Caldwell Accumax Bipod

[XLR308]

I ran across these today while in Sportsmans Warehouse getting a couple of things.
I took the 6-9" pic rail version out of the box and played around with it a bit.

They have a generous amount of cant, 360 degrees of rotation and a cam lock lever that locks the cant and rotation down solid once you have it were you want. The legs are carbon fiber and adjust like the twist lock found on trekking poles and some tripods and hold very well. The legs will pivot and lock forward or back and lock up solid as well.

I was impressed enough with it that I bought it without doing any research first which is a bit out of character for me.

Definitely worth a look for anyone that hasn't heard of them, they also have a version that it M-LOK and KEY-MOD.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

I've fingered one at the LGS. I was very impressed for a $90 bipod. Makes a $60 Harris look pretty bad.

 

[beretta_man11]

It's just 'ok', not great. I've had it for a few weeks now and there's a few things I don't like, but a few that I do.

Pro-
Carbon fiber
Lightweight
looks good
swivels 360
up - down pan is nice

Con-
lock lever will not tighten enough to stay solid
bipod spins around too easily (due to the lock sucking)
the screw to secure to bipod should be knurled nuts so you can easily take it off
I'm not sold on twist lock legs. It's difficult for this fat boy to adjust while shooting my 15lb gun prone. I'm partial to the notched legs and since this has a nice swivel/pan amount, it would work out nicely.

 

[beretta_man11]

Also- Legs only lock at 90*.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

Also- Legs only lock at 90*.

Yeah I was kinda bummed about that but later learned that apparently Atlas has the patent on that and all others are infringing in some way. I think.

 

[b6graham]

Yeah I was kinda bummed about that but later learned that apparently Atlas has the patent on that and all others are infringing in some way. I think.

Yet theres like 3 other bipod that go to 45 and 135

 

[TonyTheTiger]

Yeah I know, I didn't care enough to research the legal technicalities of it but I can't really fault Caldwell or Magpul with their new bipod if they are in fact avoiding patent issues.

 

[chasedeer]

Beretta- man thanks for the review can you recommend this I like the fact it’s light weight

 

[beretta_man11]

If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive-lightweight bipod to go on a lightweight gun, I'd say this would be ok.

 

[XLR308]

I have read and taken to heart every response but will reserve any comment until I have had a chance to beat the damn thing up a bit and see what it's weaknesses may be but I think I may need an ATLAS bipod to use within a control group to formulate an honest opinion.

The cons I've read so far seem to be from the hip but I will confirm or debunk either way I like the bipod, it just needs to be beat up and confirmed and improvements made if necessary.

 

[XLR308]

It's just 'ok', not great. I've had it for a few weeks now and there's a few things I don't like, but a few that I do.

Pro-
Carbon fiber
Lightweight
looks good
swivels 360
up - down pan is nice

Con-y
lock lever will not tighten enough to stay solid
bipod spins around too easily (due to the lock sucking)
the screw to secure to bipod should be knurled nuts so you can easily take it off
I'm not sold on twist lock legs. It's difficult for this fat boy to adjust while shooting my 15lb gun prone. I'm partial to the notched legs and since this has a nice swivel/pan amount, it would work out nicely.

Bro either you have a fucked up early production model or you don't have one at all.

Regarding the lock lever not having enough tension to have adequate grip, I don't personally have a 20mm antiaircraft gun to test this theory but any suitable rifle under 20lbs as a base line I can't see as being a problem.
There is a 3mm socket head cap screw on the underside of the lever that allows tension adjustment and I have tried varied tension levels while trying to twist the ball head and found it to be very adjustable.

As said previously I will researve any judgment until I have been able to beat it up beside some stiff competition but so far I really like what I see and yes I actually have one in hand.

 

[beretta_man11]

@XLR308, I’ve spent a little bit of time behind it over the past few weeks.
I’m not sure if the video will come through, but it shows how loose the tension is. I’ve talked with Caldwell about the issues and moving the tension lever a few notches did nothing for it. I’m sorry that my experience with the bipod isn’t as favorable as yours.

 

[XLR308]

@XLR308, I’ve spent a little bit of time behind it over the past few weeks.
I’m not sure if the video will come through, but it shows how loose the tension is. I’ve talked with Caldwell about the issues and moving the tension lever a few notches did nothing for it. I’m sorry that my experience with the bipod isn’t as favorable as yours.

That came out a bit abrasive and was a bit of a dick move on my part.
I will need to use and abuse it a bit more and may very well end up with the same conclusion regarding the tension adjustment I just haven't seen it yet.
I've had it on a couple of heavy barreled AR's but haven't tried it on any heavy bolt action rifles yet, a 16 pound rifle may prove to be to much for the tension adjustment under recoil.

 

[Chetly78]

Also- Legs only lock at 90*.

Yet it says in the description that it has 180* of leg angle adjustment?

 

[beretta_man11]

It locks to the front, middle, back.

 

[Chetly78]

Ahh, a little misleading in their marketing. That's to bad.

 

[XLR308]

Ahh, a little misleading in their marketing. That's to bad.

They look like they could be very easily modified to include the 45 and 135° positions on a mill if one was inclined to have that option.
I'm not 100% sure but believe it wasn't included into the design due to copyright issues.

 

[Gooldylocks]

Just as a head's up, I was just looking at these on Amazon and they are much cheaper than anywhere I've seen on there. 64 for the keymod/MLOK one and 70 for the pic rail version 6-9". The 9-13" is 77 and 82, respectively.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

Just as a head's up, I was just looking at these on Amazon and they are much cheaper than anywhere I've seen on there. 64 for the keymod/MLOK one and 70 for the pic rail version 6-9". The 9-13" is 77 and 82, respectively.

I accidentally noticed this the other day. At that price I will end up trying one eventually.

 

[Gooldylocks]

I accidentally noticed this the other day. At that price I will end up trying one eventually.

I wish they had a way to hook to swivel studs. I'd get a 9-13" one for hunting with, it has got to be lighter than a Harris.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

Somewhere around 5 minutes he tries the Accumax. Looks pretty bad in the video, hopefully he just got a lemon because that's not usable.

 

[XLR308]

It does look like he was fighting with it quite a bit, unfortunately I can't here the commentary over the sound of engines running.
I really need some field time with mine next week to determine if it's just inherent in the design.

 

[Stoweit]

I did a practice session for local PRS comp yesterday, and it seemed like every person there had an Atlas bipod. Got to be a reason for that. That bipod seems really inferior to an Atlas, I realize it’s less money but, as usual buy once cry once. YMMV

 

[XLR308]

I never had any expectation of these competing with or replacing an ATLAS, just something new and interesting though it may end up getting returned.

 

[Campguy308]

I want an atlas, but damn, $300??

 

[Stoweit]

I did not pay $300, but I’ve never felt like the Atlas was holding me back, where it sounds like this bipod is not living up to it’s potential. If I’m on the clock I don’t want to worry about how my equipment will perform. YMMV not trying to offend.

 

[Campguy308]

I did not pay $300, but I’ve never felt like the Atlas was holding me back, where it sounds like this bipod is not living up to it’s potential. If I’m on the clock I don’t want to worry about how my equipment will perform. YMMV not trying to offend.

I understand. I was bummed about the magpul not having a 45

 

[Stoweit]

The Atlas is super adjustable, In my experience the others are limited. Super easy to load the Atlas and be on target, others not so easy IMHO. Not trying to offend anyone.

 

[beretta_man11]

I had the same issues with my accumax as shown in the video. If they get the adjustment tension fixed on mine, I'll be pretty happy with it.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

Happened to see two in the LGS today. I tried to replicate the problem in the video but both of them seemed to lock up very solidly.

 

[Pilotscrappy]

I played with once at. Sportsmans as well. It seemed to lock up solid in store. But after some recoil abuse sounds like they start to get loose ?

 

[cerakoted]

watched the video, looks like a turd

 

[hlee]

Happened to see two in the LGS today. I tried to replicate the problem in the video but both of them seemed to lock up very solidly.

I played with once at. Sportsmans as well. It seemed to lock up solid in store. But after some recoil abuse sounds like they start to get loose ?

Mounting a rifle to a bipod gives you a bunch more leverage to defeat the lock than you have by playing with it in the store. And, if working on a clock, I don't want to be worrying about twist and lock legs- give me notched legs for ease of adjustment.

That said, I have 2 Caldwell clones of the Harris bipod and have been happy with both. Adding a lever, and 86ing the knurled knob, made a world of difference to the lockability. I could not cinch it down enough to be truly stable with them as delivered.

I was lent an atlas to use at a comp recently- as another shooter saw my son fighting the height of his bipod- and was impressed, but not $300 impressed. It's too bad the 45deg feature adds like 200 to the price of a bipod- I'll need to be satisfied with 90deg only...

 

[Greensnake]

I bought one of these from Midway when they were $48 just to try one out. Mine does not lock up enough to use on a serious shooter. Mine ended up on my Valk gas gun. Does ok there. I'm sure just a matter of time before it breaks from loading the bipod. Would not recommend at full price. I also bought one of the Magpul bipods and it ended up on a gas gun too.

 

[XLR308]

They are pretty decent for what they are.
Been using mine for a while now but mainly been used on a lite weight 10/22 with tac-sol barrel and my 16" 68spc hog rifle.
Put up against my atlas PSR there is no comparison but the price tag isn't in the same ballpark either or it's intended use.
For a decent hunting bipod it's worth consideration and very usable.