A bipod is a V-shaped portable attachment that helps support and steady a device, usually a

weapon A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

such as a

long gun A long gun is a category of firearms with long Gun barrel, barrels. In small arms, a ''long gun'' or longarm is generally designed to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder, in contrast to a handgun, which can be fired being held w ...

or a mortar. The term comes from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

prefix A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Particularly in the study of languages, a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the word to which it is affixed. Prefixes, like other affixes, can b ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

, meaning "two" and "foot" respectively. Bipods are designed to support the weight of the weapon's front portion and

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

, and provide significant stability against unwanted side-to-side movements (i.e. canting) while allowing free movements pivoting around the transverse

axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

( pitching). Most modern bipods have foldable and/or telescoping legs, and allow some limited movements around the vertical axis (

panning Pan or PAN may refer to: Food * Pan (cooking), a piece of cooking equipment * Harina P.A.N., a pre-cooked corn meal * Pan or Paan, a North Indian term for betel Prefix * ''Pan-'', a prefix meaning "all", "of everything", or "involving all ...

) and even the longitudinal axis ( tilting). A bipod by itself, with only two supporting legs, is not completely stable and needs to be reinforced by at least one more point of support to be steady, especially against the horizontal shearing force from

recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, for according to Newton's third law the force requ ...

s. This third point of support is typically the

buttstock A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock, or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attac ...

that is firmly pushed/braced against the shooter's body, but can also be a baseplate (in mortars), sometimes with additional support from a

monopod A monopod, also called a unipod, is a single staff or pole used to help support cameras, binoculars, rifles or other precision instruments in the field. Camera and imaging use The monopod allows a still camera to be held steadier, allowing ...

or a

bean bag A bean bag (also beanbag) is a sealed bag containing dried beans, PVC pellets, expanded polystyrene, or expanded polypropylene. The bags are commonly used for throwing games, but they have various other applications. Games * Beanbag was a ...

Firearms

Bipods are commonly used on

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

s and machine guns to provide a forward rest and reduce unwanted motion. They are also seen on other long-barreled weapons. Bipods permit operators to easily rest a weapon on objects, such the ground or a wall, reducing fatigue and increasing accuracy and stability. Bipods can be of fixed or adjustable length. Some can be tilted and also have their tilting point close to the barrel's central axis, allowing the weapon to tilt left and right. Some designs also allow the weapon to be rotated side-to-side. There are three ways for bipods to be folded: away from the shooter, towards the shooter, or into a vertical foregrip.

History

The first known use of bipods on firearms can be traced back to

hand cannon The hand cannon ( or ), also known as the gonne or handgonne, is the first true firearm and the successor of the fire lance. It is the oldest type of small arms, as well as the most mechanically simple form of metal barrel firearms. Unlike match ...

s of the

12th century The 12th century is the period from 1101 to 1200 in accordance with the Julian calendar. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages and overlaps with what is often called the Golden Age' of the ...

, which were cast iron barrels laid on top of short poles. Bipods on rifles are first known to have been used in an improvised fashion during the mid-19th century, particularly by

frontiersmen A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, the ...

hunting

American bison The American bison (''Bison bison''; : ''bison''), commonly known as the American buffalo, or simply buffalo (not to be confused with Bubalina, true buffalo), is a species of bison that is endemic species, endemic (or native) to North America. ...

and other wild animals. For example, the painting "The Long Shot" by

Howard Terpning Howard Terpning (born November 5, 1927) is an American Painting, painter and illustrator best known for his paintings of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans. Life and career Terpning was born in Oak Park, Illinois. His mothe ...

shows native American hunters shooting a rifle with an improvised bipod consisting of two crossed arrows. During the 20th century, use of dedicated bipods increased, and was seen on different types of rifles during wars. For example the Lewis gun (1914) was fitted with an adjustable bipod. The technology became more advanced, with hinged legs and even extendable or retractable legs. The Brixia M1923 machine gun used a bipod that could also be used as a harness allowing the user to move around firing the weapon handling only the spade grips. One of the first companies to manufacture commercially successful bipods was Harris Engineering, Inc founded in 1979 in Barlow, Kentucky by Gerald Harris, Margaret Harris, and Susan Wilkerson. Before starting the company, Gerald had applied for a patent on the bipod. In 2019, their successful Harris Bipods have been produced for nearly forty years, and have remained relatively unchanged. Recent advances in manufacture of bipods include use of lightweight materials such as aluminium, carbon fiber and titanium, use of different quick attachment and detachment mechanisms (Picatinny, M-LOK, etc. or even magnets) and various types of feet materials such as rubber, metal, or a "basket" designed to stop the bipod from sinking into soft surfaces such as fine sand or deep snow (inspired by

ski pole Ski poles, also referred to as poles (in North America), sticks (UK), or stocks (Australia), are used by skiing, skiers for balance and propulsion. Modern ski poles are most commonly made from Aluminium, aluminum and Carbon fibers, carbon fiber, ...

s and

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...

s).

Mounting standards

There are several mounting standards for attaching a bipod to a rifle, of which some well known are swivel stud, Picatinny,

M-LOK M-LOK, for Modular Lock, is a firearm Rail Integration System, rail interface system developed and patented by Magpul Industries. The license is free-of-charge, but subject to an approval process. M-LOK allows for direct accessory attachment ...

and Versa Pod spigot mount. Starting in the late 2010s, the Arca-Swiss style also gained popularity in shooting competitions such as the Precision Rifle Series since the rail allows for stepless adjustment.SHOT Show 2018: Really Right Stuff's New Products - PrecisionRifleBlog.com
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References

{{Firearm accessories mounting standards Firearm components

Firearms

History

Mounting standards

See also

References