Bipod Trouble

[bigmig]

So after 3 trips to the range with my new Savage I was having some severe problems with accuracy. My Chinese made scope bit the dust right off the bat, so I ordered another scope to eliminate problems with that. Still I have was having trouble grouping under 6 inches with a .308 Model 10BA.

So I put the bipod away and switch to my ammo bag as a rest, just to see if I was getting some type of weird bipod hop. My group went to 2" with 10 shots right off the bat.

So, being a bit of a novice to precision shooting (I have started studying it and just purchased a bunch of reloading gear) what tips and advice do people have for shooting off bipods for precision? After todays experience, I'm hoping the answer is not "don't shoot off of bipods".

The bipod is a rock ridge model. It seems decently built with tilt, extending arms, springs for folding and extending....

[ellobo]

If you have a stock made of resin, or plastic it is not recommended that you use a bipod. Also check to see if the barrel is touching the stock by sliding a pc. of paper under the barrel in the stock. If it doesnt go all the way to the barrel nut your barrel isnt free floated and it should be. The tang as well (yes the tang, this aint no remington). check that your mounting screws are tight as wll, but dont overdo it with the torque, 35 in/lbs is good. Bipods will flex the plastic stocks to the point they touch the barrel. The fact you went from bipod to bags and got improvement tells me you have a stock flex problem with the bipod.

El Lobo

[AKShooter]

Good advice here. Helped me quite a bit.

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

[KRP]

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

Shooting consistantly from a bipod takes practice, and more practice, and after that guess what...more practice. Get the rifle/ammo/scope/etc. dialed in from a solid rest and then start working with the bipod. If everything else is otherwise consistant you can then see what works or doesn't with a bipod.

[243LPR]

I hear alot about this but I do all my shooting off a bipod.That's how I hunt so I'm going to use it on the bench and all my guns shoot sub moa this way.No problems here.

[stangfish]

Sounds like you have a good start to understanding what you need to do....ask for advice. 2" ten shot group is not bad for a "beginner". Consistency is the key. Body position, cheek weld, trigger finger position and trigger squeeze are things to work on. Some shooters use the free hand to help support the butt to stabilize and reduce muscle tension in the trigger hand arm. A light/safe trigger can make a big diference as well. Quality(not expensive) bases and optics don't hurt. The scope and rings are equal or greater to 1/2 the cost of the most of my rigs. My $.000002