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Pic Rail vs Arca Swiss for Bipod

Nemesis Lead

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
May 2, 2014
130
7
Alamo, CA
I am curious if anyone who runs their bipods on Arca Swiss Rails have had any issues with them coming loose or coming off during competition?

I know that the quality of the Arca Swiss mount (and the quality of the rail) will certainly make a difference, but I am trying to gauge people's actual experiences.

I am just wondering how far I can trust the Arca Swiss lock up vs the (rock solid) Pic Rail lock up.
 
I'm running a Ckye-pod on an Area 419 Universal rail mounted under a KRG Whiskey 3 and I've never had an issue with it moving.

I've run 3 matches with it in all sorts of positions and it just stays put, as it should.

Go with quality components and they won't let you down.
 
i have never had issues with a properly dimensions Really Right Stuff dovetail (not arca swiss, there is a difference) or with a pic mount.

i run the RRS mounts on my atlas for this reason, pic on spigot, RRS cut on MPA. or area 419 rail on manners.
 
I just got the rrs harris pic/arca combo mount on an mdt acc and the first thing I did was try to force it to slide. Unless that knob is loosened it’s not going anywhere.
 
No issues here as well. Arca is on all my platforms now and I converted all the bipods, mainly Harris and Atlas. If you are still concerned look at the Area419 version
 
It is a friction lock, there is a possibility for movement depending on how much force you put on it. On the rails we make (hopefully other people do it as well) we thread multiple holes underneath so you can install two safety stop screws wherever you see fit. They act like a picatinny lug. So you can slide your mount all along your rail as free as a bird until you hit the wall and it'll stop there. It is what we do at the shop and on my personal rifles. Just put the stop on the very end where I do my prone LR shooting and zero, sometimes I will put two more safety stops 6.5" away from my magazine and i can utilize those 2 with my bipod as a barricade wedge.
 
Thank you, all. This is very good to know. I think I may move to an all Arca system.

I would have figured that an Arca bipod might fail if used as a barricade stop, for example.
 
The Arca (dovetail) system is much, much better than pic rails individually, but having the option to use both (RRS pro clamps) is easily the best option.

The only time I’ve been able to make a bipod slide on an Arca rail is if I’m using it as a means to “clamp” onto a barricade, usually using the front of the magwell and rear of the bipod. Luckily there’s an easy fix for that and it’s called a Gamechanger.
 
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I use the rrs clamps on my atlas’ and run pic rails on both my spigot mounts where my bipod stays most of the time that way I get 100% solid mount unless I need the shorter footprint I do find after a while the clamps will eventually move on my mpa dovetail and a sawtooth rail but that may be a dimensional thing rrs clamp and rail/plate may be more positive but so far this is the best solution I’ve found RRS btc-pro clamps or there qd clamps are a must dosent commit you to either system
 
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I use the rrs clamps on my atlas’ and run pic rails on both my spigot mounts where my bipod stays most of the time that way I get 100% solid mount unless I need the shorter footprint I do find after a while the clamps will eventually move on my mpa dovetail and a sawtooth rail but that may be a dimensional thing rrs clamp and rail/plate may be more positive but so far this is the best solution I’ve found RRS btc-pro clamps or there qd clamps are a must dosent commit you to either system

Can you post a picture of the RRS clamp you use?
 
It's nice not having a cheese grater on the forend if you don't need it.
 
If you’re looking for the best rail to use your bipod with them get the Ingenuity Gunworks rail. Fastest system for moving bipod on the rail or to remove when under time. And it won’t move unless you want it to.
 
The Area 419 rails have serations and do not rely on friction alone. I would recommend this over a pic rail all day!
 
I've seen a decent number of (edit: Non-locking. I've yet to see issues with the 419 Arca Lock) Arca type setups slide under recoil, and some chassis brands getting dents in the dovetail deep enough to stop the adapter from sliding. Personally, I am partial to Anschutz for sliding bipod setups, but the RRS dovetail is freaking awesome when paired with an Anvil ball head for tripod work.
 
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So how does my atlas bipod connect to that clamp? Are there cheaper connection clamps out there?
There are a couple others out there that are cheaper (KRG, etc), but none that allow ARCA/RRS and/or Picatinny.
 
For my MPA comp chassis, I prefer the RRS lever clamp for my Atlas over the knob clamp. If i need to move it from the spigot to under the chassis, it takes almost no time to move. The only issue I've ever had was with the MPA dovetail spigot adapter being a hair too narrow. Once I replaced it with a Sawtooth Rifles dovetail adapter, I've had zero problems with the clamp moving under recoil
 
I run the RRS rail with the RRS pro clamp. Locks up rock solid.

The RRS clamp will mount to the Atlas with two mounting screws.

The RRS is worth the $ as it is solid and versatile to go from pic to dovetail.

The lever is quicker when going between pic and dovetail in a hurry.
But the knob style is quicker if you’re just adjusting back and forth on the same dovetail rail. You just quickly loosen a bit to slide it without disengaging the mount all the way.
 
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There are a couple others out there that are cheaper (KRG, etc), but none that allow ARCA/RRS and/or Picatinny.

So, I have my ATLAS BIPOD.... and all I need is this "Really Right Stuff BTC-Pro Clamp for Atlas Bipods" that costs 70 bucks and it will attach directly to my bipod? Or Do I need an adapter that sits between my ATLAS Bipod and the pro clamp?
 
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So, I have my ATLAS BIPOD.... and all I need is this "Really Right Stuff BTC-Pro Clamp for Atlas Bipods" that costs 70 bucks and it will attach directly to my bipod? Or Do I need an adapter that sits between my ATLAS Bipod and the pro clamp?

You have options. If your Atlas has a picatinny rail clamp, you can go with the MPA RAT picatinny adapter, which is a dovetail clamp with a picatinny rail section on the bottom. $90

If you have a No Clamp Atlas, or you remove the picatinny clamp, then you can use the BTC Pro, which screws right down to the Atlas' head and will clamp into either a picatinny rail or a dovetail. $70

If you want a lever clamp instead of a the BTC Pro's screw knob, then you need the RRS B&T clamp adapter with a lever release. $140 to $160, depending on the size of the lever
 
I thought all Atlas Bi-pods were default NC? When you ordered one a certain way, it just had the adapter attached to the NC face with the inverted slot (solid rail)...

@Kasey is this correct?
 
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I agree with Marine, i think all these mate to the Atlas base, so RRS, MPA rat, or area 419 will all directly mount to the Atlas base and enable dove rail mounting