Spartan Precision has introduced a game-changing range of magnetically attached bipods which are light and have features lacking in most other bipods.
No longer do you have to endure carrying a bipod attached to your rifle. By simply attaching a small adapter to the fore-end of your rifle, bipod legs weighing just a few grams can be carried in your pocket or pack and attached in seconds.
A bipod can improve a hunter’s hit-to-miss ratio but personally I don’t like extra weight hung on the fore-end as it spoils the balance of my rifle for offhand and running shots. It also makes the rifle awkward to carry slung over your shoulder.
The Spartan bipod adapters make it practical attached and detach a bipod as soon as you need and detach it immediately afterwards.
I tested two different types of Spartan bipods — a Javelin Lite (there’s also a Pro Hunt) and a Valhalla. Both are far more versatile and sophisticated than the general run of bipods Aussie shooters have become familiar with.
SPARTAN JAVELIN LITE
The Javelin is remarkable since it is secured on your rifle by means of a magnetic adapter. It has fixed-length legs that are easy to spread open or to close with a single hand. Other versions of the bipod have adjustable leg lengths. The Spartan Lite’s legs come in two lengths — standard and long.
It weighs a meagre 140g (the standard Pro Hunt version weighs 215g increasing to 235g in long).
Like all the other Spartan bipods, the Javelin Lite is made of hard-anodised 7075 aluminium and multi-layered carbon-fibre. Durable tungsten-carbide tips with tethered synthetic boots get a firm grip on all terrains.
The Spartans have a cant facility to eliminate the drawbacks encountered with many other bipods being used on uneven ground. This feature is critical for accurate shooting at long range when using a bipod.
A rifle with conventional, centrally mounted scope must always be aimed with the sight positioned directly over the bore. Any deviation from a straight up-and-down rifle position is called ‘cant’, and the canted rifle will invariably shoot lower and off in the direction toward which the sight is tilted.
Canting, therefore, introduces both vertical and horizontal aiming error, but Spartan bipods can be adjusted to cancel its ill effects on uneven surfaces.
Another important advantage of the Spartan bipod is that it has a traversing function which allows you to track a moving game animal.
The Spartan does away with my main objection of carrying a bulky attached bipod by having a low-profile adapter which makes carrying a slung rifle more comfortable.
The Javelin is available in three variations — Pro Hunt, Pro Hunt Tac and Lite (tested).
SPARTAN VALHALLA
The Valhalla bipod attaches to a tactical-style rifle either with a Picatinny or M-Lok rail and can be folded under the rifle barrel or removed for ease of transportation. It also attaches directly to Davos heads, Sentinel and Ascent tripods for use in prone, sitting and standing shooting positions. Features include five leg pitch settings for cant from 0 to 180 degrees; cant facility for uneven terrain; and the ability to accept a range of legs.
The Valhalla bipod fits over an adapter with a spigot-like arrangement and can be quickly removed and replaced by loosening or tightening a lever. There’s also a slot on each side for attaching a sling.
My sample Valhalla weighed 370g plus 37g for the M-Lok adapter. If you carry the bipod separately, the adapter will add no discernible heft to your rifle.
It is impossible to list all the accessories available for Spartan bipods but you’ll find them listed on the NIOA website and available (sometimes order) from your local gun shop. in NIOA’s free Hot Products catalogue available from all gunshops.
The term ‘shooting accessory’ includes a multitude of items related both directly and indirectly to the firearm and its use. Some of these accessories have become so useful and commonplace as to approach the status of necessities, others may be considered optional, and the remainder are strictly gimmicks and gadgets which border on the useless or superfluous.
But a good bipod is of the most immediate concern to the hunter because it steadies the aim and contributes to the successful employment of the long-range rifle in different environments.
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