Killswitch Engage- I believe Lowlight was addressing
trickyric in shooting in sand. The Pan feature was demanded for the SCAR program, not long range shooting.
trickyric - I don't take anything you have posted as flaming the Atlas nor will I make excuses for your experience with the Atlas. I'll respectfully suggest going to a school house where "None of the instructors were fans of them." made it tough on you and "easy" to look at the Atlas as a source of the problem.
This I know, that the Pan feature of the Atlas cannot pan in of itself, it has to be influenced by something, be it human or nature. Any bipod with 1" diameter feet will work their way down into sand if making repeated shots from that position until there is enough friction bearing on the feet/legs to stop or greatly decrease it's downward travel. In a perfect world the sand is consistent under both feet and they work down evenly, on foot catches a root, rock or wet sand, game changer, the Atlas will twist others with torque under recoil. Which is better?
I'll also suggest that if I have to pick my rifle up and reposition it, while doing so I can observe and compensate for the pan of the legs by going past or stopping short and bringing the butt back into the shoulder to straighten the legs to the bore.
I also know of a few guys that are well traveled to places sandy and have shot a ton off Atlas bipods engaging multiple targets. They like the Pan feature. Their budget allows them to get whatever they want and it's an honor they want the Atlas.
But again, everyone has their own opinion and shooting style.
3.43Stiller - Still waiting on a name, PM it to me if thats better for you, I just don't want call the owner and cause any unwarranted hardships.