Stiff vs. Soft bipods

[COROVICD]

Hi,

I use 12" Versa-Pod bipod and for the sake of comparison it is much less stiff than equivalent Harris bipod. Both of them having tilt and swivel heads.

I personally think that bipod should be softer, on order to absorb some of the recoil. A stiff bipod will tend to bounce during the shot and affect accuracy.

I would like to check what other shooters think about this issue.

regards, dejan

 

[Spotcheck_Billy]

You asked for an opinion, so here goes

I once had a Versa-Pod. Kept it for about three months. I thought that it was a clunky pot-metal POS that had far more drawbacks than attributes.

Get a swivel head leg notch Harris, install a Pod-Loc and maybe a Tanks Rifle Shop Speed Knob,for convenience) and learn to shoot with it. You'll never want to use your Versa-Pod again.

 

[COROVICD]

Well, that is not the point.

The most accurate bench shooters, shoot from sand bags, with completely loose rifle. Sand bags are by definition soft, not stiff. By that logic stiffer bipod, like Harris, would actually reduce accuracy.

I know Versa-Pod feels clunky, but I am trying to work out weather that is good or bad for accuracy.

cheers, dejan

 

[Spotcheck_Billy]

Well, that is not the point.

The most accurate bench shooters, shoot from sand bags, with completely loose rifle. Sand bags are by definition soft, not stiff. By that logic stiffer bipod, like Harris, would actually reduce accuracy.

I know Versa-Pod feels clunky, but I am trying to work out weather that is good or bad for accuracy.

cheers, dejan

dejan,

Sorry, but that is PRECISELY the point!

You're trying to compare free-recoil BR shooting with shooting off a bipod. Doesn't work. To shoot accurately from a bipod you must master different techniques. The shooter must learn to load the bipod properly. The Versa-Pod doesn't lend itself very well to those techniques. IIRC, there's a pretty good article on bipod shooting here on the forum. Just perform a search to find it.

 

[Spotcheck_Billy]

Rather than repeating what's already available on the 'site here's the link -

http://www.6mmbr.com/TacticalFroggyA1.html

 

[garyw]

I used to have a versa-pod on a 243AI it was a shooter but when i swopped it for a HARRIS the rifle shot a lot tighter groups.
i then put it[versa-pod] on a 17 hmr then swopped for another
HARRIS, GUESS WHAT? so it went straight in the scrap bin.
buy HARRIS buy once!
garyw

 

[mikecr]

There ain't nothin 'soft' about BR bags I've see used.
They a packed hard as cement, and slippery as hell.

 

[chino1969]

Get a swivel head leg notch Harris, install a Pod-Loc and maybe a Tanks Rifle Shop Speed Knob,for convenience) and learn to shoot with it. You'll never want to use your Versa-Pod again.

Bill,
That's exactly have my two Harris bipods set up and it is sweet. I peened the very end of the Tanks Speed Knob to keep it from unthreading; almost lost one several years ago groundhog hunting.
Chino69

 

[Spotcheck_Billy]

Chino69,
Peening the end of the Tanks Speed Knob is a great idea. I hadn't thought of that until you mentioned it, now I'm going to do it to both of mine right away. Thanks!