backward through recoil without legs jumping, meaning you can keep position and self-spot more easily or shoot again, with a strong position behind the rifle. There's no reason there would be an accuracy advantage (presuming everything is done equally consistently)
In certain applications I think it is more effective. For example a few weeks ago when applying the technique I use for my hunting rifles (everything is neutral) I could not get on target at 1300m with the suppressed 338. When I loaded the bipod and absorbed the recoil better I was able to get on target.
I don’t find it necessary for my hunting rifles at those shorter distances though. Too one dimensional, what if I have to shoot off a rock or a tree etc? Instead I use a neutral style where the bipod is not loaded and just recoils into my shoulder the same way it would over a pack, off a tree, standing etc.
Use my bipod only on paddock surface and resting on my backpack when sighting in, will try the bipod on the concrete bench next time on the range to test the theory. ( talking 22 rimfire here)
I use a styrene block to support the fore end on the 222 and 7.62x39, don’t hold the rifle tight when sighting in. (But that’s got nowt to do with the topic!););)
I was trained in the military to lean in on a bipod but have had way better results with my rifles with free recoil since.
Just personal preference. However I seem to get the same poi on any surface.
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this ^^^^^^^ I find no POI shift between loaded or un loaded but I find shooting loaded up slightly more comfortable for my shooting style but I am confident shooting it un loaded too if needed depending on the situationQuote:
Originally Posted by R93
270 WSM carbon fiber ultra light rifle with a muzzle brake fitted
A lot of (especially cheaper) rifles seem to have too much flex in the stock for consistency if you lean into a bipod, especially on rough surfaces where you can easily end up with a different amount of force on each leg.
Both my target rifles (an Omark 223 and a Lithgow LA102 308) like to be loaded on the Harris bipod, but as others have mentioned consistency is the key. If I had a specialized "F Class" bipod I'd shoot them free.
As a range officer one thing I see a lot is folks using the "lie at an angle" body position whereas most current trainers seem to prefer "straight behind the line of sight" position, and I've certainly shot better this way since I "retrained" myself. You can test this easily - does the rifle fall back to point of aim after the shot, with you being able to see the "trace" if atmospherics render it visible.
On the hill with hunting rifles, all bets are off. I've just been away with some folks shooting wallabies, in terrain where about only one in ten shots might have allowed the use of a bipod - so if you haven't practised your sitting, crooked uphill prone, etc etc you're going to have misses - we all did!!.
It really depends on the stock & how much clearance around the barrel it has, combined with recoil
Some really like having a little bit of pre-load & some really really don't
It is quite surprising how much fore-end flex some "proper" imported carbon stocks have
Interesting thread :thumbsup:
For all my hunting and gong rifles I tend to load the bipod. Not heavy pressure, just enough to slightly rock it forward.
Depends a lot on how rigid the stock is etc. A lot of it also is caliber and specifically projectile weight dependant. With FTR rifles (much heavier than avg hunting rig), we found 185gr was about the limit. Around 200gr and up in a 308, recoil management gets VERY hard.
For what it's worth there was a really good long range shooter that came to my nzda and his method of shooting with a bipod was to load it up so that you didn't need to support the butt or grip with a hand. Enough pressure to keep it on your shoulder.
Seemed to work out for him.
For medium range pest goat & deer shooting (6.5, out to 600m+) I will alter the setup to achieve the same outcome, so more or less pressure. I usually hold the forend, but sometimes don’t, and it also depends on what rifle I am shooting. The end result is what counts, which for me is an easily controllable, dead steady reticle that I can comfortably adjust for windage hold. Mostly I try and concentrate on how I am lying, and the angle of my head / neck / torso w.r.t. the rifle.
20+ years ago got to know a guy with a 338 win mag. He had a bunch of different firearms (all different sizes-wasn't just a magnum nut), got a lot of deer and was a pretty good shot on the clays too.
Anyway he used to shoot the 338 prone on a bipod but went through 2 stocks. they were splitting up the front. Went to a synthetic and problem solved but ultimately Could've got away with a wooden one in the end as he got his missus to video him shooting it. He did the slow-mo thing and you could sees wicked ripple going through his back. Didn't do prone shooting after that unless he had too
What bipod?
I've tried both loaded and unloaded using just a Harris on various lighter rifles, not my target rigs, and I can't see any benefit in loading them.
Here's a 600yd result with my lightish 6.5x47 shot unloaded just pinching the rear bag. This rifle is basically too light for its intended use but it's seriously accurate if you can drive it well. As you can see, the waterline was pretty reasonable
https://i.vgy.me/fxlOSW.png
I've found that having to apply force to get the rifle to point at the target affects POI significantly more than getting into a position where the rifle can more or less point at it naturally.
More loading on the bipod = more force telling the rifle to recoil a certain way. If this becomes normal then when a positional shot (where loading in the same way isn't possible) presents itself, my POI might be off. Not enough to miss, generally, but enough for a perfectionist to get annoyed with themself.
No loading, rifle pointing at the target = utter consistency. Standing, kneeling, sitting, prone, doesn't matter. I can tighten up my grip and pull the rifle in (or load up the bipod a bit) simply to manage recoil a bit better AFTER I've gotten rested and lined up, assuming it doesn't affect my point of aim. Pushing/pulling/twisting the rifle onto the target is what causes a shift for me.
I had this conversation with tod hodnett and they are now advocating and training unloaded bipod.
The reason is that if you are on a slippery surface you will be subject to sliding and buggering up the shot.
I never have loaded but only because under pressure I would forget!
Shooting directly behind your rifle is a good thing for recoil management and spotting your fall of shot.
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There is some interesting info in this video re the theory behind loading a bipod.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cg0KxIzgS4
but Ryan Cleckner, who wrote an excellent book on Long Range Shooting and presents the NSSF shooting video series, is not a big fan of bipods and prefers to shoot off a bag.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQmfHG8mPY0
Funny you should ask but it is one of those Atlas bi-pods with a fair bit of movement. Im thinking it just hates preload as it might cause a bit of jump? Or variation at the very leastQuote:
Originally Posted by Tussock
There's some great input here fellas i gotta say. Quite valid too because i've probably tried to settle for a "one approach to suit all" situations.
I don’t know for sure but I suspect when Tussock asked the question, he was implying that he does not use a bipod. I could be wrong. My advice is don’t over think shit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dead is better
This guy leans into his bipod https://www.accurateshooter.com/shoo...es-from-bipod/
Can confirm bipods on concrete produce bad results. I've seen many trying having troubles sighting in at the range doing bipods on concrete, I tell them to put something soft underneath and it always helps.Quote:
Originally Posted by Finnwolf
I personally find free recoil(or close to it) to be easier in term of consistency, its fucking hopeless on any sort of lightweight hunting rifle. The recoil on my 284 is by no mean stiff or uncomfortable but without a gentle load it is plenty to hop the rifle a mile off target. This means resetting position between shots which inevitably leads to poor consistency. So on that rifle, far better consistency and results with a lightly loaded bipod.
My groups with my standard Tikka, groups go from 1" with unloaded bipod to 1/3-1/4" with loaded bipod. Can't explain it, but that's just how it is. That's 300 wsm and 178 gr pill, unless you're recoil management is spot on it jumps a plenty with no loading
I have found that it is mostly dependent on the stock. I definitely notice group size increases and point of impact changes going from shooting on grass with a bipod to shooting on bare concrete. Even just a shooting mat under the legs helps a lot.
Got my first Harris more than 30 years ago. Thought it was the bees until climbing through the sub alpine monkey scrub.
Those legs just caught on every goddam thing they could. Light bulb moment, turned the thing around. Legs never went forward again after that day. I use single shots largest being 243, then amongst others,222 and 204. Never had a problem with them backwards, but some might say thats the way i am ? When quickly kneeling or getting prone the legs are just there near magazine area quick to deploy.
Works for me.
