Best budget bipod?

Don't think there's much difference between the Harris copies, I get the cheapest one you fine. Maybe find a used harris

I have used a few of the CVLufe ones from Amazon, on .223 and .30/06. They have held up fine. The only issue I had, was one of the pins for the sling mount fell out. I tack-welded both of them, and never had another problem.

I just did a search on ebay. There are a few used ones up for auction. If you can swing it, I'd try to get a Harris. They really are worth what they sell for new.

I think I prefer the ones with the grooves cut in the legs that lock into place. Caldwell, I think.

Spend the money on a Harris. You are better off in the long run.

Save up and get a Harris. I had a Caldwell, and it isn't worth the money you save. Used my old Stevens in .243 Win. with a Harris bipod to take the antelope shown in my avatar prone at 318 yards last fall in Montana.

igotta40 said:

I think I prefer the ones with the grooves cut in the legs that lock into place. Caldwell, I think.

Click to expand...

The ones with the grooves in the legs are handy for setting the legs to equal lengths, if you're on a flat surface. This is fine if you just want the bipod for messing around just to hold the front of the rifle up while you squeeze the trigger; but if you want to do any sort of real shooting and are trying to reach out past 300 yards or so, the problem I had was that when you get on the rifle from a prone position and lean into the bipod, the legs tend to spin and it keeps you from getting adequate tension on the legs. I wound up removing the plugs in the locking clips and replacing them with thumbscrews so I could keep the legs from spinning. The set adjustment positions always seemed to leave me wishing they weren't so far apart too.

Ive had a few of the cvlife pods, no issues. They have done fine for everything I've used them on.
I've had the carbon one and the aluminum, and I'd recommend saving the money and getting the aluminum.....if that ever becomes a question.

I Do have a 9-13" Harris (thanks again Troy) that's bedded to my .280s stock, truthfully I can tell much of a difference in build quality, but I REALLY like the tension lock legs over the notches. They take a little longer to set up, but are offer more consistent adjustments.

If your shooting a notch leg and can't get enough cant, just loosen you tension screw slightly and you should be able to get where you need to be without the pod coming off the gun.....'least IVE never had a pod come off.....watch now it will happen.

I've owned both leg types. I like the tension lock better, but if the bipod is the correct size for your use then it does not matter to much. The tension legs I feel more planted then notch when loading the bipod. I have a notched 6-12 think that's the size I use, I've gotten used to grabbing a leg and using my hand to level the gun.

I have the longest tension Harris to, got that for sit hunting for varmints and such. works good but if used like intended sitting on your but I almost need to be up a hill to see the target.

I've learned to not really care much for the tilt on a bipod, not worth the weight of a already heavy bipod. Plus if you forget and set your rifle down, newtons law says it will fall over only when your far enough away not to catch the gun.

OP what are you using them for? A bipod for a hunting rifle is going to be different than a bipod for a competition rifle etc.

ColtPythonElite said:

Spend the money on a Harris. You are better off in the long run.

Click to expand...

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^. Buy once cry once.

Those “cheap” bipods are often unlicensed Chinese knockoffs of American companies, don’t buy them

at least get a Harris, eBay or various forum classifieds are good places to look for a used one, but don’t support Chinese knockoffs

I have 2 a 6-9 in Harris swivel and a 9-13 Caldwell.

The Harris has tension legs with rubber feet. The rubber feet don't bounce as much as the hard plastic feet on the Caldwell and dont slide as much from the bench.

For prone I like the longer legs.

I have a Harris HB25C with the three piece legs and mount to the sling swivel and it does not get used much. Just too heavy and ungainly. It's nice for sitting in tall grass groundhog or coyote hunting and not much else.

I also have one of the little (6-9 inch) Harris/LaRue bipods with the LaRue QD mount and that is pretty handy if your gun has a pic-rail to mount it to. It has some some cant motion and is very rigid.

My favorite, but definitely not budget, is my chassis gun is sporting an Atlas bipod. By far the best bipod I have used. The ability to pose the legs every 45 deg between straight forward and straight back is very nice. It also has both cant and pan degrees of freedom. It is a rock solid bipod.

I have used, but don't currently own, the Magpul bipod. Magpul makes several mounting option and have recently added a sling swivel mount to the original pic-rail and M-Lok. One cool feature of the Magpul bipod is the ability to lock out the pan feature if you want to. This is handy depending on the use. The Magpul is just a touch more spendy than the Harris -rambling.

ETA: but in all honesty if I am not shooting at a range, but hunting then I am most often carrying a pair of homemade shooting sticks. Just two peices of 3/4" square popular with a bolt through them to make an "X" and leather stapled to the top legs to protect the rifle's finish. Shot a lot of critter over that super light pair of shooting sticks. When I am walking they get stuck through my backpack straps between me and the pack, to keep my hands free.

I bougt a cheap Harris imitation for $22 sometime ago. Complete watse of money. If you buy quality equipment, you'll never be sorry.

I have both a Harris, and a cheaper Chinese clone that I got some time ago (can't remember the brand, but maybe Caldwell?). I gotta tell you, the clone is an exact copy of the Harris at least as viewed externally. The only difference is that the foam pad that is glued-on is smooshed on the copy. Needless to say, they both perform the same. I guess that I got lucky.

IronsightJM said:

It would be for hunting. Just something to rest it on to get a more stabilized shot

Click to expand...

Then talleright be better, easier to see over low grass or other objects.

I have a Harris and a Caldwell. With any amount of use it becomes clear that the Harris is built sturdier. That being said, I have no qualms using my Caldwell on my 22 and maybe even on my 223. I'd definitely stick to my Harris for anything that recoils more, though. I bought a 9-13 Harris and added a Podlock and a QD Picatinny Adapter (American Defense Manufacturing). All rifles but my 22 have a picatinny rail for a bipod so Injust switch it between the rifles as needed. Eventually I'll probably toss a pic rail on the 22 as well.

I started with Harris and as such, the cheap Chinese knock-off that came with one of my guns has never seen the light of day. You can smell the cheap through the packaging. Probably some coronavirus mixed in there too!

Did someone say cheap?

I probably have one or two of those gawd-awful stamped M-14 pods around here too. Not worth looking for.

Todd.

ApacheCoTodd said:

Did someone say cheap?

I probably have one or two of those gawd-awful stamped M-14 pods around here too. Not worth looking for.

Todd.
View attachment 901224

Click to expand...

They make for great fishing rod holders for bank fishing. Use a peace of tape around the rod.

troy fairweather said:

They make for great fishing rod holders for bank fishing. Use a peace of tape around the rod.

Click to expand...

Hell of an idea. Never thought of that. It'll make the napping much easier.

Todd.