(courtesy makogroup.com)

“The quick deployment TAR Podium bipod provides stability when you have to go prone or are shooting off of an uneven surface,” makogroup.com proclaims. As does any bipod, really. But we highlight its online availability because, well, look at the thing. The lightweight, push-button bipod makes the Tavor look like one of the Star Wars walking thingies. We’re looking forward to testing the TAR Podium on a Tavor. Meanwhile, do you have a bipod on your rifle? OK, sure, you have one for your long-range long gun. But what about your modern sporting rifle (as they are wont to be called). If so, which one, why and how often do you use it?

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51 COMMENTS

  1. My long range gun is a modern sporting rifle… does that count?

    Seriously though, I own a Tavor and I have zero interest in that…. thing.

  2. On any precision rifle that may need to be mobile to be effective a bipod will add to a stable shooting platform but the con of added weight is in my opinion too big a drawback. A few lightweight quality range bags as shooting rests are easier to carry, not permanent to the firearm, and are more versatile.

  4. I own a Tavor as well….and can’t think of why I would every need this thing considering the purpose of that purchase was for a CQB urban environment senarios. Fun gun though…once I put the Gieselle in it.

  5. On most carbines it’s the dumbest thing ever. It only adds weight and will rarely be used. But especially on a 5.56/.223 AR. One exception is a .308 AR, even a 16″ one. But other than that, it’s garbage on 90% of AR carbines.

  8. I don’t own any modern sporting rifles – just a bunch of AR-15s. None of them are for sporting purposes.

    What are these MSRs you speak of? Surely we know better than to give the appearance of legitimacy to the “only guns with sporting purpose are legitimate” mentality?

  9. Almost all my gats have bi-pods. From Harris to Atlas to Grip-pod.
    Now that I think on it, the only ones that don’t are mil-surp bolts and my .375. It’s to pretty to ugly up with a bi-pod.

    • Only Harris and Grip-pod so far for me. The Atlas units are excellent, just not in the budget when I’m trying to get a Colt Python .357 / Anacondo .44 purchase going.

      All these guys griping about a few extra ounces crack me up. I wonder how many of them are packing a bunch of extra pounds around the middle.

      • Stainless 6″ Python, I’m in the market myself. You two are going to get me spending more than I should. If I was going to walk out of the door and needed one pistol, that would be it. Plus, that was my dad’s gun and it’s hard not to think of it and him both.
        On the bipod, I have one on quite a few of my guns, bolt guns and ARs alike. If I don’t have them on the gun, I have one, usually a Harris but I have a couple of Atlas bipods as well, on LaRue quick detach mounts in the gun bags. On the Atlas, after using one for a while, I find it very hard to buy another Harris, or anything else for that mattter. It’s that good.

      • If you aren’t counting ounces on your rifle then I’m going to assume one of two things.

        1. You have never had to carry a rifle farther than the distance from your safe to the car or the car to the range bench.

        Or

        2. Your sole experience with rifles involve never having to be more than 10 feet from somewhere you could put it down. Ever.

        Otherwise you would know that ounces add up quickly.

        • Your assumptions are incorrect. It is my experience carrying a rifle for long distances, every day, in temperatures over 100 degrees to well below zero, then having to sit, stand, or lay behind it for indeterminate amounts of time, that shapes my opinion on need for an available bipod.

        • jwtaylor,

          the above comment was not intended as a reply to you, but to another commentor above, Accur81.

          Forgive me, but my error was in not specifying as such.

          I am well aware of the experiences that have shaped your opinions and respect them immensely. My own experiences are very similar, although I believe different enough to have convinced me that, while bipods are an effective tool I find them to have distinct disadvantages over a few quality range bags.

          Cost. I can purchase 2-3 good range bags for around 50 bucks. Even the most basic Harris bipod is about 20 above that and the GGG bipods (I have the most experience with those) are closer to 150-200 bucks.

          Versatility. Irregular terrain is a bitch, as I’m sure you know. You need to get into the range of the GGG bipods to even begin to approach the ability of a range bag to conform to all types of irregular terrain.

          Weight. Not only does a bipod weigh more, but it is always on the rifle unless springing for the pricier QD models.

          Just my thoughts.

        • I packed an unloaded M16A2 20 miles through Camp Pendleton in full combat gear. I carried one past the peak of Mt. Motherfvcker. I’ve got no problem carrying 12 pounds of LTR .308 and a Bushnell XTR scope from 5:00 am till closing time through the forests and swamps of WI.

          Dragging 4 deer out of the woods from 1/4 to 1/3 mile to the nearest road? Definitely tiring.

        • “Because I can” usually isn’t the deciding factor on whether something is a good idea.

          Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

  11. I’ve always kept a bipod handy if not directly on my ARs and other MSRs. Because of modularity and quick detachableness of handguards, rails, studs, and bipods… even if I start a hunting trip without a bipod, I have the bipod in my pack just in case I find a use for it in the field. At the range, i find the various blocks and bags to be just as stable or stabler than bipods, so I may or may not use one at a range, but I have one handy.

    I’m wondering if that Tavor bipod is really usable when you’re prone, it looks like it would put the gun up too high, but the visual proportions might just be misleading because Tavor’s are much shorter than ARs.

    • Don’t forget that normally there’s the mag in the well. And the bottom of a 30-round mag is normally lower than the grip.

  12. Not sure why I’d want to negate the design of a carbine that was designed to be short, light, and mobile by hanging a seldom-used accessory off it. If you need to hit prone with a carbine in CQB (I don’t plan to, but have been trained to do it if needed) you’ll likely be shooting from some unconventional position anyway, like sideways under a vehicle or mall bench. In that case, the bipod would actually hinder your movement.

    Mako needs to design something more useful, like a laser designator to call in the smart drones, or a small key-mod espresso maker.

  15. 100% not feeling it. Something to show you’re more tacticool than your buddies is the vibe I’m getting.

  17. That looks really really really dumb.

    I am currently rifle-less, but I feel like a good shooting bag would be vastly superior to this.

  19. Hmmm. I ‘share’ a Harris SBRM on two of mine: .308 MSR and 20″ HBAR 5.56 MSR. And those only when needed. I only use it when I am proning on a mat or irregular terrain. It usually lives in a large molle magazine pouch (so it could be used no any of my railed uppers I suppose). For any other setup, my ruck works.

  20. I have one AR with an Atlas bipod (also wearing a 4x ACOG and 18″ Wylde barrel). It’s my “nice / precision” build. The bipod really only comes into play for desert shooting; my regular outdoor range has benches and I just shoot off sandbags.

    I have a Tavor, also, and I just can’t see using a bipod thingy with it. It would be a better compromise to use my precision AR in a CQB context than to try to figure out the ergonomics of aiming at far-away things with a Tavor-pod. Still, points for innovation, I guess.

  21. Nope. I have an Aimpoint on my AR so putting a bipod on it makes zero sense to me. I’ve been using the magazine as a monopod for years when shooting prone and never had a single issue with it.

  23. It seems like a lot of you are missing one of the key reasons why bipods are valuable. It isn’t just about taking a steady shot, it’s also about being able to sit, stand, or lay behind the gun for a while and be ready for the shot when it’s available.
    I also prefer a bag to shoot off of, instead of a bipod. And that really great for the range or anywhere you know you are going to be for a while. But if it’s your ruck, then you have to take your ruck off. In combat, or a hunt, do you know when are you going to put it on again? How fast will you have to do it? How much noise will you make taking it off and on again, how much more of a silhouette will you make doing the same? And is it a bag big enough to give you enough clearance from brush and be stable? Again, range day, counting on using your bag is no problem. But a big game hunt, or combat, ain’t a day at the range.

  24. I’ve got one on my .308 VTR but not my modern sporting Mini-14. The Remy’s more accurate off a sandbag though.

  25. My Sub MOA franken AR has a Blackhawk! bipod on it. I only use it for bench rest shooting. I could go pop some varmints with it, but I wouldn’t drag the thing around all day as it weighs a lot.

  26. I have Harris bipods on (some) of my bolt guns. I also have a 20″ AR with A2 handguards, and I have a swivel stud at the very end of the lower handguard for the sole purpose of putting a bipod there; but I very rarely do so.

    I also have a Grip-Pod on another AR, but I found it to be less useful than I expected. It’s not really a very good vertical grip, if you use grips as a kind of back hand stop instead of gripping them in your fist (which is my preferred way) because of that huge square block protruding where it’s mounted on the rail. And it’s so-so as a bipod, as well. All in all, doesn’t feel like it’s worth the weight on the rifle most of the time, but might be handy to carry in a bag in case it’s ever needed.

    What I would appreciate is a true QD bipod. The kind that can be slipped on the rail in 3 seconds tops, and can be removed in less than 1.

  28. I have an Atlas bipod on all of my long rifles as well as an Atlas monopod. That’s how I roll… And, yes, it gets expensive.

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