Caldwell BiPods: Cheap and Functional?

[General RE LEE]

I just bought my 3rd Caldwell pivot 6-9” bipod for $48.

I’ve had zero issues using these for bench rest shooting.

Anyone else running Caldwells or are they just shit?

 

[b6graham]

does it work? sure.

is it a knockoff of an already cheap harris? yes

does it function? yes probably

is it the best option? no

does it get people into using bipods for cheap? yes

 

[DJL2]

The expression "Good isn't cheap, and cheap isn't good" comes to mind. Generally speaking, cheap gear is a roll of the dice. It might work, it might not. If it does work, the question becomes "how well and for how long?" and that depends largely on how you use it. Maybe the Caldwell unit is a hidden gem at an awesome price... maybe you're getting what you pay for. I don't have one, so I can't say.

When my dad started shooting more seriously, he bought a lot of value priced kit. Now he tells me what he wants, I buy a suitable piece of kit for him, and he reimburses me for it. My Dad is hard on kit just by his nature. If it can be broken during "normal" use, he WILL break it (shooting gear or not, this statement applies generally). He destroyed a number of optics, bipods, and other gear. He got tired of having his gear break/fail. I couldn't tell you the brand(s), offhand, of the (at least) four different bipods that he broke. I can tell you that he's running at Atlas CAL now.

 

[rockn30809]

Had one when they first came out. All things considered, it wasn't bad for the money. Once I got serious and learned how to use a bipod it broke rather quickly. For light use it would probably last a while.

 

[todd]

I started out with a Caldwell 6-9 in 2013 when I started shooting. I used it for 3-4 years in a ton of matches before it finally bent I and I upgraded to a real Harris. For "just getting started" it's fine, but you'll eventually end up replacing it, so you might as well just save yourself whatever they cost now, and invest in a Harris to begin with. That's where the term "Buy once, Cry once" comes in - don't buy something cheap if you're just going to pony up for the real deal later. Save yourself the pain of paying twice, buy good equipment on the front end.