EVO Leisure Bipod (F-Class Open)

[VinceB]

The EVO bi-pods are of course made here in the UK and are very popular over here. They are more than capable of supporting the weight of an F Open rifle.

However, if you are shooting Open Class you should consider a joystick bi-pod - you will soon get tired of straining to reach the controls on an EVO from the prone position.

 

[Steve Blair]

Gator, I did some checking on this as well, I shoot a few times a year at matchs that Danny attends and I could not remember him ever winning a Open National match and certainly not with a BiPod. Well the surprise was on me to some extent. After winning Back to Back F/TR National Championships in 2008 and 2009 he made the switch to Open in 2010, and that year he did shoot Open with a Prototype Sinclair BiPod.

[br]
Roland, [br]
Yes, I saw him shoot 200-15X at the 2011 Berger LR SW Nationals, not once, but twice. I cannot swear he used a bipod to shoot the record but I know he used one in the team event prior. Maybe Danny will shed some light on my faulty memory.

 

[memilanuk]

The biggest reason I could think of for wanting to shoot F-Open from a bipod (besides the challenge) would be weight - as in transport. A modern full-meal-deal front rest weighs a lot, and generally gets its own hard case when flying. Add a full rear bag and you've basically taken up the weight allowance (at least) for a third bag - which isn't cheap.

Arguments can certainly be made that if you are paying to fly to a match, spending the extra to transport a front rest and rear bag as mentioned is part of the price of doing business... but I can certainly understand if someone didn't want to go that route either.

Des Parr, a very capable GB F-Open shooter, has shot off a bipod a number of times over in the USA - though he had a front rest for his most recent visit to Raton. Also... I don't think any of the F-Open shooters beat the score of 75-13V @800yds posted by an F/TR shooter in day one of the FCWC team matches... so the bipod may not be the most limiting factor If the coach hadn't converted both of his sighters (a 5 and a V-bull), it might have been 14 Vs!

 

[Laurie]

Monte has summed up the issues well so far as FCWC and similar matches involving air travel are concerned. We do see bi-pods used in 'Open' here in the UK, but nearly always for smaller, lighter recoiling cartridges like 6BR and 6.5X47L in short to mid range matches. I'm sure that applies in the US too.

I shared a car with Des Parr for the FCWC fortnight, and he was interested in my FLEX-Pod, the Dan Pahlobel design which worked very well for me in Raton. So who knows? I'd not shoot a 7WSM, or even a 284 off a bi-pod myself unless there were some very powerful off-range reasons.

 

[shootnjunky]

So back to the evo, does anyone have any pictures to post? What are the lead times on getting one? How well does it transport?

Mounting options? Anschutz I presume.

 

[Laurie]

http://www.ospreyrifles.com/index.php/shop-at-osprey-rifles/evo-leisure-products

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2012/06/gear-review-evo-f-tr-bipod-from-third-eye-tactical/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z83gRlEVbjQ

Osprey Rifles is Stuart Anselm, captain of the GB F/TR team at Raton. Ironically, the EVO has sold so well he didn't have one for his own use in the competitions.

They are widely used in the UK, Ireland and amongst continental European competitors. I've never heard a bad word said about the EVO - quite the reverse as users / owners really love them. At 800g (28.22 ounces), they are not the lighest bi-pods on the market - the FLEX-Pod, SEB Joy-Pod, and Mystic Precision MPOD all weigh c. 200g less - but are very, very stable, track as well as or better than anything else on the market and are quick and easy to adjust.

They're sold with an Anschutz rail fitting block, but a sling stud adaptor is available.