Harris Bipod headache

[lakota]

I just got the harris for prone/benchrest, for my .222 Contender Carbine. When I shoot off of my plain old home made plywood bipod this rifle is a sub .50 MOA gun. With the bipod attached I get vertical stringing and windage is off as well. I epoxied the front swivel stud into the forearm and the bipod attaches rock-solid so there is no movement other than the normal flexion of the legs with recoil. I normaly shoot with a bag loosely filled of rice under the buttstock. I was excited over this gadget beacuse it would mean one less thing to carry while woodchuck hunting. Anyone experienced a similar problem?

Scott.

[ReedG]

Hi Scott:

Don't have any experience with a Contender, but my Ruger won't shoot off a bench with a bipod unless I put something under the legs to cushion them from the "bounce effect" off the bench. Even something like a few layers of shirt or jacket will do. If you want to shoot from the bench often, maybe a strip of dense packing foam or the like would work. Give it a try and let me/us know what happens.

[dakotashooter2]

I have to concur with the comment on forend pressure. While I don't experience the stringing that you do, there is a distinct difference in point of impact when shooting off the bags. Some say attachment to a barrel band stud is better. Someone had a custom forend screw/stud made and reported that it solved the forearm pressure issue. I also have an issue with the bounce experienced with the harris. I have wondered if it is not the result of the spring tension that keeps the legs in place. I think that on recoil the legs are kicked and they "spring back" causing the jump. I wonger if some sort of locking system would eliminate this.

[KN]

Is your barrel free floated? If not this could be part of the problem.  KN

[Javelina]

Hello Lakota,

I certainly agree with KN, your barrel should at least be free-floated.  You can use washers, pillar-bedding, a hangar-bar, or even PVC tape - but use something!  Also, if you have a wooden forend that is a longer than normal (somewhere in excess of 8-9 inches), the wooden forend might be introducing some harmonics into the equation that you don't really want - you may also want to consider a laminated hangar-bar forend (preferably glassed-in) with a sling swivel stud for more rigidity but this is not mandatory.

I have seen the following be a problem (because I'm the one who did it!).  When installing a sling swivel stud, don't remove any more wood than necessary - keep as much forend wood thickness as you can between the external portion of the stud and the nut holding it on from the inside, this can be critical I found out.  I removed too much wood on one of my installations, and had to glass-in the nut itself and fill the hole with Marine-Tex to keep the stud from moving slightly (forward) during recoil.  Once it was glassed-in, the rigidity and associated accuracy returned, but of course I probably won't get the stud out without some high-explosive of some sort!

I hope this information is helpful.

Good and safe shooting to you!  

Javelina

[Kevin Reints]

just for what it is worth

i have the Encore 26 inch heavy in 22.250= done some stuff on my for arm
you might like to try this took 2  pcs. of allumanom
.250  thick  left them flat on one side put radis  on other
side the same as the barrel dirll hole in center bout
.30 thou. larger then the screw took some glue put small
dab on the flat side  and stuck them in the for arm  to
hold them in place turn for arm over take flat bottom bit
and drill screw hole deeper  .100 thou. put screw back
in and tighten thhem down and let glue dry over night

my range is in my back yard shot 20 rounds befor i did this
it shot all over 2 inches@100yds now when I got done with
it my gun that is  
I can shoot 20 rounds in .380 @ 100yards it dont seem
like the same gun. it's good to see something that works

[lakota]

Thanks everyone for your suggestion. I am going to hang on to the bi pod and I will play with the bedding during the off season.


Scott.