Precision Rifle Gear Let’s Talk Bipods
- Thread starter Coltoncashh
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Fastened a section of pic rail to an Arca clamp, and use that with a Gunwerks bipod. It’s lighter (and cheaper)than a Cye-pod single pull, it has two leg extensions, rubber feet, the legs pull down to deploy and lock down, and are tight and rattle free when folded up. The cant adjustment is a nice lever, on the rear of the bipod. It doesn’t have panning movement, which I like. The QD to pic rail, turn to remove, turn to attach, is slick; it’s a nice quiet setup for hunting rifles.
The Elevate and an Acutac are my favorites now.
The Elevate and an Acutac are my favorites now.
So I own an Elite Iron, Atlas Cal and Scal, LRA F-class Lite Tactical, and a hand-me down notch-less Harris that I reserve for wood-stocked sling stud rifles.
I am not a competitor and only shoot from tripods or the bench. So I shouldn’t probably even voice an opinion…ah, wtf here goes.
If I had to pick just one, it would be the LRA. It’s versatile, made of carbon fiber and so it is nice to hold in cold temps. Super stable, very deep yoke. Fine control over cant, and it can totally lock off.
They make a narrower PRS version for you folks, but I’m a little unclear on how it operates. The legs extend without a button press…I think.
If I get another bipod it would probably be a notched leg Harris with an RRS dual pic/arca clamp. I say this because my particular LRA is a wide boi and won’t fit attached in my rifle cases. The Cal is nice in that regard.
What is convincing about the Harris is apparently so many competitors still use the thing, like 37%! Like 4 of the top 10 still use an Harris (like Austin Orgain). And the top two-bipod combo is a Cyke and Harris. I have zero need for a Cyke.
According to that article, the three guys interviewed use rubber feet on whatever bipods they use, with one guy using sled feet sometimes. This surprised me as well. I’m sure they can shoot much better than I, off of whatever bipod.
I am not a competitor and only shoot from tripods or the bench. So I shouldn’t probably even voice an opinion…ah, wtf here goes.
If I had to pick just one, it would be the LRA. It’s versatile, made of carbon fiber and so it is nice to hold in cold temps. Super stable, very deep yoke. Fine control over cant, and it can totally lock off.
They make a narrower PRS version for you folks, but I’m a little unclear on how it operates. The legs extend without a button press…I think.
Lite-Tactical Long Leg Arca Swiss Mount PRS Specific Bipod
Features: Designed to fit a standard Arca Swiss rail Mount is reversible for left and right-handed shooters Includes a LRA Arca Swiss Barricade Stop attached directly to mount Includes Lite-Tactical Slimline Feet, optional Bipod Feet Accessories available Quick deploy “Speed Legs” allow legs to...
lraccuracy.com
If I get another bipod it would probably be a notched leg Harris with an RRS dual pic/arca clamp. I say this because my particular LRA is a wide boi and won’t fit attached in my rifle cases. The Cal is nice in that regard.
What is convincing about the Harris is apparently so many competitors still use the thing, like 37%! Like 4 of the top 10 still use an Harris (like Austin Orgain). And the top two-bipod combo is a Cyke and Harris. I have zero need for a Cyke.
According to that article, the three guys interviewed use rubber feet on whatever bipods they use, with one guy using sled feet sometimes. This surprised me as well. I’m sure they can shoot much better than I, off of whatever bipod.
I've been researching bipods a lot recently, I was always a Harris guy until the I was eventually convinced (seeing guys at matches) that the Ckye Pod was actually going to give me features that the Harris didn't have.So I own an Elite Iron, Atlas Cal and Scal, LRA F-class Lite Tactical, and a hand-me down notch-less Harris that I reserve for wood-stocked sling stud rifles.
I am not a competitor and only shoot from tripods or the bench. So I shouldn’t probably even voice an opinion…ah, wtf here goes.
If I had to pick just one, it would be the LRA. It’s versatile, made of carbon fiber and so it is nice to hold in cold temps. Super stable, very deep yoke. Fine control over cant, and it can totally lock off.
They make a narrower PRS version for you folks, but I’m a little unclear on how it operates. The legs extend without a button press…I think.
Lite-Tactical Long Leg Arca Swiss Mount PRS Specific Bipod
Features: Designed to fit a standard Arca Swiss rail Mount is reversible for left and right-handed shooters Includes a LRA Arca Swiss Barricade Stop attached directly to mount Includes Lite-Tactical Slimline Feet, optional Bipod Feet Accessories available Quick deploy “Speed Legs” allow legs to...lraccuracy.com
If I get another bipod it would probably be a notched leg Harris with an RRS dual pic/arca clamp. I say this because my particular LRA is a wide boi and won’t fit attached in my rifle cases. The Cal is nice in that regard.
What is convincing about the Harris is apparently so many competitors still use the thing, like 37%! Like 4 of the top 10 still use an Harris (like Austin Orgain). And the top two-bipod combo is a Cyke and Harris. I have zero need for a Cyke.
According to that article, the three guys interviewed use rubber feet on whatever bipods they use, with one guy using sled feet sometimes. This surprised me as well. I’m sure they can shoot much better than I, off of whatever bipod.
However I hardly use any of the Ckye Pod features and find myself missing the simplicity of the Harris, for many uses.
I don't want to press any buttons to deploy the legs, missing the ability to just pull on the Harris legs is a bit annoying but the spring loaded out, and then lower with rifle weight often works better than starting low and moving up (extending the legs).
I've looked into all the different options and have come to the same conclusion that a Harris with a RRS dual clamp is a really great option to pair with the Ckye Pod. I recently came across that PRS Blog article and was happy to see lot of comp shooters have come to the same conclusion.
TBAC Is like a Harris but better. Highly recommend
I use a TBAC on my AI, I like it because its similar operation to the harris sbrm's ive used forever. My only complaint is the leg springs are so strong and applied for the full range of exansion that they are tougher to manipulate one handed than the harris.
On my SPR I use a Harris 6-9 in a badger LPHM mount, I leave it on the gun 24/7. Ive never had any major instances where I havent been able to get enough elevation using the 6-9 prone, I use 20 round mags.
On my SR25 Ive got another Harris 6-9 on an RRS arca clamp with D Wilson full length arca rails on the gun.
I hated atlas.
Ridgeline's updated Harris is clutch.
ridgelinedefense.com
On my SPR I use a Harris 6-9 in a badger LPHM mount, I leave it on the gun 24/7. Ive never had any major instances where I havent been able to get enough elevation using the 6-9 prone, I use 20 round mags.
On my SR25 Ive got another Harris 6-9 on an RRS arca clamp with D Wilson full length arca rails on the gun.
I hated atlas.
Ridgeline's updated Harris is clutch.
Ridgeline Bipod - Ridgeline Defense
This Harris bipod is the Badger Ordnance modified version with the quick deploy buttons rotated 90 degrees inboard for better ergonomics, easier deployment from the prone, and reduced accidental deployments. Check our out YouTube video on how to prepare your bipod for rapid deployment. Check our...
ridgelinedefense.com
I looked at the TBAC, seems like it ticks lost boxes, seen a few complaints about overly loose/rattly/sloppy.
Also looks like you can't just pull on the legs to extend, which is the main thing I'd like added to a Harris.
Also don't like 6-9" bipods, I find I'm always shooting them at full extension so prefer to get a 9-13" one.
Yes you can get the leg extensions and have best of both worlds, but would rather not introduce even more chances for slop/play into the bipod legs.
My dream bipod would be:
- Spring loaded legs when locked away (like a Harris) but can just pull legs down after that (like Ckye Pod).
- Legs just pull down (like Harris/TBAC)
don't need 45° setting but TBAC style would be fine
- Legs don't spin/rotate (like Ckye)
-Combination Pic/ARCA mount
-Height is 8-12" or a 9-13" with slightly wider set legs, sometimes I want a little less than 9" but never need 6-8" for anything other than bench use, even then 8" is probably low enough
From what I can see this combination of features doesn't exist, however combination of Ckye Pod + TBAC/improved Harris covers all basis.
I have Harris, atlas cal, ckye, and tbac.
My favorite is the TBAC. The legs fold out without having to push any buttons, just like the Harris. The legs extend with the push of a button, like the Harris but the big difference is the legs are under spring pressure the entire travel. So if you partially extend the legs, then need to extend them more you push the button and the spring pushes the leg out more. In use during a stage if I don’t have my bipod set at the right right to start I just tilt the rifle to unload the leg and push the button and the leg shoots out.
My complaint with the TBAC is my ideal height most of the time is right between full extension without the leg extenders, or full collapse with the leg extensions. For matches that are not on flat ranges and you are having to shoot up hill the bipod doesn’t have enough adjustment range and is too short in my opinion.
The ckye pod is nice because all of the adjustments but that’s also is down side, so many adjustments and buttons. For ranges with up and down shots I prefer the ckye pod. I have the PRS version and wish I had bought the standard height version. I have run out of elevation at matches in the mountains. For flat ranges it’s good but on flat ranges I prefer the tbac.
The cal is a good bipod but I never use it anymore in matches because it’s slow and cumbersome to adjust height, deploy/store legs. It is used on my kids rifles.
For matches the tbac stays on the rifle and the Ckye pod is in the bag for the few times it’s come in handy and in all honesty, whenever I try to game a prop with the Ckye pod I probably would have been better to just run a bag or the tbac than trying to game it.
My favorite is the TBAC. The legs fold out without having to push any buttons, just like the Harris. The legs extend with the push of a button, like the Harris but the big difference is the legs are under spring pressure the entire travel. So if you partially extend the legs, then need to extend them more you push the button and the spring pushes the leg out more. In use during a stage if I don’t have my bipod set at the right right to start I just tilt the rifle to unload the leg and push the button and the leg shoots out.
My complaint with the TBAC is my ideal height most of the time is right between full extension without the leg extenders, or full collapse with the leg extensions. For matches that are not on flat ranges and you are having to shoot up hill the bipod doesn’t have enough adjustment range and is too short in my opinion.
The ckye pod is nice because all of the adjustments but that’s also is down side, so many adjustments and buttons. For ranges with up and down shots I prefer the ckye pod. I have the PRS version and wish I had bought the standard height version. I have run out of elevation at matches in the mountains. For flat ranges it’s good but on flat ranges I prefer the tbac.
The cal is a good bipod but I never use it anymore in matches because it’s slow and cumbersome to adjust height, deploy/store legs. It is used on my kids rifles.
For matches the tbac stays on the rifle and the Ckye pod is in the bag for the few times it’s come in handy and in all honesty, whenever I try to game a prop with the Ckye pod I probably would have been better to just run a bag or the tbac than trying to game it.
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I've owned multiples of all of them. Competed with all of them and have hunted with some of em.
Ckyepod for everything but lw hunting rifle.Tbac is a very solid bipod but you have no ability to change width which is a big con and it's slower to deploy. You also can't just pull out what you need since it's spring loaded you go all or nothing.
Nothing really offers what the cykepod does. It's expensive but worth it. You can do things with it you can't do with any other bipod
The accurac are super solid but again, lack of flexibility limits them. If all you do is shoot off a square range then the accurac, atlas , tbac or Harris is fine.
Harris is fine for LW hunting guns where you need to save weight but it's severely limited in what you can do. I know a few high level competitors run them but they also carry a ckyepod or borrow them when needed.
Until something comes out with the same features or more than a ckyepod, it will reign supreme.
Ckyepod for everything but lw hunting rifle.Tbac is a very solid bipod but you have no ability to change width which is a big con and it's slower to deploy. You also can't just pull out what you need since it's spring loaded you go all or nothing.
Nothing really offers what the cykepod does. It's expensive but worth it. You can do things with it you can't do with any other bipod
The accurac are super solid but again, lack of flexibility limits them. If all you do is shoot off a square range then the accurac, atlas , tbac or Harris is fine.
Harris is fine for LW hunting guns where you need to save weight but it's severely limited in what you can do. I know a few high level competitors run them but they also carry a ckyepod or borrow them when needed.
Until something comes out with the same features or more than a ckyepod, it will reign supreme.
Yeah, I love the cykepod it clicks almost all the boxes. I have an Accutrac on my TacOps just because I wanted a wider super stable rest. Down side is it is a royal pain to move the legs to deploy.
Do you have the regular and the tall models? I have a regular one with leg extensions and am considering getting a tall. It seems to me the tall would have more travel/adjustment than a regular one and be able to extend even higher than a regular one with extensions. Does it work like that?
I'm a fan of the tall, but it depends on your shooting too. In my mind I can almost always use the 45 deg forward leg position if it's "too tall" at 90 deg. However if you shoot on a short bench and can't say slide your bipod back on an ARCA rail that might be a downside. Also even depends on the gun, on my AI with a ARCA spigot, the bipod is almost 1.5" closer to the barrel than if I ran it on the forearm on a rail.
Seems to me if you are running a short with extensions now and not finding it an issue, or frequently having to take the extensions off, a tall would probably be fine. The BT69 is shorter at 45 deg than the BT65 is at 90, but goes 3" higher. So unless you know you can't use the 45deg forward position, and often finding yourself using the lowest 90deg range of the BT65 it would seem like the BT69 would be fine. The leg extensions add 3" so the hight of a BT65 with extensions is basically the same as the BT69 without.
That said unless you needed to go even higher than the BT65 with extensions, I'm not sure I'd switch, since you wouldn't really be gaining any height, unless you are almost always at the higher range of your BT65 with extensions now, and wanted the option for even more height, since you could always put your extensions on the BT69 as well if needed.
Seems to me if you are running a short with extensions now and not finding it an issue, or frequently having to take the extensions off, a tall would probably be fine. The BT69 is shorter at 45 deg than the BT65 is at 90, but goes 3" higher. So unless you know you can't use the 45deg forward position, and often finding yourself using the lowest 90deg range of the BT65 it would seem like the BT69 would be fine. The leg extensions add 3" so the hight of a BT65 with extensions is basically the same as the BT69 without.
That said unless you needed to go even higher than the BT65 with extensions, I'm not sure I'd switch, since you wouldn't really be gaining any height, unless you are almost always at the higher range of your BT65 with extensions now, and wanted the option for even more height, since you could always put your extensions on the BT69 as well if needed.
I’ve used an Atlas the last few years but somehow managed to lose it last week. No one turned it in at the range and I knew where I last had it and went back the next day to try and find it. I ordered the MDT Ckyepod and it arrived yesterday. Seemed to be the one most widely used at the local PRS matches. I liked the Atlas but thought I’d try the Ckyepod.
Thanks for the info, much appreciated. I had thought the BT69 had more travel/extension overall since the legs were longer. Atlas website says 4.9 to 9.2" for the BT65 and 6.1 to 12.3" for the BT69. I wouldn't be adding extensions but you're right that's only 3" more max height. Not sure if that's leg height or the actual rifle height.
For shooting off concrete legs with extensions at 45° and entended one notch is usually my go to height. Other positions only get taller from there and there has been more than one match or coyote stand where an extra inch or two would have made a difference.
I too use an Arca spigot. It's noce that it sits lower but yeah on a short bench the 45° forward legs are always ready to fall off.
I'm sorry to hear that, that's too bad. Everything that can come off my rifle or out my chest rig or pack has a piece of brown masking tape with my name and number on it. My buddy made a tasteful WWII looking stencil with his name and initial. I also wrap my .22 magazines, data book, and pocket rangefinder in bright colored tape. Not as good a solution as not losing stuff but it sometimes helps.
Also on my Arca rails for hunting rifles I install a sling stud or even a piece of paracord or a zip tie on the end of the rail in case the bipod clamp comes loose it can't slide right off the end of the rail. I'm probably a little paranoid.
How are you liking the Ckyepod? I used to have a single pull. It was faster than the Atlas to deploy but I felt it was too heavy and too much money to have tied up in a bipod.
I did not love the sled feet when I tried them on a SuperCal, mostly because it seems like I shoot the SuperCal/Cal best when I preload it a bit, and the sled feet really don't allow for that (depending on what surface they are on). As opposed to say the Accutac bipods which I tend to shoot better with the sled feet, but I think that's because in general the Accutac for me don't seem to respond as well to preloading, they don't have as much flex/give in them as the Cal/SuperCal.
Hard to say for sure, my rigs are not as heavy as a weighted PRS rig, they are probably 15-18lbs, mostly a TRG and AI AT both with Razors on them.
Could just be me too, or the surface I shoot on, how I drive the rifle, etc. Also to be fair the Ski/Sled feet for the SuperCal are HUGE like 3" around, where the ski feet for the Cal are less than half that. I've only tested out the SuperCal version.
Another thing I've thought of, is if the fact that the B&T ski feet will adjust in angle and perhaps that causes more issues tilting instead of sliding under recoil. It's 100% conjecture on my part, but the reason I say this is Accutac has two types of "ski" feet, one is a fixed sled foot that cannot articulate, but is rounded at the front/rear. The other is more fancy version that can articulate to the surface, that's not only wider, but longer in it's "foot". In my mind the later should do better, but in practice I found I got better groups with the fixed version. The only reason I can think of why this might be is that perhaps the feet that can articulate are tilting/rotating under recoil instead of sliding straight back (again this is probably highly dependent on the surface it's on). Where the fixed sled foot has no option but to slide.
Could just be me too, or the surface I shoot on, how I drive the rifle, etc. Also to be fair the Ski/Sled feet for the SuperCal are HUGE like 3" around, where the ski feet for the Cal are less than half that. I've only tested out the SuperCal version.
Another thing I've thought of, is if the fact that the B&T ski feet will adjust in angle and perhaps that causes more issues tilting instead of sliding under recoil. It's 100% conjecture on my part, but the reason I say this is Accutac has two types of "ski" feet, one is a fixed sled foot that cannot articulate, but is rounded at the front/rear. The other is more fancy version that can articulate to the surface, that's not only wider, but longer in it's "foot". In my mind the later should do better, but in practice I found I got better groups with the fixed version. The only reason I can think of why this might be is that perhaps the feet that can articulate are tilting/rotating under recoil instead of sliding straight back (again this is probably highly dependent on the surface it's on). Where the fixed sled foot has no option but to slide.
