Bipod affects rifle accuracy??

[WhitetailKiller]

Hey guys so i recently built a rem 700 for long range hunting i had the rifle completely bedded but im scared if i put the bipod on it it could cause the stock (which is a hogue fyi) to flex and shift my POI.

 

[MikeInOr]

I would guess that when you had the action bedded that they floated the barrel (so the barrel doesn't touch the stock). With the bipod on the end of the stock the stock still should not touch the barrel... i.e. the stock should not affect the barrel so the tripod should not affect point of impact.

 

[stillquietvoice]

Hey guys so i recently built a rem 700 for long range hunting i had the rifle completely bedded but im scared if i put the bipod on it it could cause the stock (which is a hogue fyi) to flex and shift my POI.

First what is long range to you. Is the barrel channel bedded or the action. Most don't bed the channel but it has been done. As long as you have enough clearance between the barrel and stock got end it shouldnt be an issue.

I have a factory stocks on my sps and m11, both have bipods. I don't have poi shifts with either one, but I did open the barrel channel up so I didn't get contact when using the pods. I shoot both of them at 300 meters regularly on paper and steel to prepare for hunting season.

I live in NY and don't have many places to hunt real long ranges often. Most of my deer have been under 100 in heavy woods, but have taken game out to 250.

 

[edwardware]

. . . for long range hunting. . . the stock (which is a hogue fyi)

These two things don't go together, for any usual definition of 'long range'.

Hogue's Flexible Flyer stocks are. . . flexible. Even if the bipod doesn't flex the forend into barrel contact, the flexing is going to be an issue.

As @stillquietvoice said, what do you mean by 'long range'?

 

[dave951]

Define "completely bedded".

The Hogue stock, while good, is flexible. While under normal conditions I wouldn't expect much issue if you take the flexibility into account, I don't think it's going to work as well as you'd like.

 

[jmr40]

Most Hogue stocks have an aluminum chassis which is about as rigid a system as is possible. The same principle used by B&C and HS Precision. And even the ones without the chassis are stiffer than 99% of factory stocks. On top of that, even the most flexible stocks out there are more accurate than 99% of the folks shooting them. This is a non issue unless you're trying to shoot groups in the .1-.2 MOA range. There are lots of rifles in cheap Tupperware stocks that will shoot . 5MOA with no modification.

Your bipod won't effect accuracy. You MIGHT find POI different when using a bipod vs shooting off sand bags, might not. But that is simply a matter of adjusting the scopes zero if there is any difference.

When you say that you had the rifle completely bedded do you mean the barrel is bedded the entire length of the stock? That isn't really common anymore, but some custom rifle builders and gunsmiths still do it. That used to be pretty common but has fallen out of favor with most. It can work, but generally most people consider a free floated barrel is more consistent over full length bedding. And even bedding the action isn't as common as it once was, especially with synthetic stocks. Most advise shooting 1st. If it shoots fine leave it alone.

 

[nipprdog]

Hey guys so i recently built a rem 700 for long range hunting i had the rifle completely bedded but im scared if i put the bipod on it it could cause the stock (which is a hogue fyi) to flex and shift my POI.

Well, for long range shooting(btw, you indicate yardage), you're going to have to rest the stock on something. Why would a bipod be any different than a bag, your knee, a rifle rest, etc?

 

[JDGray]

Bipods take a bit of time to get used to, and to shoot good groups with. They add a variable into the accuracy mix, and variables are what you want to eliminate for good groups. A good stock will not flex because of a bipod.

 

[horsey300]

Hey guys so i recently built a rem 700 for long range hunting i had the rifle completely bedded but im scared if i put the bipod on it it could cause the stock (which is a hogue fyi) to flex and shift my POI.

Generally agreed with everything posted so far but will include that the precision may increase but YOUR accuracy may need extra practice. Keeping pressure even on the loading into the pod will make a difference.

 

[JDGray]

I develop loads on a rest, with a rear bag, but I zero my rifle like I shoot it, with the bipod and a squeeze bag. I've shot many 5rd, same hole groups with a bipod, off a hard surface, no loading. Same off the ground, while loading, you just need to do it exactly the same each shot. Practice makes perfect!

 

[WhitetailKiller]

I mean “long range” as shots past 400 in hunting scenarios.

 

[WhitetailKiller]

The rifle without the bipod is doing dime sized 5 shot groups off the bench @100 i guess ill try with the bipod and see the barrel does touch the stock fyi with weight on the bipod

 

[Walkalong]

I suspect the rifle/you well do just as will with the bipod with a little practice.

 

[d2wing]

I mean “long range” as shots past 400 in hunting scenarios.

I don't recommend shooting at deer at over 400 yards in any case. The odds of a clean one shot kill go down pretty rapidly beyond that range. In my experience anyway.

 

[BigBL87]

Which hogue stock do you have? That makes a difference, as their full length bed block stocks are pretty sturdy and it would take alot to flex one enough to matter.

 

[Captcurt]

It takes a lot of practice to get decent with a bipod. I'm not there yet and I doubt very seriously if it is my stock. It is a Bergara B-14 Hunter. Not through playing with it but I shoot a lot better off of a padded rest, be it sand bags or a back pack.

 

[d2wing]

I am wondering how you are going to get a long shot from the prone position anyway. I have a hard time getting a clear shot kneeling.

 

[Varminterror]

I am wondering how you are going to get a long shot from the prone position anyway. I have a hard time getting a clear shot kneeling.

Just takes pre-planning in the right territory.

 

[horsey300]

There are some places you'll only get longer shots, personally I only take those kind of shots when I am prone. Prone with a bipod is stable enough to put holes where they need to be at those ranges if the shooter is proficient enough with his/her weapon. Practice pays and the right gear adds interest to the payout. As varmint points out, planning counts. For late season pronghorn that have seen plenty of pressure, just figure on a long distance zero, a hilltop in or on the edge of an alfalfa field, and stop crawling before they get too nervous and bolt. Some of the late season deer seemed to have gone to pronghorn school this year as well. So far this year the 2 late season pronghorn harvested by my friends averaged shots of 235 yards. 1 was 70 yds, the other was 500 on the dot. Both drt 1 shot kills, and at 500 yds we were absolutely prone on pods. 500 yd shooter had good glass, lots of practice all year and good ammo, the 70 yd shooter had luck.

I am wondering how you are going to get a long shot from the prone position anyway. I have a hard time getting a clear shot kneeling.

Just takes pre-planning in the right territory.

 

[d2wing]

There are some places you'll only get longer shots, personally I only take those kind of shots when I am prone. Prone with a bipod is stable enough to put holes where they need to be at those ranges if the shooter is proficient enough with his/her weapon. Practice pays and the right gear adds interest to the payout. As varmint points out, planning counts. For late season pronghorn that have seen plenty of pressure, just figure on a long distance zero, a hilltop in or on the edge of an alfalfa field, and stop crawling before they get too nervous and bolt. Some of the late season deer seemed to have gone to pronghorn school this year as well. So far this year the 2 late season pronghorn harvested by my friends averaged shots of 235 yards. 1 was 70 yds, the other was 500 on the dot. Both drt 1 shot kills, and at 500 yds we were absolutely prone on pods. 500 yd shooter had good glass, lots of practice all year and good ammo, the 70 yd shooter had luck.

Just wondering. Where I hunt I rarely see bare ground, Normally grass would be higher than the scope. And of course you don't use a bipod on an elevated stand. So I was wondering if the OP hunts in that type of terrain and if a Bipod would be moot anyway. Like you said it depends on terrain.

 

[BrocLuno]

Slide a dollar bill between the barrel and the stock directly over the bi-pod. Does it drag or stick in any way when the rifle is resting on the bi-pod? If so it may affect things. If not it won't matter is my bet

 

[Picher]

This is a bipod I built around 1959 in my dad's plumbing shop when I was about 15, mostly for woodchuck hunting. It would probably hold a truck! It fits in my back pocket and I'd jam it onto the ground then set my customized Savage 110, '06 on it. Can't beat it for steadiness, but it could have been a few inches taller. After scoring a woodchuck, I've left it in the ground on occasion, but it proved a very stable rest. I'd rest my forend at a convenient spot where I could hold the rest and the forend with my left hand. The top was electrical tape over felt wrap.

 

[Picher]

The bipod was made from stiff 1/2" tubing that I had to anneal with flame to soften parts that I wanted to bend. The cross-piece was hammered to fit, then soldered. The bottom was hammered and bent together to minimize dirt intrusion. It worked best when there was a slight rise in the ground, so I was more comfortable and could see better from prone. Photo is of my only centerfire, a Savage 110, 30-06 with a stock I made from a Bishop semi-inletted blank. Being 15 or so and kinda poor, I could only afford a Weaver K 2.5X scope, but it killed more than a few varmints and a deer. The only power tool I owned was a single-speed 1/4" Black and Decker drill. Used files and a sanding pad to get it the way I wanted it. It took quite a while. Finish was multiple coats of thinned varnish.

 

[cougar1717]

The only way to know if the POI changes with the bipod is to..... actually test it and learn how to consistently shoot it. That's why there are answers like "It shouldn't shift" or "that's a good stock". We don't even know the kind of bipod or if the plan is for it to be on stable ground or on a truck hood.

I hope this is not all for academia - OP has been slowplaying details a little. I just hope it is not revealed that it's a custom rifle on a terrible quality bipod, or some other rickety monopod trigger stick, or some sitting bipod with 24" legs with an overexpectation of a wonder caliber at long distance.

At the end, it is about consistency. That also includes aspects like sling stud pressure, how the bipod legs are loaded (or not), and parallax in the scope due to the possible difference in eye location.

 

[Picher]

I've seen people at the range using "field-type" bipods and in looking at the shooting results have often seen some shot stringing. Bipods seem okay at short ranges, but those I've tried didn't seem to have the stability I desire for longer shots. They probably are better if the rifle barrel is free-floated from the receiver to the end of the forend.