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Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

I made a fixed Bipod a while back which worked all right, the only problem was that it took up to much room, so I took it to pieces and made a folding unit similar to a Harris Bipod, and I must say it works very well.

Al

AirGunEric · Site Admin

That's nice! Alot neater than the first version you had, too. Looks A-1. Are those little gas struts on there to hold the legs down?

23ib0d0n · Moderator

Very custom looking. Yes Nod

Were you able to keep it light weight?

StevieLaner7777 · Moderator

Hi Al

Looks good! Hopefully this next weeks target competition will allow the use of rests so you'll be able to test it out in a competitive environment lols!

Eric - I think Al just used shrink tube around the Extension springs to stop them from pinching or getting caught in branches if he was hunting or something.

Also Al - Have you thought about using a small yet strong Compression springs that would go inside the top of both of the legs of the Bi-pod to help index the leg to either the folded or non-folded position?

Stevie Thumb Up!

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

The struts are springs, but I slid a length of shrink tube over them and just heated the ends so that the spring is sealed inside, the springs I have used are compression types with a special connection ( see photo ) these work better than ordinairy types but require protection to stop snagging.

The weight is quite low at 7.1/2 oz most of it is aluminium only the base is steel, and from what little testing I have done it seems allright

Al

StevieLaner7777 · Moderator

Hi Al

That's a clever looking spring mechanism there! Took me awhile to figure out how it worked. I haven't seen anything like that before! Did you invent that spring mechanism yourself or was it something you've seen before or found in the shelf???

Stevie Thumb Up!

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

Hi Stevie I think we posted at the same time. The spring connection system is handy if you only have compression springs, also you can make the ends any length you like, the spring system is used extensively in the textile industry because the spring is more stable than a expansion spring over a greater length of movement.

I'm not sure what you mean about putting a spring in the top of each leg Stevie, do you mean to push the inner leg out ?

Al

StevieLaner7777 · Moderator

Hi Al

Yeah! I think we did post at the same time lols!

I'll remember that spring system if I ever need to use it in the future!

As for the what I said earlier about the spring being on the inside of the tube:
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/StevieLaner7777/Gunpower_bi-pod_montaz_det.jpg
Notice you cannot see the spring that keeps it either open or closed as it is in the inside of the tube, This way it cannot get caught on anything, stays smooth and looks really Kooll!

Stevie Thumb Up!

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

I see what you mean now Stevie, Yes it does look neat and tidy, I will probably have a go at that system next time round, good idea. Idea

Al

Hilly DownUnder · Member

That's a neat job, Al. Looks quite professional really. Most probably works better than a shop-bought one as well.
Have any other readers noticed that bipods can be a bit of a pain at times, especially if the ground is less than dead-level? My first bipod was a Harris and it took me too much fiddling to get the rifle so that the scope was vertical. Then I came across a Harris "clone" that has a swivel in the centre so you can get the rifle vertical even if the ground is less than level. Makes things a whole lot easier for these old bones, no more stretching to adjust legs that seem intent on doing just what you don't want them to do with the most noise they can make.

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

Hi Hilly
I can see your point about getting your scope level etc, I have made bipods with top swivels and side to side swing, but I think it depends what you are using your gun for, I do mostly target shooting and the scope is always zeroed in so it does not matter whether the scope is square or not, if you are using somthing like a mill dot for hunting then it is important. I did make one with top swivel which was quite good, but a sod to fold away.

A long time back a guy used to come to a rifle club I used to frequent, and he had a side to side swing on his bipod, but on the fore stock where his left index finger rested was a trigger which you pulled to unlock the swing unit on the bipod, when the scope was level you released the trigger and locked the bipod up again, this was very quick and worked well but at the time we thought it a bit over the top, as this was before the days of mill dot scopes all his scope had was a cross with a center ring which he used to calculate the range.

Al

Hilly DownUnder · Member

Now that trigger release for the bipod seems to be a really good idea. I just came home with another bipod to play with (gotta try them out before you can recomend them to paying customers!) which will both cant and swivel, so allowing for some limited sideways movement for following game or repositioning onto another target.
Will try this out on my HW100T, should be fun.