An F-class bipod is a pretty big impediment to a shooter in PRS/NRL type matches. Sure you can struggle with it, but it would be working to the disadvantage of the shooter in most cases. A Harris, Atlas, Ckye-pod, etc - provides all the stability you need for the longer range stages. There's a reason why bipods designed for PRS/NRL use are designed with a lot of adjustments/versatility built in - we rarely are shooting off of a smooth, flat surface, like a shooting bench.
Brakes and Bipods
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An F-class bipod is a pretty big impediment to a shooter in PRS/NRL type matches. Sure you can struggle with it, but it would be working to the disadvantage of the shooter in most cases. A Harris, Atlas, Ckye-pod, etc - provides all the stability you need for the longer range stages. There's a reason why bipods designed for PRS/NRL use are designed with a lot of adjustments/versatility built in - we rarely are shooting off of a smooth, flat surface, like a shooting bench.
Fair enough, I meant more for someone starting out with neither. Also, I've never tried the Mpod but as Kthomas pointed out, even the longer range stages in PRS/NRL matches are rarely shot off level, smooth surfaces, it's still often rocky and/or awkward so I'm not too sure if a rigid bipod would be a benefit or a hindrance. In any case, you should be able to play with a Ckye-pod shortly, they're cranking them out as fast as they can.
Mystic Precision
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Understood... why I am going to experiment with Harris type feet. I use it cause I have it and can mod it. Given that I also offer the CKYE bipod, it will be entirely up to the end user and the type of utility and application they are after.
For Canada, the vast majority of LR shooters dont compete and control the environment they will shoot from. The vast majority shoot on Square ranges and benches. Here all the features common to the CKYE bipod really don't help.
Why the simplicity of the MPOD has been very well received by a number of shooters. It fits where and how most LR shooters want to play.
Now F Class matches are also based on less then ideal terrain so the MPOD can adapt easily to a range of environments....
I designed the MPOD initially for the field LR shooting I was doing... so there are features to handle a silly amount of firing point slope. It will be fun to play with it and see how it can adapt to the PRL game.... or not.
Jerry
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Pick up an Insite arms heathen muzzle brake. The hybrid version allows you to chage caliber. It is effective and no tolls required for installation. I have the atlas prs atlas 5h, accutac, LRA, Harris wannabes and I find the atlas ones are my go to.
If you got it use it.
You don't always have to spend money on the latest and greatest. Certain tools can make certain jobs easier bit you can usually get the job done with less.
I like to modify and play around with what I have, experiment and see what works well for me. This way I can learn why I may or may not like certain things or it can help point out my own inefficiencies or shortcomings, in the end making me a better shooter and more knowledgeable. I still have much to learn but I like to learn hands on and can appreciate a lesson learned the hard way.
You don't always have to spend money on the latest and greatest. Certain tools can make certain jobs easier bit you can usually get the job done with less.
I like to modify and play around with what I have, experiment and see what works well for me. This way I can learn why I may or may not like certain things or it can help point out my own inefficiencies or shortcomings, in the end making me a better shooter and more knowledgeable. I still have much to learn but I like to learn hands on and can appreciate a lesson learned the hard way.
Mystic Precision
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- Summerland, BC
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you are referencing Atlas - there are a lot of knock-off Atlas bipods, and unless you bought it from a good reliable source, it very well could have been a knock-off that you were running. The counterfeit market on Atlas bipods is pretty big, and sadly there are even those on CGN that advocate for counterfeit Atlas bipods. In fact, I believe a site sponsor even sells them.
That said, if it was the genuine product, things can and do fail - not even great products are immune to failure (though better products fail less, and should be backed by good CS). Kasey, who is the inventor and manufacturer of Atlas bipods, has excellent customer service. So if you broke a genuine one, you should be taken care of. I own a few Atlas bipods, and while the Ckye-Pod has become my favorite "field" bipod, Kasey makes a good quality product with the CS to back it up.
The Harris is okay. I own a couple. They're made of stamped metal and can definitely break - I've seen a few break myself. They lack a lot of features and versatility. Very limited height adjustment, and overall adjustability of the legs. You need to add aftermarket parts if you want to attach it to a picatinney or ARCA/RRS rail. If you want a decent cant lever - you need to buy an aftermarket one (KMW). Customer service is pretty much non-existent.
Some people don't need all the adjustability that some bipods provide, which is fine. And a Harris will work okay for some needs - I have one sitting on my .308. But you can't argue that the bipods coming out these days are better built, both design wise, quality of materials, the actual manufacturing quality, and they actually have good CS.
The difference between going out and plinking versus competition, is that at a competition you are on the clock. Rapid adjustment capability is a really nice feature. On my Ckye-Pod, I can just pull on the legs and they will move to whatever position I need them in, and rapidly lock into the nearest detent on the leg. If I need to move them in, I hold down the push-lever, slide it to whatever setting I want, release the button and it will lock into the nearest detent. You can also adjust the cant without having to touch any levers or buttons, and the cant range is wide. There's a reason why all these bipods that are designed for field use have the features they do (Atlas, Ckye-Pod, TBAC) - there wouldn't be a market for these high end field bipods if the plethora of benchrest bipods that are currently on the market provided the capabilities that we want.
No doubt I could take your bipod, slap it on any of my rifles and get it to work in the field when I am not pressured by a clock and plinking. The MPOD requires the user to be more involved in getting the settings adjusted properly - you have to turn a knob to loosen tension, set the leg where you want it, then hold the rifle attempting to keep the leg adjustment where you want while you tighten down the tension knob again. Simple enough, but sucks to do when you are on the clock and every second counts. It seems very similar to my LRA bipod - very stable once you get it dialed in, but more cumbersome and very limited canting abilities.
I would never use my LRA bipod, for a PRS/NRL match. You can get it to work and limp it through some stages, but it's not ideal.
If you want it to just go out plinking, then sure its an acceptable option if its what you want. But for actual field shooting events where you are on the clock (PRS/NRL), there are much better options, designed by people who have been shooting real PRS events for years.
You can make anything work if you need to, but that doesn't make it ideal or the best solution:
For sure, for long range plinking and shooting at square ranges/from the bench I'm sure the Mpod is great. Also, since you have one/designed it, you can mod it and play around to see if it works for what you want to do. A Ckye-pod is pretty much overkill for those kind of situations. It's really designed with PRS/NRL and field matches in mind where all the adjustments are not only necessary but have to be done on the clock. Choose your game and then choose the appropriate tool.
Mystic Precision
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Playing with some rubber "harris" type feet right now. Was uneventful and worked as intended. I would use it the same places I would my Harris. Not a fan of spiked feet and you really don't need/want to load into the MPOD anyways.
Easy to spot hits.... play with it this season and see how it works
If there is interest, we might make a run of legs to use the rubber foot. Of course, making your own is very simple...
Jerry
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I developed a newfound respect for the simple Harris bipod on the weekend....
In certain PRS stages you need to move quickly from a bipod up to bipod down transition or vice versa and in those stages the classic Harris had the clear advantage over so many of the crazy expensive bipods from Atlas to Cadex.
Another point is the width between the feet...
On solid ground, a wide stance is advantageous, but a wide stance works against you with many of the PRS obstacles that may be narrower than the feet.... Again Harris takes the lead.
I like those big fancy bipods as much as the next guy, but no longer for PRS.
And one more point... it needs to be mounted to a QD plate so you can take it off or on in under 2 seconds.
As for Brakes... I did find a slight advantage with the round ones over the large Cadex... Recoil mitigation aside.
Some PRS stages involve sticking the rifle through a small opening and those were a bit of a struggle with the MX1
In certain PRS stages you need to move quickly from a bipod up to bipod down transition or vice versa and in those stages the classic Harris had the clear advantage over so many of the crazy expensive bipods from Atlas to Cadex.
Another point is the width between the feet...
On solid ground, a wide stance is advantageous, but a wide stance works against you with many of the PRS obstacles that may be narrower than the feet.... Again Harris takes the lead.
I like those big fancy bipods as much as the next guy, but no longer for PRS.
And one more point... it needs to be mounted to a QD plate so you can take it off or on in under 2 seconds.
As for Brakes... I did find a slight advantage with the round ones over the large Cadex... Recoil mitigation aside.
Some PRS stages involve sticking the rifle through a small opening and those were a bit of a struggle with the MX1
I found my Ckyepod to be ideal(as usual) this past weekend at the Meaford PRS match, as did most of the guys who were borrowing them (and then snagged some from the prize table). Your point about the narrow footprint is valid but you can get a Ckyepod as narrow as a Harris if needed plus I find if you just slide it fore or aft to suit the situation it works. Being able to drop it at a moment's notice is a great feature and why I have the adapter on mine that lets me run the RRS pic/dove throw lever.
Price really is the only downside to the Ckye-Pod but it's not far off what you end up paying for a Harris with a pic/arca adapter, Atlas leg adapters, spikes, pod-loc, etc and is a much better end result.
I just read a post, made by Bob Galloway about 2 months ago on a long range FB group, that poo-pooed Atlas bipods for precision shooting. He talked about preload consistency issues with Atlas bipods, which showed up as vertical spread with his customer's rifles. Spread that disappeared when switching to a different bipod. Some people agreed with him, and I've seen other people hint at it on the net, but most people on the net are quite pro-Atlas.
I have an Atlas v8 for a year now , and I've never been able to get quite as tight of groups with the Atlas that I've done off bags using the same rifles. With most of the spread, IIRC, being vertical. I just dismissed it as me not having as good a day, but now I'm wondering if maybe it's not all me.
Anyone else have any expertise to share?
I have an Atlas v8 for a year now , and I've never been able to get quite as tight of groups with the Atlas that I've done off bags using the same rifles. With most of the spread, IIRC, being vertical. I just dismissed it as me not having as good a day, but now I'm wondering if maybe it's not all me.
Anyone else have any expertise to share?
Mystic Precision
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- Location
- Summerland, BC
competing at a high level in F TR (bipod 308 rifles) lead me to design the MPOD... see post above. Henry Remple's design forms the core concept that many other competitive bipods use. The Joypod is another direction that many use.
The goal of this game is to have a machine that can hammer a 5" circle at 1000yds on any given weekend... to be competitive, the gear, load, optics and bipod must let you reach 1/3 to 1/2 MOA at 1000yds over long strings of fire. Tracking and consistency has to rival the very best pedestal rests on the market.
many of the common foldy bipods have been used over the years... none remain competitive and shooters quickly move towards F class suitable bipods.
The goals are different, the features and utility are different... the accuracy is just simply put... BETTER... but most F TR suitable bipods are useless in a PRS type game.
So we are talking about apples and oranges.
Jerry
WRT to my MPOD mods for PRS shooting. Where it was appropriate, it worked great. Other times, I would use a Harris... or other bags.
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