Loading a bipod?

[rookie7]

Good afternoon,

I have a Ruger American in 300 blackout, so it's a lightweight rifle. The forearm is free floated with Devcon steel epoxy added to the forearm to stiffen it.

When shooting with a bipod nothing touches the barrel.

I am finding that when I free-recoil or barely touch the rifle the accuracy isn't what I want - about 1.5 moa.

However, if I really load the bipod and keep the rifle tight against my shoulder the rifle shoots incredible for what it is - 1/2 moa.

Is this normal for lightweight hunting rifles or is this just a quirk for this rifle?

Thanks

 

[ShtrRdy]

Yes, I would say loading the bipod is the way to go regardless of the weight of the rifle.

 

[Eustice]

It sounds like you have contact between the barrel and the stock somewhere. When you are loading the bipod you are causing it to pull away from the barrel but when the bipod is not loaded then there is contact.

Start by getting in to a firing position and seeing if a dollar bill can slide between the stock and barrel when the bipod is not loaded. Perhaps have a friend manipulate the dollar bill. Try it again with the bipod loaded and take note if there is any difference.

Loading a bipod is great, providing you can load the bipod the same way each time. If this is a hunting rifle then you may not always be able to load the bipod or load it the same way. You may be using a stump, branch, or pack for support and not using the bipod at all.

 

[CoA 1]

I would definitely check to see if there is contact with the barrel at rest with no load, but it sounds like this is a positional thing. If you are letting the rifle "free-recoil or barely touch the rifle", you are not building a solid shooting position required to maximize the inherent accuracy of your weapon. Keeping the rifle tight in the pocket of your shoulder is a critical component of a good shooting position. Without, you are allowing for a degree of inconsistency from shot to shot and accuracy will suffer. Next range session, focus on the fundamentals of good shooting positions and fundamentals of marksmanship and see if that makes a difference. If that doesn't fix the problem, then start to look at your equipment and ammo. Hope that helps.

 

[AA7364]

Load it every time!

 

[Vodoun daVinci]

I'm a newbie so take it with a grain of salt. Free Recoil, for me, is a dead duck. I shoot very well when I load the bipod correctly while keeping the gun tightly cinched into my shoulder pocket. The trick is to so it the same way every time....I pull the stock into my shoulder and anchor it. Then push the whole assembly forward to take the slack out of the bipod.

Hard to do every time but really accurate when I do. Free recoil is all over the target for me.

VooDoo

 

[trob_205]

Outside of Games like PRS, “free recoil” has little merit. I wouldn’t read much into it. Most of those gamer rifles are 18+ lbs in a super light recoiling cartridge to begin with.

 

[rookie7]

I appreciate everyone’s input. What has been said regarding free recoiling making the rifle inconsistent makes sense.

I proved you all correct again because I shot again last weekend and kept it tight - groups were awesome for such a setup.

I now have confidence in it for hunting season for my daughter.

Thank you!

 

[Eustice]

The people who are free recoiling a rifle during PRS are definitely not shooting for their first time. Also, they’ve got their rifle in a much more rigid stock that allows them to free recoil giving them better results with it. They are probably not loading their bipods when using them either, because of their rigid stock. They may not be able to load the Bipod depending on what they are on.

Have your daughter shoot the rifle to make sure she can sufficiently load the Bipod like you can. And make sure her firing position allows her to load it as well. Dig some small holes for the Bipod feet or tack a furring strip down to a mat for her to lay on. Give her something to load that Bipod against.

 

[Vodoun daVinci]

+1 on the tack strip idea. Something to push forward against helped me a lot.

VooDoo

 

[wigwamitus]

For me "load the bipod" means "take up the slack" ... not "drive the bipod" ...


( EDIT: BTW, I rarely shoot PRS, but I shoot dot drills at 100yds daily )

 

[Diver160651]

+1 on the tack strip idea. Something to push forward against helped me a lot.

VooDoo

If you guys need a "tack strip" I'd say you're pushing to hard, unless you will never shoot any other way. While you can be very accurate by over driving a rifle (pushing), it creates offsets when shot in other places like a slick surface, off a backpack or tree branch.

Honestly, I bet we are all on the same page, in that the best way for maximum precision, is to take all the shooter out of the equation, letting mechanical rests control/guide the free recoiling riffle. AKA Benchrest. But that has little use hiking around etc when self-spotting is key. On the other end, is attempting to stop the recoil by adding a bunch of muscular tension and over-driving the rifle against something physical. While this aids in self-spotting there is balance if one wants to use their system on a variety of surfaces and positions without missing due to shooter offsets created by drastic changes in the way one manages recoil.

For me at least, the key is a relaxed square body position, where I can duplicate relatively the same recoil management scheme across positions and still self-spot.. (Well maybe not so well shooting off a bungie obstacle rope)

 

[Eustice]

I think the problems some people encounter is the feet on the Bipod slipping on the shooting surface or the feet rotating and rolling the rifle forward before the slack has been taken up. I do see people “drive” the Bipod, though. And when they do they drive it like it’s a rental.

I tend not to load the Bipod. Perhaps slight pressure in it to take out slack if anything, but I started doing this because I don’t always get the chance to use the Bipod. Lots of times you’re not shooting off that Bipod or are unable to load it.

 

[Deadman Pointers]

For me "load the bipod" means "take up the slack" ... not "drive the bipod" ...

This was the best take away from a recent training session for me. I was providing far too much muscle input to the rifle versus using skeletal structure for support consistency.

 

[CoA 1]

The amount of "load" you can place on your bipod is also a function of the weapon system, chassis or stock rigidity, etc. An AR platform or RPR type rifle will be very susceptible to changes in load while a well bedded fiberglass stock setup on a bolt gun will not see much effect at all. Heavily loading a bipod can be beneficial for some shooters while light loading is better for others. For my type of shooting, I need to be able to apply positive, neutral, and negative loads. What doesn't work well is no load. You can do it but it should not be the norm as recoil management is far less consistent with this method. I shoot the proper weapon system and practice in order to mitigate any effect. Heavier guns definitely help mitigate this but at the end of the day its a bad practice for developing good shooting habits and achieving greater accuracy. I think the big takeaway here is know your weapon and apply the fundamentals every time. Consistency is accuracy... I hope you guys have a successful hunting season!

 

[DownhillFromHere]

With a lightweight rifle and (assuming) stock trigger, I'm wondering if "free recoil" allows the rifle to move ever so slightly as the shot breaks. In that case, "loading the bipod" could be simply damping that little twitch as the trigger is pulled through the "bang" point. As I've gained experience, I've found that a tiny amount of movement I wouldn't even have seen when I started this game can move POI quite a bit.

As others have noted, I wouldn't be betting that the bipod could be "loaded" the same way every time. My personal approach has been to try to learn to stabilize my rifles as much as possible in as many positions as possible without putting too much emphasis on any one thing - especially the bipod.