Bipod Positioning

[james]

I have a question related to bipod positioning when shooting my Seekins Bravo 6.5 CM. I shoot my Seekins in competitions where we shoot off a concrete bench. I always thought it a good idea to try and place the bipod back in the same position each time by placing it against a 20 pound bag of shot. I use a Harris bipod with a set of Pod Paws which have a rubber bottom. I recently experimented with positioning it against the bag of shot and not worrying about position and there doesn't seem to be any difference between how it shoots. Am I wasting my time packing around the bag of shot?

Thanks!

 

[OMW57]

I read an article some years back, a guy named FROGGY wrote it, the name of the article, if I am remebering correctly, was titled, Bugholes From Bipods, A very good article where he highly reccommends "preloading" the bipod by pushing against a barrier or heavy bag before firing.
Good article!

 

[Clancy]

Load, no load, don’t matter at all.

What matters is that you find something comfortable for yourself and do it the same way, with the same amount of shoulder and cheek pressure, every time.

For almost everything I shoot, I like to pull the rifle back into my shoulder with my shooting hand, zero in on the bull and release hand pressure. That’ll have the butt of the rifle touching your shirt but not your shoulder. Free recoil, more or less.

For larger calibers, I apply some shoulder pressure. Enough that I can see my breathing in the scope but not enough that I’m putting weight on the gun. It’s not really a “load” but it does take the slack out.

 

[jds holler]

So far I come down on the side of a little preload.
I might change my mind next week jd

 

[ELR LVR]

I've tested Bipod Forward, Bipod Rearward, loaded, unloaded
I still seem to shoot the same.
--
What I have found that is most important is
that the bipod legs not be put in a twisting type torsion such as if you pivoted the rifle on the bipod
which would make one leg loaded and the other leg in spring tension.
Before making a precision shot - I will lift one side to allow both legs to be at full extension from the springs and relieve any torsion
---
I mostly hold and control the gun.... and the bipod merely helps give me stability
yet with torsion (twist) in the bipod legs, seems to throw the shots off more than anything

 

[SecondsCount]

I was using a bipod for a long time before "loading" became a thing. I tried it for a while and have gone back to a light load on the legs, just enough to take any slack out of the system.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I like to use the little sample piece of carpet under the bipod that was suggested here on this forum.

 

[ELR LVR]

I was using a bipod for a long time before "loading" became a thing. I tried it for a while and have gone back to a light load on the legs, just enough to take any slack out of the system.

I agree, this is the best method ^^^ - just take any slack up

 

[CF Junkie]

The idea of front loading the bipod legs is to give them purchase against the surface they are on to prevent them from hopping from recoil which moves the barrel up and would potentially raise the POI.

If your bipod is hopping, then it might help in eliminating a stray round.
If you don't measure all your groups and don't keep good records, you'll never know if it really works or not.

For me, I found there was a slight improvement in the consistency of my groups. But I am accuracy anal and measure all my groups, so I could measure the difference by comparing before front loading and after front loading over a pretty large sample.

Since 2010, I use a Sinclair F-Class bipod that is very stable, and slides backward just like the rifle. It doesn't hop so I don't bother about front loading the bipod,

 

[R.Morehouse]

If I were shooting your setup, I would load it. If you don't want to carry a weight to put on the bench, put a retchet strap around it and load into it. There are most likely better options, but I have done this, and it has worked fine for me.

Regards
Rick

 

[FeMan]

If you shoot enough different rifles and experiment with them, you will find that what they like to shoot their best can vary. Whether its accomplished by loading the bipod or pulling back against your shoulder, shoulder pressure matters in my experience. In general, lighter calibers like lighter shoulder pressure. Heavier calibers tend to prefer more shoulder pressure.

Rifle weight matters too. Heavier rifles are more forgiving. Lighter rifles can be very sensitive to shoulder pressure and the lighter the rifle the lighter the shoulder pressure in my experience.

I cant see needing a sand bag to load against unless its a rifle with some stout primary recoil. Even then, pulling back (which is easier to do on the bench than prone) can eliminate the need to load excessively.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

I almost exclusively shoot from a bench with bipod. Pulling back into my shoulder with my trigger hand has made the most improvement. Ski feet on short carpet or similar with no preload at all has yielded the best results.

 

[thatguyshm]

Depends on the bipod. Each one is a bit different. I've found loading an Atlas or a Warne isn't as important as a Harris or similar style. I like to give it just a touch of forward pressure, but each spring I have to fine tune the pressure.

 

[GetReal]

I remember asking this question and I got six different opinions that nobody agreed on.

Of course , they all assured me that their way was the very best way.

I think The conclusion from that is , find what works for you and don't worry about what works for anybody else. The target will tell you the answer to your question.

 

[Dgd6mm]

^^^^^^^^^right there.

 

[6.5 forever]

I remember asking this question and I got six different opinions that nobody agreed on.

Of course , they all assured me that their way was the very best way.

I think The conclusion from that is , find what works for you and don't worry about what works for anybody else. The target will tell you the answer to your question.

Find what YOU can duplicate every shot.

 

[6MMsteve]

I finally learned how to shoot off a bipod the same way I shoot off a rest 100% concentration. those days I don't have it then I don't shoot good... pretty simple

 

[searcher]

Depends on the bipod. Each one is a bit different. I've found loading an Atlas or a Warne isn't as important as a Harris or similar style. I like to give it just a touch of forward pressure, but each spring I have to fine tune the pressure.

I agree that it depends on the bipod. Some bipods have the top of the legs rather far apart (at the outer edge or outside of the fore stock), which provides for better control of rotation. Some protrude at a wider angle when open, providing more resistance to rotation. Some attach to the stock much more securely - and in a repeatable fashion. Then there is the flex when they are pre-loaded. I think the easier they flex, the more difficult it is to attain uniformity from shot to shot. I think the pre-load helps many just by reigning in some of the vibration and stop the legs from "skittering" across the surface on recoil. Like Rabbitslayer, I prefer to pull the rifle back towards me, somewhat of a "reverse pre-load". I know that when doing this, there is no forward pressure on the bipod. Conversely, when putting forward pre-load on the bipod, it is difficult to assess the exact amount to replicate each shot, and therefor the amount of forward pre-load will vary a bit on each shot. That is my theory, anyway. I have gone back and forth, and this seems to work best for me.

 

[jds holler]

For me, I've come to realize that I've got pretty crappy "table manners". Also, I've got no "real" bench rest bags or rifles.
Using my Harris bipods, (I've got three of em) has just made things a little more consistent for me. I use a board strapped across the bench perpendicular to the line of sight. With the legs preloaded a bit, and a squeeze bag under the rear stock, I get pretty consistent face and shoulder contact from shot to shot.

What really sold me is when I took my buddy out, and got him to try the bipod. His 100 yard groups went from 3 MOA, down to sub 1.

Fact is that for all the talk we do about shooting in the .2's or .3's, I'm doing pretty good when I shoot .5. My equipment, technique, and reloads just aren't much better than that. And when I get more consistent .5 on the bipod, I'm pretty happy. And when I do better, I'm REALLY happy. jd

 

[Fuj]

Here is what I do to make those tight long shots. "First"......Get that bipod
out towards the muzzle as far as you can. It's the most important part to
get that muzzle from making large circles and sweeps. Control the muzzle,
tighter shots......Next is the way I preload. I set the rifle, then pull it into my
shoulder. At no time do I push the bipod forward or up against anything.
As the rifle recoils, you want the bipod to roughly drag back with it. If you
push the bipod forward, you are now opposite of the recoil and the bipod
has to catch up with what the rest of the rifle is doing.