Joy-pod report

[Turbulent Turtle]

I took my Joy-pod out for its first match yesterday. In very few words, I’m keeping it.

The attachment worked just fine. I had the adapter tight in my rail before I even got to the range so that when it was my turn to shoot, all I had to do was attach the bipod in a few seconds. I had some problem finding a decent spot on the ground, we have had a lot of rain and the ants were going wild and the ground was solid in the middle of the line but crumbly at the edges. I did not use the Seb support, I used my regular bipod mat in an attempt to bridge some gaps on the ground.

To my happy surprise I found that I could adjust the elevation and windage with the joystick and when I left the joystick alone, the point of aim would not budge. That is absolutely important and the Joy-pod does it just fine.

At 1000 yards and at 42X, the range of elevation with the Joy-pod is from about a half target above to a half target below. Side to side, I could go from touching the target on the left to the target on the right. The cant adjustment was useful because of the bad layout on the ground; so in essence, this was a good test of the adjustment range of the Joy-pod and it passed with flying colors.

I discovered that the joystick will rotate easily and at one point I was controlling it with my left hand next to me rifle. That was really silly of me as all I had to do was twist the Joystick back down. I didn’t do that then because I thought the joystick was loose on the stub and would fall off during the string. It was not loose, it just turns easily; you can turn it back any way you want.

I did find that I had to be careful how I was holding the joystick. Several times during recoil the end of the stick hit the palm of my hand and that was painful. My left hand was still hurting a bit last night and this morning I have a blister, but I’m learning how to hold the joystick better.

Bottom line; great bipod, I’m enjoying it a lot.

 

[Lbart]

Denys,
I am enjoying mine also. I was able to get to the range today and test the JoyPod for the first time. I tested at 300 meters. No wind flags. The wind was light and variable from the left, but moving a bit. I did not try to read it.

This is my first time ever shooting prone with a bipod and it will take some getting used to.

I used the PodPad, but will have to play with the amount and type of sand. The joy stick is too long for me and kept hitting on my Big Foot bag, which is long and winds up near the pistol grip. Also I am not used to the amount of fore and aft movement that comes with the bipod. I would forget to push the rifle forward to the same spot on the PodPad. I fired two 5 shot and one 10 shot group. The groups had an average vertical of less than 0.3 moa and ES of less than 1 moa. All the horizontal shots except one could have fit in the 300 yard 10 ring if they were centered and that one was defiantly from a wind pick up. I was shooting new Norma .308 cases with Berger 185 Juggernauts, Wolf primers and Varget.

I am very happy with the JoyPod, but it will be a challenge to get as proficient with it as I am with my F-Open setup.

Larry Bartholome
Team Berger/SEB

 

[6BRinNZ]

Thanks for the update - it is great to see how others are getting on.

Would you say it is an improvement and therefore expect scores to be higher or just different?

Only asking as I bought a Duplin just before news about the joy-pod came out - not being one to jump on new equipment unless there is a real benefit. Early days I know - but there have been comments about it being a game changer...

Something that might qualify the benefit statement is what stock designs and bullets are being tested with as this goes to recoil/torque management.

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

Larry, I've never fired an F-open rifle I've only ever shot F-class in TR so I am used to the movement shooting off a bipod. What got my hand was that long joystick because I was not holding properly some of the time. I'm a large object fondler not a joystick handler, so to speak.

Because my left arm was alongside and underneath the rifle instead of curled under me with my left hand on the ears, I was unable to place my spotting scope as normal since one of the tripod legs would get in the way. So, I just shot the match without my spotting scope and my scores suffered for it. It was a 45 round match and I finished with a 434-18X. That's an unusually high X-count for me, I usually get about 12-15 in a 60 round match but the conditions were good for the first two matches. The third match was funny; it was all Xs or 9s, due to wind. I got 8 Xs, 5 9s, one 8 and my final shot was the solitary 10 of that string. It was X, X, X, 9, X, X, 8, ...

I was worried the pedestal type bipod could be subject to bounce, but I am now happy to know that is not a problem with this scope.

I have ordered and should be receiving a new scope stand that will allow me to tuck the spotting scope close to me and still have complete access to the joystick. I also added more sand into the ears of my rear bags since I'm not fiddling with those anymore.

Changes, always changes.

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

Thanks for the update - it is great to see how others are getting on.

Would you say it is an improvement and therefore expect scores to be higher or just different?

Only asking as I bought a Duplin just before news about the joy-pod came out - not being one to jump on new equipment unless there is a real benefit. Early days I know - but there have been comments about it being a game changer...

Something that might qualify the benefit statement is what stock designs and bullets are being tested with as this goes to recoil/torque management.

Too soon to tell and one outing does not a trend make, but I am happy with the results because I didn't crash. I'll know more after a few more matches.

 

[6BRinNZ]

Thanks for the update - it is great to see how others are getting on.

Would you say it is an improvement and therefore expect scores to be higher or just different?

Only asking as I bought a Duplin just before news about the joy-pod came out - not being one to jump on new equipment unless there is a real benefit. Early days I know - but there have been comments about it being a game changer...

Something that might qualify the benefit statement is what stock designs and bullets are being tested with as this goes to recoil/torque management.

Too soon to tell and one outing does not a trend make, but I am happy with the results because I didn't crash. I'll know more after a few more matches.

Thanks - I would be keen to see how you get on.