Saturday 24 October 2015

Can You Afford Not To Shoot Lighter?

It's a fair bet you've heard about it, maybe even seen it in the shop - that super light weight strong bipod made from some kind of space age plastic?

I won't bog you down with the technical data of tensile strength, cant and pan (If you are interested it's all here though) what I will tell you is about my experience with the bipod.



I recently undertook my first trip hill stalking Red Stags in Cumbria, I took my Sauer 101(My rifle has previously been modified with a QD stud on the bottom to fit a Neopod. There will shortly be an adapter available for the Sauer however.), in 6.5x55 SE in a synthetic stock with a 3-12x56 Helia C with a Riserva sling and my Vortex HD 8x42 Binoculars. I have used bipods previously but when we began to import the Steinert Neopod I knew I had to replace mine. 

Aside from the vastly reduced weight (82g or two shotgun cartridges) the flush fit is a blessing on its own especially when if you're stalking with a rifle slip to save any knocks to the rifle as you stalk.

We were on the hill for three hours before we came across our first stag, further down the slope. We managed to crawl into a patch of high grass, the quiet extendable legs allowed me to clear the grass with ease and make my shot. At 130 yards it gave me perfect stability for a heart and lung shot which put the stag straight down.



With a recommended retail of £299 the Neopod is not the cheapest bipod out there and with good reason, you are paying for a top of the line piece of kit you can rely on for the most challenging of conditions. 

Asides from the Neopod, the Riserva leather sling couples brilliantly with a rubberised not slip back and the Vortex Binoculars are an excellent option if you're not looking to break the bank.