Should I get a bipod?

[Nub Hippie]

I shoot out to around 300 yards on average now but hope to push farther in time, My rifle will be primarily used for mid range plinking, target shooting and some deer hunting. I have been using a M1907 sling with great success for most shooting and my backpack and a rear bag if I am going to be spending a long time in the prone position. I would get a harris tilting model if I did get one, however I don't want to spend $100 on something I don't need, I'd rather have more ammo. I don't have lots of experience with bipods for centerfire, I have a cheapo Winchester wally world model that I used for .22lr for years but I was not happy with how it handled centerfire recoil. I also always loaded my bipod but still seemed to et excessive muzzle jump, Will a better more sturdy bipod change my life? if not I'll stick with what I know.

[yobuck]

I doubt you would find it changed your life. I can shoot better off sand bags than I can from a bipod, but thats me, not necessarily you.
For hunting they offer a quick way to get a good support, but in my opinion not the best way, especially for longer shooting.
That said I do own and use them, especially for things like prairie dog hunting.
I do always shoot from a bench, never prone, and never bother with things like loading the bipod.
Its simply an easy way for me to rest the front of the gun and move it around on my bench as needed.
Id be trying one if I were you, maybe a cheaper version like a Caldwell which to me work as well for how I use them.

[Stumpkiller]

You live in NY like I do.

In spots where I can get to 300 yards there is frequently high grass, low brush or crops and a prone position with a bipod becomes impractical. Usually not practical in deer season, either (mud and snow). I like a set-up that I can use from a seated position. That can be using my day pack, a shooting stick (or crossed sticks) or a natural rest like a tree.

It's also nice to have as light a rifle as possible because I tend to carry it at the ready whenever I am moving. That means a fast, offhand shot. I do have an ancient (1970's) Harris 1A short bipod. But that comes off for deer season.

[Nub Hippie]

I live in farm country, lots of open fields so often prone can be taken advantage of a bit more often. I have only ever shot from a bench a couple of times, I don't make it to a real range often and I just don't own enough property to set up a bench of my own. I suppose for now by the sounds of things tho, I'm best off perfecting my technique with my sling and getting faster at getting into that and use my pack for prone or sitting on the ground. I'll have to borrow a decent bipod for an afternoon and see if it's a good fit for me. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[NicfromAlabama]

I don't shoot well off a bipod, but I only shoot at targets 99.9% of the time. I have some Harris bipods. I mainly use them as a rifle stand of sorts. For hunting, I can see their use in some situations. But, have you thought of shooting sticks? I have a bog-pod tripod I use at times. It can double as a shooting stick or stationary shooting rest with all three legs extended.

[Nub Hippie]

I feel that I can get just as stable with a proper sling as shooting sticks just maybe not quite as fast but truthfully I have no idea. I have never even seen any aside from a couple pictures, I know a lot of people like them tho.

[J.Baker]

Get yourself a set of these and try them out. Plenty cheap so you won't be out much if you don't like them, but since they break down like tent poles they're great to carry with you when hunting. Great for squirrel hunting when you want to plop down leaning up against a tree trunk to hold the rifle. Great for coyote hunting when you're making stands/calling. Great for deer hunting if you're on the ground in a fence row or something.

Height is easily adjusted by changing how close/far apart the feet are on the ground. You can also make minor adjustments to height by leaning them back towards you so they're angled rather than verticle. Overall just real handy (I actually bought a set last summer that I need to sit down and write the review and get it posted here on the site.

https://www.amazon.com/Hammers-bungee-corded-collapsible-shooting/dp/B001BXVUN6


5668

The biggest benefit of shooting stix over a bipod is the stix aren't attached to your gun so you can dump them quickly and easily if you need to change your shooting position in a hurry. With a bipod it's just going to hang there and the legs will catch on brush/limbs as you try to swing the gun around or the the like.

[Nub Hippie]

Thanks, I added them to my amazon list, those are about what i'm looking for, something that's not bulky that's fast srt up. the biggest problem with sticks seemed like you always had to be carrying something, but looks like this solves that problem. Do they assemble quickly from fully collapsed?

[Stumpkiller]

I like the collapsible feature. That would be the berries from my deer blind.

I have set of 36" oak 1/2" dowels I drilled and stuck nails in the tips of but I then have to carry 36" dowels along. I made the hinge with a pole lashing (remember Pioneering in Boy Scouts?) and the "cushions" are two fingers cut from a leather glove.

56715672

[yobuck]

Well as has been said, any rest at all is better than none, and certainly the various shooting/hunting situations dictate whats best.
Certainly for Squirrel hunting, a bipod would be pretty much useless. Actually, if the terrain is suitable, the OPs current method of using a sling from a prone position would be hard to improve upon. But not for Squirrels. lol
Strange as it may seem for some to understand, we might drive for 20 miles or more from our camp which is already in a prime location, then park and walk for long distances thru more prime area and not be hunting as we do. We are simply getting to the place we want to be in order to hunt. And guess what else? When we get there, (there will be) something we can rest the gun on to shoot, as well as a suitable place to do it from.
Pre season scouting can involve more than just checking on the various signs so we can decide where to put the tree stands.
Post season scouting can also have advantages.

[Nub Hippie]

Yea since looking into it I have seen a lot of homemade ones like yours stump, one of the popular ones being one called a bi-fur-pod which looks similar to your setup, but like you stated that leaves you carrying big sticks with you. I agree yobuck and I have areas that I hike/fish a lot and that serves as a very good form of scouting. I have lots of vantage points and trails that I like. I however have never used a tree stand or a stool of any kind. I prefer to move between fields through the woods and check from the tree lines.

[Stumpkiller]

I have something called a "Dean Torges Tree Seat" that attaches at ground level (I don't cling trees with firearms). I sit for the sunrise for a few hours and sunset to dark (legal hunting hours are sunrise to sunset) and still hunt in between. If slides into the outer "jacket pouch" of my daypack. Figure I have a better chance ai those times of a deer coming to me while being quiet.

5676
Eight foot of 1/2" braided Dacron goes around the tree to friction-hold it in place. Totally silent.

And several times I have had the opportunity to slide off to one side and use the seat as a rest for my elbows.

[Nub Hippie]

I like that, always nice to be able to sit around for a little bit in those twilight hours without getting your ass wet, just never did because i didn't want to carry anything that won't fit in/on my pack easily, thanks stump.

[azguy]

Could be I am speaking out of school. But seems like most posters are talking about hunting. On my hunting rifle I do not use a bipod just rest on what is handy. On my bench gun I have a harris bipod. When shooting at 300 yard or more and you desire to hit accurately a bipod or as many use shooting bags. You need a good scope, not necessarly expensive, but capable of making bullet drop and windage corrections. The bipod should be capable of pivoting to take the cant off. I use a scope level to assure the gun is not canted. Don't rest the bipod on a hard surface, I use a rug covered board to keep the bipod from bouncing and to allow me to load it up.

[Nub Hippie]

It warmed up a bit here the past couple days and I got to go out and do some shooting and it just so happens that I was able to borrow a Caldwell 6-9" bipod for day 2 and even after loading the bipod still experienced way more muzzle jump with it than I do shooting off my pack with a Eberlestock pack rest. With my pack I was actually able to see the 2 liter bottles I was shooting get hit, the same cannot be said for the bipod. I'm not saying that bipods are bad or that they don't work for lots of people but I couldn't make one work for me with any rifle with more recoil than a .22 WMR. I may just need a different technique, it's possible I'm doing something wrong, but for now I'm gonna stick with my pack since I'm never without it when I go shooting anyway and it works best for me.

[yobuck]

It warmed up a bit here the past couple days and I got to go out and do some shooting and it just so happens that I was able to borrow a Caldwell 6-9" bipod for day 2 and even after loading the bipod still experienced way more muzzle jump with it than I do shooting off my pack with a Eberlestock pack rest. With my pack I was actually able to see the 2 liter bottles I was shooting get hit, the same cannot be said for the bipod. I'm not saying that bipods are bad or that they don't work for lots of people but I couldn't make one work for me with any rifle with more recoil than a .22 WMR. I may just need a different technique, it's possible I'm doing something wrong, but for now I'm gonna stick with my pack since I'm never without it when I go shooting anyway and it works best for me.

What works best for you, works for me. Even if you have to modify the spots you shoot from to suit what works for you.

[Nub Hippie]

Agreed, I also found that with my frameboard in my pack I can use the top of my pack as a rest when sitting on the ground and get decent stability this way too. My frameboard has 2 vertical carbon fiber stays that keep it very rigid and makes it an ideal rest.

[yobuck]

Well my portable bench with 4 adjustable legs only weighs about 20#. Mine has a sling attached and can be carried like a rifle.
It could even be less weight with a few design changes and not affect the stability. We use packs also, and Eberlestock is the one I prefer.
Mostly they are just used to carry the large binnoculars we use with a tripod shoved into the scabbard or strapped on the pack.
A military type pack frame would work well for carrying a small bench also, and could even be redesigned to be the actuall bench.
Mind you now were not walking around all day. When we leave the vehicle we have a destination in mind, usually less than a half mile depending on the type vehicle and a particular location.
When we get there, we are there, maybe even all day. I say we because there is always at least 2, a shooter and a spotter, and most often more. We each have our own glasses, but we share a gun, which although not by first choice, might be wearing a bipod.
A very important thing when L/R hunting is follow up shots, quite often at a different spot than the first shot. What ever is best for "you" doing that as quickly as possible, is the best system to use.

[Nub Hippie]

I move around quite a lot in a day, usually in a large loop that covers a couple miles in total, not all the kindest terrain either, so even another 10# would be a burden for me. Also not a lot of l/r hunting here since all I have access to is .22 caliber rifles which I wouldn't use past 250 yards even with a perfect shot presentation. I plan to get a .308 eventually but until then I need to make due or go without. I could borrow a .30-06 for the occasional hunting trip but aside from not liking to borrow or lend firearms I haven't had nearly enough experience with a rifle of that caliber to feel comfortable hunting with it. In my opinion a person that can shoot 1 moa with a smaller caliber is far better off than 3-4 moa because you are inexperienced with heavier recoil so long as you realize your calibers limits. Thanks for writing in with your experience and if I ever get into doing lots of fixed shooting I will make something similar, however the only hunting I do where I set up for any amount of time is if I have a groundhog problem which is about once a year and on my own land and prone works fine. For occasional plinking/target in the fields I'd rather practice shooting positions that will help in less predictable environments than flat open areas or prone.

[Stumpkiller]

Haven't had a chance to try them out yet, but I just picked up one (a set?) of these to tuck into my day-pack (inspired by this thread and J. Baker's review of a similar product). 15" long and 8 oz. By leaving the legs closed it can go from a 12" to 14" bipod on up to a stool/kneeling height of 36" to 39". In between, with two leg sections locked, it is about right (26 to 28" +/- depending how far the legs are spread) for sitting on the ground.

https://www.primos.com/primos-hunting/shooting-sticks/pole-cat/magnum-steady-stix/c-24/c-114/p-397