This review represents a first for me as, up to the present, I have only written about firearms, optics and accessories that I have actually owned or still do own. Today, however, I am reviewing a product that Peter Dobson of Hirsch Precision mailed to me solely for the purpose of evaluation – the product is the relatively new Dolphin Trakker Bipod manufactured by the Dolphin Gun Company www.dolphinguncompany.co.uk . Dolphin is a UK company that provides a full range of precision products - up to and including full rifle builds - and is a company that appears to be well-regarded amongst the very active community of UK F-Class and target shooters.
Trakker on F/TR Rifle
Ideally, the perfect bipod would manage a to achieve perfection notwithstanding a number of competing interests – it would be as stable as a front rest; it would be light; it would attach easily; it would be solid; it would manage elevation and cant and it wouldn’t cost more than the rifle it was intended to support. However since ideals are rarely, if ever, attained most of the better bipods achieve some, but not all, of those goals and the end user – you and I – have to decide which of the competing interests is most important to us and then figure out what product delivers and delivers within the price point we are prepared to pay.
There are two models of Dolphin Trakker - a Standard and Long - with the only real difference between the two being that the long is a bit taller for extra elevation and 100g heavier. What Peter supplied to me for review is the standard model which weighs 600g (21.2 ounces) and which, at first glance, reminded me of a hybrid, or cross, between a heavier and more sturdy version of the carbon fibre Centershot bipod and the MPOD from Mystic Precision both of which I reviewed in May of this year. (http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?756669-Updated-*A-Review-of-Four-Bipods-for-the-New-Tactical-Precision-Shooter)
A real demerit of some bipods I have reviewed is that, once attached to a rifle and with the shooter in the prone position, they cannot easily be adjusted for height or elevation with any degree of precision (MPOD) or, if so, it is in pre-set graduations like the notched- leg and very popular Harris. The better bipods - like theCentershot or the truly outstanding one made by Henry Remple – solve this problem by way of a capstan turn wheel under the center of the bipod which adds some mechanical complexity and, more importantly, weight. Before even attaching the Trakker to a rifle, I realised that Dolphin was onto something with regard to solving the problem of elevation– a simple rod threaded between the two legs with a turning knob on the left; ideally positioned for the off-hand of a right handed shooter. Cant is resolved by way of two easy to operate levers that work in a similar way to the single lever found on the S-type Harris, the Centershot and the Remple.
One of the Trakker's Cant-Adjusting Levers
Elevation Adjustment Rod
I wasn’t surprised to see that the test Trakker came with an attachment for an Anschutz rail since most target and F-Class rifles come with an Anschutz type rail but I understand that Dolphin can supply their bipod with a sling or swivel attachment if your rifle isn’t rail equipped. Fortunately, besides having rails on my F/TR and F-Open rifles, I also have a rail installed on one of my PGW Coyote rifles so, besides trying the Trakker on rifles of differing weights and calibers, I was also able to see how it performed using a rifle designed for a purpose other than pure single-shot target shooting. I think it is quite a good idea to do this as I have found some bipods that perform OK from a single shot target rifle tend to bounce around a bit when used with a mag fed rifle that is fired quite rapidly. Also while most tactical matches disallow F-Class style bipods, I thought I would see how quickly the Trakker would be to adjust for shots at varying distances out of a mag-fed rifle as this may be relevant to varmint shooters.
Trakker on PGW Coyote
So, how did the Trakker perform? All shooting was done this week at theMission Rod and Gun Club at distances of 100, 200 and 300 using my F-Open 6mmBR Barnard-Krieger, my F/TR .308 RPA-Krieger and the aforementioned Anschutz-rail equipped PGW Coyote.
Installation of the Trakker on each of the three rifles wasa breeze – far easier than the little bit finicky Centershot and the knurled knob was even easier than the MPOD – so, if the ability to put a bipod on yourrifle quickly (and remove it as quickly) is important to you then, in this regard, the Trakker delivers.
Trakker - Easily Attaches To Rail
Once installed, the Trakker felt as solid as even the most demanding shooter could ask for. Well maybe not quite as solid as the Remple but that one I put in a class of its’own as, once attached, the Remple feels like you have welded a SEB rest to the forestock. Anyway, nobody can possibly complain about the Trakker – a stable and solid lock-up for sure.
Trakker - A Stable Platform
Shooting off both of the RPA and Barnard at a pace comparable to that of a match the Trakker felt great, the ski-pods worked as designed coming back in a straight line on the carpeted ramp off of which I was shooting -no bounce like often experienced with the rubber footed Harris. So if ‘return to battery’ is important to you- and it should be – again, the Trakker delivers.
Trakker's Ski Pod Feet
As I played around with the bipod, I began to really like the elevation adjustment – even more than I like the capstan turn wheel on the Remple – for me the Trakker's system just really worked well. Cant also worked well but I think I prefer the single lever system rather than the Trakker's double lever though I can see that the double lever may be better if shooting off uneven terrain.
So far, and off both target rifles the Trakker passed with flying colours. Mounting it on the Coyote and with three magazines to hand I shot at 100 and 300 deliberate and, changing bipod elevation only, quickly shot at the 200 gong for hits without any difficulty at all.
Conclusion
This is a really nice piece of kit which came fully assembled and has its’ own neat little carry case. The Trakker is of a simple design yet it has great functionality. I think it is a bit better than the $400 or so carbon fibre Centershot and much better than the $200 or so Mystic MPOD but – and this can be a big ‘but’ - it is heavier than the Centershot (19 0z) and much heavier than the super-light MPOD which weighs a mere 12.8 Oz. In a game where fractions of an ounce can count, those are important numbers. Remember, compromises…..
Finally, and on the subject of compromises, I should talk about price. The Dolphin website lists theTrakker at GBP 165 and I’m advised that the Canadian retail price will be about $284 which, in my opinion, makes this a very good buy unless you absolutely can’t add the weight to your rifle and have to go for a lighter, lesser, bipod.
Hope you enjoyed the read and agree with me that it is nice to have yet another good product available to us.
Cheers,
Bob.
Trakker on F/TR Rifle
Ideally, the perfect bipod would manage a to achieve perfection notwithstanding a number of competing interests – it would be as stable as a front rest; it would be light; it would attach easily; it would be solid; it would manage elevation and cant and it wouldn’t cost more than the rifle it was intended to support. However since ideals are rarely, if ever, attained most of the better bipods achieve some, but not all, of those goals and the end user – you and I – have to decide which of the competing interests is most important to us and then figure out what product delivers and delivers within the price point we are prepared to pay.
There are two models of Dolphin Trakker - a Standard and Long - with the only real difference between the two being that the long is a bit taller for extra elevation and 100g heavier. What Peter supplied to me for review is the standard model which weighs 600g (21.2 ounces) and which, at first glance, reminded me of a hybrid, or cross, between a heavier and more sturdy version of the carbon fibre Centershot bipod and the MPOD from Mystic Precision both of which I reviewed in May of this year. (http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?756669-Updated-*A-Review-of-Four-Bipods-for-the-New-Tactical-Precision-Shooter)
A real demerit of some bipods I have reviewed is that, once attached to a rifle and with the shooter in the prone position, they cannot easily be adjusted for height or elevation with any degree of precision (MPOD) or, if so, it is in pre-set graduations like the notched- leg and very popular Harris. The better bipods - like theCentershot or the truly outstanding one made by Henry Remple – solve this problem by way of a capstan turn wheel under the center of the bipod which adds some mechanical complexity and, more importantly, weight. Before even attaching the Trakker to a rifle, I realised that Dolphin was onto something with regard to solving the problem of elevation– a simple rod threaded between the two legs with a turning knob on the left; ideally positioned for the off-hand of a right handed shooter. Cant is resolved by way of two easy to operate levers that work in a similar way to the single lever found on the S-type Harris, the Centershot and the Remple.
One of the Trakker's Cant-Adjusting Levers
Elevation Adjustment Rod
I wasn’t surprised to see that the test Trakker came with an attachment for an Anschutz rail since most target and F-Class rifles come with an Anschutz type rail but I understand that Dolphin can supply their bipod with a sling or swivel attachment if your rifle isn’t rail equipped. Fortunately, besides having rails on my F/TR and F-Open rifles, I also have a rail installed on one of my PGW Coyote rifles so, besides trying the Trakker on rifles of differing weights and calibers, I was also able to see how it performed using a rifle designed for a purpose other than pure single-shot target shooting. I think it is quite a good idea to do this as I have found some bipods that perform OK from a single shot target rifle tend to bounce around a bit when used with a mag fed rifle that is fired quite rapidly. Also while most tactical matches disallow F-Class style bipods, I thought I would see how quickly the Trakker would be to adjust for shots at varying distances out of a mag-fed rifle as this may be relevant to varmint shooters.
Trakker on PGW Coyote
So, how did the Trakker perform? All shooting was done this week at theMission Rod and Gun Club at distances of 100, 200 and 300 using my F-Open 6mmBR Barnard-Krieger, my F/TR .308 RPA-Krieger and the aforementioned Anschutz-rail equipped PGW Coyote.
Installation of the Trakker on each of the three rifles wasa breeze – far easier than the little bit finicky Centershot and the knurled knob was even easier than the MPOD – so, if the ability to put a bipod on yourrifle quickly (and remove it as quickly) is important to you then, in this regard, the Trakker delivers.
Trakker - Easily Attaches To Rail
Once installed, the Trakker felt as solid as even the most demanding shooter could ask for. Well maybe not quite as solid as the Remple but that one I put in a class of its’own as, once attached, the Remple feels like you have welded a SEB rest to the forestock. Anyway, nobody can possibly complain about the Trakker – a stable and solid lock-up for sure.
Trakker - A Stable Platform
Shooting off both of the RPA and Barnard at a pace comparable to that of a match the Trakker felt great, the ski-pods worked as designed coming back in a straight line on the carpeted ramp off of which I was shooting -no bounce like often experienced with the rubber footed Harris. So if ‘return to battery’ is important to you- and it should be – again, the Trakker delivers.
Trakker's Ski Pod Feet
As I played around with the bipod, I began to really like the elevation adjustment – even more than I like the capstan turn wheel on the Remple – for me the Trakker's system just really worked well. Cant also worked well but I think I prefer the single lever system rather than the Trakker's double lever though I can see that the double lever may be better if shooting off uneven terrain.
So far, and off both target rifles the Trakker passed with flying colours. Mounting it on the Coyote and with three magazines to hand I shot at 100 and 300 deliberate and, changing bipod elevation only, quickly shot at the 200 gong for hits without any difficulty at all.
Conclusion
This is a really nice piece of kit which came fully assembled and has its’ own neat little carry case. The Trakker is of a simple design yet it has great functionality. I think it is a bit better than the $400 or so carbon fibre Centershot and much better than the $200 or so Mystic MPOD but – and this can be a big ‘but’ - it is heavier than the Centershot (19 0z) and much heavier than the super-light MPOD which weighs a mere 12.8 Oz. In a game where fractions of an ounce can count, those are important numbers. Remember, compromises…..
Finally, and on the subject of compromises, I should talk about price. The Dolphin website lists theTrakker at GBP 165 and I’m advised that the Canadian retail price will be about $284 which, in my opinion, makes this a very good buy unless you absolutely can’t add the weight to your rifle and have to go for a lighter, lesser, bipod.
Hope you enjoyed the read and agree with me that it is nice to have yet another good product available to us.
Cheers,
Bob.
