Hi all,

I am planning on purchasing my first bolt action rifle. Let's assume it is a somewhat basic model that just has sling swivel studs installed in the usual places: to rear of the buttstock and towards the front of the forend. I would ideally like to setup the rifle in a way that allows me to have a sling attached 100% of the time, and also allow me to mount a bipod anytime I prefer it. What options do I have for using the front sling swivel stud to do this? I am new to bolt action rifles. Do bipods exist that can be mounted to the sling swivel stud yet also allow the attachment of a sling? Am I way off base on my desire and it simply won't work? In my mind, when the bipod is attached the sling would simply be for carrying the rifle, but without the bipod the sling could be used for shooting stability. What other setup options or suggestions would you have? Thanks for your time.

Chris

Harris Bipods have a sling attachment, so it would simply be a case of unhooking the front sling attachment, putting the bipod on, then re-attaching the front sling attachment to the one on the bipod.

My first recommendation about bipod mounts is to get a setup that attaches the bipod to a Picatinny rail section via a quick detach mount. That is so far more convenient for storage, carry, and use of the rifle without the bipod mounted that I never consider anything else.

The pic rail can be one that’s designed to attach to the sling swivel stud or be a separate rail section that’s screwed to the forend. Assuming, though, that you prefer the former, here is one option. Note that the sling is then attached to the stud on the adapter.

https://www.amazon.com/Caldwel...X3VMP8XA5WHR5A8QPJ0Q

The sling stud to Picatinny adapter with its own sling stud is surprisingly uncommon and the ones that are available are difficult (for me) to find on the Internet. The one I listed, though, would probably work fine.

Added: Here is another of the same type.
https://www.harrisbipods.com/SRA.php?

Added two:
The type of mount I prefer.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sigfreund,

Thank you both for your insights! Hmm, those picatinny adapters look like a good solution, but they seem overly tall. I wonder if there's an adapter that allows you to mount a picatinny rail using a screw right into the sling swivel stud hole (after removing the stud itself). That would certainly be lower profile. If it had a sling stud too that would be great. I'll take a look into that...

Oh wow... just found the Magpul Bipod - Sling Stud QD. That looks perfect and fits all my needs.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris17404:
I wonder if there's an adapter that allows you to mount a picatinny rail using a screw right into the sling swivel stud hole (after removing the stud itself).

There are such adapters, like the one pictured below. The Remington model 700 Tactical rifles have two sling swivel studs on the forend, and that’s how I mounted the Picatinny rail on that training gun. I have seen a similar adapter with its own sling swivel stud, but can’t find it now. Any adapter with its own sling swivel stud will probably be the same height as the ones I linked above.

The lowest profile mount will just be a section of rail that you attach to the stock with appropriate screws. There are probably countless options, but one to consider is the Magpul MOE rail that’s flat on the bottom. (Don’t get the M-LOK because it has projections that prevent flat mounting.) Other rail sections might be curved on the bottom to better fit some rifle stocks.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris17404:
Oh wow... just found ....

If that is the type of system you would like, it is essentially the same as the standard Harris. It clamps onto the sling swivel stud and also has an attachment point for the standard sling swivel.

You can do it with a javelin bipod, it’s a different design but works pretty well in my experience.

quote:

Originally posted by newmexican:
javelin bipod

That is definitely a nice looking design. I don’t like smooth legs that tighten with a collet rather than notched legs, but for light weight and quick on/off I can see its appeal.

Depending on the setup, I will occasionally use a Harris bipod while Predator hunting. In that case I just attach the sling to the bipod. I like the fact that I don’t have to have anything extra on the rifle when I’m not using the bipod.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by newmexican:
javelin bipod

That is definitely a nice looking design. I don’t like smooth legs that tighten with a collet rather than notched legs, but for light weight and quick on/off I can see its appeal.

It’s not the best range bipod but for hunting it’s great, it weighs basically nothing and fits in my pocket, it just clips back on the rifle with the magnet in seconds. My atlas bipod is absolutely more solid but for so much of the hunting I do up here, I’m hunting with my packraft or driving a jet boat far up very shallow rivers, I really try to cut the weight on my gear. It’s no fun having a bogged down boy in 6” of water with a moose on board. I’m not saying the bipod will change that alone but by pairing down the rest of my gear I’ve been able to shave quite a bit of weight off my overall load.

quote:

Originally posted by newmexican:
I’ve been able to shave quite a bit of weight off my overall load.

Yes, grams make ounces, and ounces make pounds.
Long ago when I was just getting into backpacking I read The Complete Walker by Colin Fletcher. He mentioned (somewhat sheepishly, it seemed) that he would even resort to pulling the paper tabs off his teabags when he hiked.

Would you be open to simply installing a second sling swivel stud on your forestock? Some rifles actually come from the factory with 2 studs up front.

I use a bipod regularly in NRL22 matches, and use a basic Harris style. It attaches to the swivel stud, and once attached gives you a point to attach a swivel for the sling. Nothing fancy but works fine and while it does not offer the option of quickly removing or attaching the bipod, this never has been necessary in this application for me. I use the old USGI style M1907 sling more for use as support when firing than to carry the rifle though it does that just fine as well. When properly used the M1907 is a great aid to steady shooting positions