Advanced Marksmanship Shooting With a Bipod?

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

I recently purchased a Savage Mk II BTVS. Along with this, I bought my first bipod ever. It's a Harris 6" to 9".

Problem is that it's too high. I thought it might be. My previous 'scoped .22 was shot off bags or a rucksack, very close to the ground.

My rear hand would be in a fist, and I would adjust height by tightening or loosening my fist.

The biggest problem with the bipod is not long range, but rather shorter range, shooting downslope. I just can't adjust my body high enough to get a stable hold to shoot well below horizontal to the ground (I usually shoot from a vantage point on my range about 5' up in the air).

I'm sure I'm missing some tricks here. The US Army Sniper's Manual does not cover much in the way of bipods - at least not the version I have (early 1990s). It's mostly shooting off the pack, and off field expedient supports.

Can someone help educate me please?

Thanks,

Josh <><

 

[Sterling Shooter]

Re: Shooting With a Bipod?

A bipod is not the last word in artificial support. Learn how to use a loop, as well as a hasty sling.

 

[Josh Smith]

Re: Shooting With a Bipod?

Hello,

I use the Hasty sling; haven't got the loop thing down yet, though I do like the one advertised for the AR series of rifles and am looking into getting one of those.

Josh <><

 

[Lindy]

Re: Shooting With a Bipod?

So fold up the bipod legs, and put them on the ground or on a sand sock.

 

[DaveV]

Re: Shooting With a Bipod?

Charles/Lindy,
Would a taller rear bag help with his existing bipod or would it change his NPA?

 

[Lindy]

Re: Shooting With a Bipod?

NPA is about being straight behind the rifle, so the rifle sights move the minumum possible amount off the target during recoil. It doesn't matter how the rifle is supported.

 

[DaveV]

Re: Shooting With a Bipod?

So a higher rear support could be an effective option?

 

[Lindy]

Re: Shooting With a Bipod?

Well, I can't quickly locate a picture of someone shooting essentially straight down off the top deck of the tower at Rifles Only, which is 22 feet in the air. You do what you can to find a stable position. Improvise, adapt, overcome.

 

[Sterling Shooter]

Re: Shooting With a Bipod?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DaveV</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Charles/Lindy,
Would a taller rear bag help with his existing bipod or would it change his NPA?</div></div>

Who knows, one thing is for sure though, you need to learn first how to shoot unsupported prone. This will help you with mental management: first bringing the stock to the head, rather than head to stock, then, with the butt in the pocket formed when bringing the stock to the shoulder, you can get a good chipmunk stockweld. Now, with a consistent relationship between eyeball and eyepiece, you can adjust NPA to get the desired relationship between and reticle and target. While adjusting NPA use the elbow of the non-firing arm as a pivot point; and, keep the non-firing hand as close to under the handguard as possible, as you want bone rather than muscle support of the rifle. Also, grip the handguard with the non-firing hand only enough to control it.

I mention the fundementals, since shooters without the benefit of formal training are likely to be distracted by the scope or target and simply forget about everything that's really important to good support for the firing task.

 

[Travelor]

Re: Shooting With a Bipod?

You need to get the Harris BR model and be sure to get the one with swiveling and notched legs. It is shorter, swivels to allow correct shooting on uneven ground and the notched legs keep things from slipping down during shooting.

 

[sobrbiker883]

Re: Shooting With a Bipod?

6-9 is the BR model.
In the original post's scenario, folding the legs up and supporting rifle with a sling or bag would be fine.

I do agree with SterlingShooter, all the accessories and optics are all there to be used in support of fundamental marksmanship skills, not in place of them.

 

[LoneWolfUSMC]

Re: Shooting With a Bipod?

Fold it up and set it on a bean bag. Or grab the front sling swivel with your fist and use that to support the front of the rifle.

Get creative. There isn't a wrong way to engage the target as long as you hit it and the safety rules are not violated.

 

[M700]

Re: Shooting With a Bipod?

Josh, ol' Sterling Shooter knows what he's doing with the long-range/prone/sling stuff... Well worth paying some attention to a High Master shooter. The fundamentals translate pretty well to bipod use too.

Somewhere, perhaps long buried, there's an old article by a long-forgotten poster named "Froggy" all about shooting well from a bipod... Not sure where that is anymore. Worth a read. It's also buried in the archives somewhere at 6mmBR.com.

Regards, Guy