Pod Claw Review
By Jason Burnette
Aka: Caver101
I have always loved using the Harris Bipods as they best fit the way I shoot. From F Class to long range tactical matches and just general everyday shooting the Harris made me happy. One thing I always try to do is preload my bipod. I want as much weight against the back of my rifle as I can get. Normally I will try to position my bipod into natural divots in the terrain or kick two spots out with the heel of my boot. This works OK, but I just wanted something different.
In comes Scott Hansen,also known as “Cheese†on SnipersHide), or better yet his companies name “Phoenix Tacticalâ€. After making friends with Scott he ask if I wanted to try a set of his new bipod feet to retrofit the harris. Of course I said yes. Just so you know Scott is a shooter just like the rest of us. If I am not mistaken he won the FTR class at the Tennessee State F Class match 2 years ago.
I received the package in the mail and in it are a well packaged set of the prototype feet in the white. First impressions were “Holy crap, that’s mean looking!!†I am not machinist, but the machine work looked nice. I quickly ran to the “Man Room†and grabbed my Harris 6â€-9†bipod that I was taking to the Alleghany Sniper Challenge the following morning. The install process was simple. I took my pocket knife and carefully made a cut vertically down one side of the rubber foot of the Harris to the role pin. Took a pair of pliers and just rotated the rubber foot and it just popped right off. The install of the Pod Paws was simple for the first foot. I just pushed and turned and it was in place. The second foot was a tighter fit and it took some grunting to get it on the bipod. This, I think, was due to my role pin in the Harris either being out of spec or possibly bent as neither foot would easily slide on that side of the Harris.
First use: I got the bipod mounted on the rifle with Scott’s new feet and went to the back yard to see if his claims of the feet holding under just about any amount of preload you put on the rifle. Well…..I put the rifle on the ground and got down behind it. I pushed and the rifle moved about ¼†to ½†forward and stopped. I pushed a little more and I could feel the bipod tighten up against the AICS stock, the feet were not moving. So I pushed a little more, they did not slip. I thought maybe one was caught on a rock to I moved the rifle to several different locations and every time the rifle was solid. Took it to the range to make sure there were no issues with hopping and to make sure my zero was still accurate. I got down behind the rifle prone and fired a 5 shot group. The group was the same size and location as before installing the new feet. I was excited. I shot 3 shots at 2,3,4 and 500 yards and everything was good. So I packed up and went to the house to finish packing for ASC in the morning.
Use at ASC: First thing when I pulled out the rifle several folks said “WOW, what is that??†For those that don’t know what ASC is you need to google it and read the past reviews. There is a little bit of everything in that match and a good testing round for the new feet. I shot the rifle off of solid rock, sheep and donkey shit, log piles, barns and fence post. There were plenty of steep inclines, declines and side slopes to test the range of movement. The feet rotated to match the terrain very well. On some the stages I would just place ONE of the three spikes on one foot on the rock or log and it still held firm. Not once did the bipod slip from where I placed it, even on the rocks. One the second day I carried a Eberlestock Gunslinger pack. I was worried that the feet would rip the back out of the pack. Well, Mr. Hansen was smart enough to keep the feet a little dull enough so they would not stick through the nylon of the pack.
Now that I have got to use the feet on a couple different rifles I am sold on the performance. I have yet to get to use the rifle in an F Class match, but I see that it will fit that use VERY well. Scott said the production units would be finished in Dark Earth and have a few subtle changes.
Only down side is shooting from the bench. They will not preload well, BUT there is another solution to that problem….. Phoenix Tactical is working on interchangeable feet!! I will let Scott fill you in on those.
So far these feet get a hearty endorsement from me! I will keep using these feet and report back periodically how they are holding up.
And now for the photos:
No problem sliding it into a pack. If the pack is really full you will have to use both hands to get it in.
By Jason Burnette
Aka: Caver101
I have always loved using the Harris Bipods as they best fit the way I shoot. From F Class to long range tactical matches and just general everyday shooting the Harris made me happy. One thing I always try to do is preload my bipod. I want as much weight against the back of my rifle as I can get. Normally I will try to position my bipod into natural divots in the terrain or kick two spots out with the heel of my boot. This works OK, but I just wanted something different.
In comes Scott Hansen,also known as “Cheese†on SnipersHide), or better yet his companies name “Phoenix Tacticalâ€. After making friends with Scott he ask if I wanted to try a set of his new bipod feet to retrofit the harris. Of course I said yes. Just so you know Scott is a shooter just like the rest of us. If I am not mistaken he won the FTR class at the Tennessee State F Class match 2 years ago.
I received the package in the mail and in it are a well packaged set of the prototype feet in the white. First impressions were “Holy crap, that’s mean looking!!†I am not machinist, but the machine work looked nice. I quickly ran to the “Man Room†and grabbed my Harris 6â€-9†bipod that I was taking to the Alleghany Sniper Challenge the following morning. The install process was simple. I took my pocket knife and carefully made a cut vertically down one side of the rubber foot of the Harris to the role pin. Took a pair of pliers and just rotated the rubber foot and it just popped right off. The install of the Pod Paws was simple for the first foot. I just pushed and turned and it was in place. The second foot was a tighter fit and it took some grunting to get it on the bipod. This, I think, was due to my role pin in the Harris either being out of spec or possibly bent as neither foot would easily slide on that side of the Harris.
First use: I got the bipod mounted on the rifle with Scott’s new feet and went to the back yard to see if his claims of the feet holding under just about any amount of preload you put on the rifle. Well…..I put the rifle on the ground and got down behind it. I pushed and the rifle moved about ¼†to ½†forward and stopped. I pushed a little more and I could feel the bipod tighten up against the AICS stock, the feet were not moving. So I pushed a little more, they did not slip. I thought maybe one was caught on a rock to I moved the rifle to several different locations and every time the rifle was solid. Took it to the range to make sure there were no issues with hopping and to make sure my zero was still accurate. I got down behind the rifle prone and fired a 5 shot group. The group was the same size and location as before installing the new feet. I was excited. I shot 3 shots at 2,3,4 and 500 yards and everything was good. So I packed up and went to the house to finish packing for ASC in the morning.
Use at ASC: First thing when I pulled out the rifle several folks said “WOW, what is that??†For those that don’t know what ASC is you need to google it and read the past reviews. There is a little bit of everything in that match and a good testing round for the new feet. I shot the rifle off of solid rock, sheep and donkey shit, log piles, barns and fence post. There were plenty of steep inclines, declines and side slopes to test the range of movement. The feet rotated to match the terrain very well. On some the stages I would just place ONE of the three spikes on one foot on the rock or log and it still held firm. Not once did the bipod slip from where I placed it, even on the rocks. One the second day I carried a Eberlestock Gunslinger pack. I was worried that the feet would rip the back out of the pack. Well, Mr. Hansen was smart enough to keep the feet a little dull enough so they would not stick through the nylon of the pack.
Now that I have got to use the feet on a couple different rifles I am sold on the performance. I have yet to get to use the rifle in an F Class match, but I see that it will fit that use VERY well. Scott said the production units would be finished in Dark Earth and have a few subtle changes.
Only down side is shooting from the bench. They will not preload well, BUT there is another solution to that problem….. Phoenix Tactical is working on interchangeable feet!! I will let Scott fill you in on those.
So far these feet get a hearty endorsement from me! I will keep using these feet and report back periodically how they are holding up.
And now for the photos:
No problem sliding it into a pack. If the pack is really full you will have to use both hands to get it in.
