Today reader Ian McKee, whose blog handle is 45Bravo, begins telling us about using bipods on airguns.
If you’d like to write a guest post for this blog, please email me at blogger@pyramydair.com.
Take it away, Ian
Bipods — yes or no: Part One
by Ian McKee
This report covers:
- Halfway there
- Bipod
- What’s your intended use?
- Shooting sticks
- Benchrest
- Not all bipods are created equal
We are starting a series about bipods — cheap ones, expensive ones, knock-offs of the expensive ones and possibly some Do-it-yourself (DIY) bipods.
Today is just going to be a general overview of what they are, and how they are sometimes used. We will dive deeper into the particulars of each bipod as they are reviewed.
Halfway there
B.B. has said many times that he does not use bipods, and prefers to use a bag. And yet on MANY occasions he has used a UTG monopod in testing airguns for the blog. He is half way there (one leg support instead of two) maybe this series will push him over the brink and try bipods!
BB leans into his monopod rifle rest.
Just kidding, I know his use of the monopod is while sitting, and the pod held firmly in place by his legs and the weight of the rifle. It is an extremely steady way of support for an impromptu shooting session at shorter ranges.
Bipod
In its basic form, a bipod is a two-legged device normally attached to the rifle to steady your aim. When not shooting, it can be used to support the rifle in a way to make cleaning and maintenance easier. And it can be folded out of the way to reduce the overall size for storage or easy transport while still being attached to the rifle.
Do you need a bipod? The answer to that is up to you.
What’s your intended use?
That single question determines a lot of factors. If you are shooting from a bench or other rest, or even prone. A short bipod with adjustable leg length and the ability to traverse left and right, and allow for canting in case the bench or ground is not level. These adjustments will allow you to compensate for that.
If you are hunting in the field, seated with your back leaning against a tree or sitting on a bucket or stool, a bipod with longer legs will allow you to rest your gun on the bipod in a semi-ready position. This allows you to bring the rifle on target with minimal movement. Some field target shooters use these types of bipods, as a lot of their shooting is done from a sitting position.
A very versatile bipod for shooting from the seated position.
Walking and stalking game in thick woods — a bipod attached to the rifle is probably not the right choice for that. Resting the rifle against a tree or sapling will give you a steadier aim than completely unsupported offhand shooting and may also provide you with some concealment.
Shooting sticks
If where you live or hunt involves open terrain, then a type of taller bipod called shooting sticks might be to your liking. They are taller and are meant to be used to steady the gun while standing. Being strong and lightweight, they are often used as a walking stick when not being actively used to support the rifle.
Shooting sticks.
Benchrest
Shooting from a bench? A bipod in this discipline is, in my opinion, a compromise. But it can be great for the occasional benchrest shooter who is on a budget. While a bipod does steady your rifle and hold it generally on target in benchrest shooting, the rear bag that supports the butt of the rifle (if you are using a rear bag) is squeezed to adjust the elevation of the gun before each shot. Squeezing the bag makes the bag slightly taller, raising the butt of the gun slightly. This is nowhere near as precise as using an actual shooting rest that is minutely adjustable and supports the rifle in the exact same position for every shot.
Powder-burner benchrest shooters take great care in getting their gun settled into the front rest and rear bags. The guns are set so that even with recoil from centerfire rounds, the gun returns to “battery” after every shot. Sounds like the artillery hold used on springers doesn’t it?
Not all bipods are created equal
Some bipods are fixed. They have one position, and that’s it. These are sometimes seen on target rifles and serve the main purpose to hold the rifle in an upright position, protecting both it and the precision sights of the rifle from damage.
While you could probably use it to shoot from a bench, that’s not what this one was designed for.
Most inexpensive bipods have two positions, folded and deployed. In the folded position, the legs are in line with the barrel or stock. In the deployed stance, the legs are 90 degrees to the stock and support the rifle in an upright position. Depending upon the price point, the lower-end bipods may or may not have adjustable leg length. And rarely do they have a pivot feature.
Generally as the price goes up, so do the features and the quality of the bipods.
Love them or hate them, hopefully this has piqued your interest. So come along for the ride and see what we can learn about bipods.
Shoot safe, and have FUN!
Ian
Ian,
Thanks for the article. That is the first time I have seen a bipod as seen in the last picture. Which what I think I really need. Something to support the gun off the ground when it is not in use. Of course another alternative would be to make use of a dedicated shooting box with an integrated rest but I don’t have one of those and that supporting bipod looks like something easier to make for my purposes.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
The bipod in the last photo is for use with a ten-meter target rifle, or other “Olympic” type target rifles. It will slide onto the “Anshutz” rail along the front stock of the target rifle and is removed during competition.
Most of the time I use shooting bags that I have made.
One type of Bipod you don’t see on airguns, well much, is the top mounted one. Kind of unique.
They allow the rifle to sit lower to the ground or whatever they sit on, and gravity helps keep the rifle vertical.
They also seem to incorporate some sort of pivot swivel that allows the rifle to swing left and right and tilt up or down while staying centered.
It looks like they work well on Designated Sniper Rifles (DSR1 for example) where a low profile is highly desirable, and they are incorporated into the rifles overall design for the most part. Since scopes are used, they don’t interfere with open sights, or I guess they can be removed.
The Chey Tac M200 Intervention is another Sniper that has a built-in bipod, somewhere between a top and side mount.
Same with side rail mounted ones that allow break barrels and underlevers to work. Great for heavy weight rifles in my opinion. They don’t recoil much anyway.
Then there is the springer recoil dilemma. Will it interfere with the behavior of an Artillery Hold? Drag a bag around or attach a bipod? I will assume taller resting sticks would work better there.
I prefer a bipod when practical and then there is a sling when not. Much easier to shoot standing with a sling. Like a third arm.
The joy of Thanksgiving Day was somewhat short lived for me this time.
The friend of my daughter who was battling bone cancer in his 50’s died. It started with a small spot on his chest that he ignored. I bought his “69 Mustang to help him out with money.
And then I received a call from my friend’s memory care home … “He needs more Adult Diapers”. 🙁
I too have watched a couple of times as the joy of my day has slipped away. You are not alone though at times it may feel that way.
Ian,
Thank you for writing this bit about bipods. I and others are aware that BB does not use bipods much, though as you have illustrated in this little blurb, he is guilty of occasionally using a monopod.
I have quite a few bipods here at RRHFWA though I most often use the shooting bags that I made from old jeans legs. When I was shooting the Armada, I used a two-piece bipod that fastened to its M-Lok rails on each side.
I have just purchased and installed the AirForce bipod on my Texan LSS CF. That bipod will easily modify into a top mount bipod on most AirForce air rifles, but I have found it to be a bit cumbersome for such on my Texan.
The fellow at Airgun Detectives has a two-piece bipod he uses on most of his sproingers that seems to work well. It mounts to two small Picatinny rails installed on the sides of the sproinger stock. For a time Stoeger was selling such for one of their sproingers.
I have a set of shooting sticks, but I have not tried them out as of yet. I would like to try out a Primos Trigger stick, but golly gee whiz they sure are expensive (is my Scottish heritage showing?).
There are a few bipods I would like to try out, but most of them have become almost as expensive as scopes. I guess I will just have to stick with my homemade shooting bags.
Please do continue with this blurb about bipods. I can at least dream.
How coincidental. Hard Air Magazine has just released an article about the various “supports” used at EBR.
I promise, Stephen Archer and I have not discussed this subject, nor the timing.
But our minds do run along similar lines.
At this years Pyramyd AIR Cup we both had the same idea about the same subject.
A few minutes after we talked about the probable answer, one of the competitors was giving an interview and without being asked the question he gave the answer to the thought Stephen and I had discussed 5 minutes prior.
Ian
Ian,
Oh, I know. He is a pretty sharp dude. Stephen tries to stay relevant to what is. He spends a good bit of time digging into what is going on in the airgun world. Scopes and other shooting accessories are the big thing right now.
I have written for him on occasion. He has even started using “feral soda cans”. I try to stay away from that “out West” bunch as much as possible. All I can figure is they must pay them some pretty outrageous amounts to be able to afford the airguns they shoot.
Thanks for the well-done report Ian and BB. I am beginning to try to learn more about bipods (there is a lot to learn). So this series is timely for me. Please keep them coming!
I know that consistency is a key to shooting well. Of the many variables that we deal with, consistent canting (or the lack of cant) while shooting the rifle is one of the more difficult items to master. Ian had mentioned a bipod helping with consistent cant in an earlier report on his Umarex Zelos; and I think that is probably one of the best reasons to try a bipod. I have used anti-cant bubble levels, and leveling the target and using that reference to overlay the crosshairs in the scope and thereby consistently level the rifle. Both of those take time and attention. A bipod used on a fairly level surface such as a shooting bench can reduce or remove the time and attention we would spend on trying to achieve consistent cant. However, depending on circumstances, I think that it is probably important to learn how to achieve consistent cant in more ways than just using a bipod. Hopefully, with enough properly-done practice, it becomes a more automatic (think muscle-memory) part of our shooting skills.
Thank you for this useful report, Ian. Have occassionally used a monopod acquired from PA a couple-three years ago but not as depicted in Tom’s pic so will have to try that and see how “we” – gun, gunner & monopod do – which reminds FM he needs to exercise his HW30 a ‘lil bit.
Recently went to a range with a friend in the continuing quest for zeroing-in the scope on the household 10-22; he loaned FM a simple, inexpensive bipod that clamped on the barrel of the Ruger; it did help FM’s shooting though the shooting bench at the range was a bit low so had to rest the bipod on a range bag to achieve the right shooting heigth and there was no way to support the rifle butt except by bracing it with the body. Nonetheless the bipod was useful and seems FM is gonna need to enable himself into one – getting to be the right time of year for gifts-that-keep-on-giving too. 😉
FM,
I have managed to lose all of my contact info, but if you should decide to send me your name and address, I just might be able to help you with at least one of the gifts-that-keep-on-giving. burke93 at tds dot net
Get back to you next day or two – don’t do nothin’ crazy. No, no need to re-gift FM that TruGlo sight, see?
You might want to consider a flash card for your mobile phone or computer to back up your contacts, photos, whatever – got one, did that after losing a bunch of pics and reminders after a so-called “update” from that company that appears to always wanna take a bite out of your wallet, I mean, apple.
This discussion all goes back to geometry 101 in high school. Two points determine a line and three points determine a plane. If you use a bipod and a bag filled with some sort of small grain (I use rice) by the end of the stock, you have defined a plane which is a flat surface that is rigid. A rigid surface equals consistency and no movement which theoretically means more repetition and accuracy. I have too much “wiggle” when I don’t use some sort of support to hold my airgun or firearm steady on target.
B-I-L,
Wow! Geometry! High school! That was a looooong time ago.
Reminds me of one of my joker classmates who, one day when our Geometry teacher asked during a review, “what do you get when two planes intersect?,” replied “A plane crash!,” bringing down the class in laughter, including teacher who had a sense of humor. Which is why classmate escaped detention.
And the correct answer to the question is – a line. Seems pretty plane to FM.
FawltyManuel,
I like to take a different view of the described situation: “what do you get when two planes intersect?”
You have a Two Plane Formation…depends on how tight the formation and how much wing overlap the Aviators are capable of. I recall learning to have a wingtip about three feet over my canopy.
Of course Formation Flying is actually done in a 3D environment and not the two dimensions of High School Plane Geometry!
shootski
shootski,
That is not intersecting.
FM somewhat mastered Geometry and never experienced an LPC – Linear Plane Crash…formation flying of the kind described – doubt he would have, but the Lord made sure his feet stayed firmly planted on the ground. FM barely qualifies to be an air-gun “pilot.”
RR
High School??? Wasn’t that where they taught us about fire? You know,, not to touch it. It HAS been a while.
Ed
Ed,
Ugh. Fire. Burn.
I am willing to bet you have seen that old FedEx commercial.
FM once almost set his semi-Elvis-like-pompadour on fire thanks to getting his then-abundant haircrop too close to a Bunsen burner in his high school’s science lab. Now he has no worries about doing that – no hair, nowhere close to a lab equipped with Bunsen burners.
FM,
My grandson wears his hair in the “now” fashion where it is short on the sides and back, but is constantly in his eyes. He at present complains about how much forehead he has. I laugh because there will be a time when he will have waaaaaay more forehead than he has now.
RidgeRunner,
That description sounds like a Reverse Mullet.
shootski
shootski,
Not too much different, but the kids have to think they invented it. After all, how do they think they can aggravate us adults if they do not do something different than we did.
Ian,
Great primer on bipods.
Been hounding B.B. for years about doing an article on tripods with heavy duty ballheads. Hope your article could be a Segway into this topic by either you and/or B.B.
Kevin,
Segway…
isn’t that one of those stand up two wheeled Face Plant devices from a decade or more back?
shootski
shootski,
Only if your face flies in formation with the pavement.
Ian,
Great report; I can see the usefulness of bipods for many occasions.
Right now, I’m back with BB…halfway there. 😉
Our son gifted my wife a camera for wildlife photography; it was huge!
Yeah, the weight was about 4 pounds, and the lens was so long that it was unwieldy for her.
Even the image stabilization couldn’t compensate for her shaking while the boat was rocking.
So, I got her a monopod that screwed into the camera, and the rubber-encased end rested on the front of her swiveling boat seat; it was such a huge help for her, and really improved the quality of her pictures.
Plus, I got to score some husband points…you never know when you might need those. 😉
Blessings to you,
dave
Dave,
10,000 husband points equals one “awe nuts”. You had best keep saving up those points.
“10,000 husband points equals one ‘awe nuts’.”
Sadly true, LOL!!! 😉
The picture of the three shooting sticks are they from African Sporting Creations? I been contemplating buying a set from them but they are pricey even the cheapest is ~$300
Someone could gift me a set.
LOL
Mike
I am an airgunner.
I see three wooden dowels, a little leather, and possibly a few feet of leather thong (not to be confused with a thong some people wear.)
I say build it, it might be 3 sticks, some foam rubber, and a couple of zip ties.
But it does the same job…
Ian
You beat me to it, Ian. I was about to make the same suggestion. I made a two stick variety using a couple tomato stakes and a couple pieces of twine I found in my junk drawer (I think we alll have at least one of those).
It worked well with the flintlock I was trying to sight in. Of course, it went back to it’s original state the following spring when we planted more tomato plants.
Ed
Ed, can we call that a renewable resource?
Ian
edlee,
BUT what do you do during tomato season?
I hope you don’t let your tomatoes down Ed!
shootski
45Bravo,
To answer the question first: No
But your piece is interesting and informative. I am looking forward to your Part X and beyond. Thank you
My No is based on how i carry a rifle in the field is with a Biathlon Sling that allows me to use the two “sticks” (Ski Poles) that can do double duty as shooting sticks. They are made from carbon fiber (LIGHT weight, STIFF, and Super Strong) with/without snow baskets and Carbide points for hard pack snow/ice grip/pavement/hard packed dirt, your hands go into a strap system at the top of each ski Pole that can also hold a rifle forend. Plenty tall; the rule of thumb for Skate Style skiing is the poles should be mustach high.
For Back Country travel my Biathlon Sling is made by Tab Gear® https://www.tabgear.com/products/biathlon-sling-2-0
The only way to carry a heavy rifle for extended time and distances SAFELY on snow or dry/wet earth; with your hands free for other uses.
BiPods do none of that.
shootski
Mike,
I have a set of two shooting sticks that are sectioned. I did not pay very much for them at all. I have seen a set of three, also at a very low price.
Primos makes some very nice shooting sticks that are adjustable with a pull of a trigger. They come in monopod, bipod and tripod, both short and tall. The most expensive is under $200.
You can spend an outrageous amount for anything, or you can take a little look around and spend considerably less. Take the word of someone of Scottish heritage. 😉
Of course, you can just sit around and hope a fellow airgunner is going to spend an outrageous amount for those shooting sticks and GIVE them to you. Good luck with that. Many of us cringe at the thought of buying ourselves decent pellets.
Hi everyone. I live in Northwest PA, USA, and here’s what 3 feet of snow plus drifting looks like when I opened the garage….
PS, I had already cleared the first 18 inches yesterday afternoon.
Roamin,
Brrrrr!
BB
Roamin Greco,
Looks like RED Kick wax warm snow ;^)
Looks like high water content snow that is HEAVY. It also looks like you have more days of lake effect snow to deal with.
Shovel or snowblower?
Be careful when you work on removal.
shootski
Correct on all counts, shootski. I’m lucky I made it in on Friday. The municipal plow just passed by! Needless to say, our plow-truck-guy has been suspiciously scarce today.
So, I had to fire up the backup plan and spent 7 hours on the snowblower handles (and a shovel for the steps and for breaking down the bigger drifts). Here is the result:
Oh, and the sun came out just as I was finishing….
Shootski, what slugs shoot best in your Sig Asp20 in .22? I’ve been searching for your report on it and can’t put my finger on your comment, yet. Thanks.
Roamin Greco,
I haven’t found my best .22 caliber bullet (slug) for my ASP20. Haven’t tried much either.
I think you are thinking about my .177 caliber ASP20. I did that contest mostly to muffle all the “conventional wisdom” about shooting bullets (slugs) accurately from spring piston powerplants.
Spring Pistons (even a Magnum gas spring) seem to do better, consistently, with diabolo pellets.
Some of that lack of data is that if i’m shooting past 50 i’ll usually reaching for a PCP.
shootski
RG,
Photograph
Got it. I see that the “boolets” you used for the .177 Sig ASP20 were relatively light…10 grains. That’s midweight even for pellets, but I know slugs can get much heavier. So I think I will start my testing with the lightest .22 “boolets” I can find. P.A. used to sell an H&N sampler pack, but I didn’t see it last night. I want to keep velocity subsonic if at all possible.
Still trying to understand why .22LR ammo is often cheaper than .22 airgun ammo. Oh well.
Roamin Greco,
I just looked they (PAir) have the H&N 5 tube samplers in .22 and the Heavies in .217 and .218
and have the HP II in both as well:
https://www.pyramydair.com/ammo/air-gun-ammo/slugs?product_brand=Haendler+%26+Natermann&Caliber=0.22
I got the same Samplers in .22 caliber just need to test them in my .22 ASP20. I also bought them in .25 caliber to try out on a few of my DAQ PCP pistols.
hth,
shootski
Thank you, shootski. I see them now. I’m wondering: which size fits the bore better? Nielsen has a bunch of sizes and lighter weights, too.
Romin Greco,
I tried the .177 KnockOuts in 13.43 grain boolets but they did not remain stable out past 40. The 10.03 grain KnockOuts remain stable way past 50 yards and also have a subsonic MV (Muzzle Velocity) from the SIG ASP20 in .177 so the spin from the extra Barrel Velocity is the key. Not enough is known about how much greater the impact on the energy budget of initial engraving in the rifling and friction is for boolets in the spring piston powerplant.
The 13.43 grain KnockOuts have a far better BC noted on the tin; i’ll bet that BC resulted from a PCP powerplant’s long push Internal Balistics.
shootski
I am thinking you should keep the cars in the garage for now, driving does not look like a good option.
Mike
Mike, driving was not an option until the municipal plow came to plow my street (at about 10 pm). But you have to keep at it or you get buried until Spring!
RG,
I am now officially envious.
Before I retired, when we had snow I was blessed to be able to work from home.
During the Chinese plague, I worked from home every day.
Now I am retired. I only work around the home every day.
P.S. My driveway is 1/4 mile long. I do not shovel snow.
RidgeRunner,
You need one of these:
Now THAT is a phat ride!
shootski,
Quite frankly, I would really like to have one of those, even without the arsenal on top. Are you going to buy one for me?
Inspired by the image of Tom and his monopod shooting method, FM set up this rig last night and shot some feral cans with the sweet HW30; worked out pretty well. The “stick” was set to a heigth of 32″ or 81.3 cm for our metric-inclined friends; was able to steady the rifle enough to get 70-80% hits out of 10 .177 shots at five feral cans at 25 yards. That HW30 is a nice, accurate shooter; even FM can hit things with it!
Wish the FMs could send you all in Snow Country some of our still-warm weather. We’re staying put here, us Winter Wimps!
Roamin Greco,
If you don’t think you can drive over the snowdrift you can just shoot it out of your way!
Unless they did some stern reinforcing i doubt the roof would stay on for all too many shots.
shootski