Atlas bipod arca adapter or pic rail is fine?

[freediver111]

On a bit of a whim I picked up an XLR element 4.0 magnesium chassis for my tikka. I own another XLR element aluminum chassis and love it, which is why I went with this one for a hunting rig I built last year. I also wanted a folding stock as I just got my first can and plan to hunt with it this year which will make it more compact when strapped to the pack.

I use an Atlas CAL tall bipod with the standard two screw pic rail attachment. Has anyone noted a huge improvement if running the area 419 Arca plate adapter along the arca rail slots of the chassis versus just using a standard 2.5” pic rail attached to the chassis?

My other element chassis doesn’t have the arca rails so this new element mg stock is the only rifle I have that the arca plate would be used on. Is the $80 arca adapter for the atlas bipods going to be a huge improvement over the two screw pic rail, or just adds more weight to a hunting rig that’s already 9.5 lbs?


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[ID_Matt]

I wouldn't say it is a huge improvement but it may make things more streamlined. Arca is easier/quicker for me to attach to, especially if you are using the two screw attachment that I think takes forever. If you ever want to attach to a tripod head, it is nice to have a full arca to slide on - the pic rail at the end kinda gets in the way.

 

[XLR]

Few things to consider when it comes to the full-length arca.
1. Sliding the bipod back towards the shooter when in the prone position will give you more height for high-angle shots. So if you get down into the prone and need some more height, you can do this instead of having to stack things like packs or rocks under the bipod, which usually will be less stable.
2. Never know the position you are shooting from. Have absolutely had times shooting off rock ledges in cliffy terrain, and those flat spots are not always that large. So if you get down in the prone and the area is not large enough for the rifle and you, moving that bipod back on the arca will allow the rifle to hang off the cliff and give you more room to be properly positioned behind the rifle.
3. Shooting off elevated platforms. Tables in blinds and large boulders would be the two most common. same thing, depending on the size of that area moving the bipod might allow you to have the two points of contact between your bag and bipod.

Of course, it's not like instances like mentioned above always happen, but when they do, being able to slide that bipod sure is nice and can allow you to take a shot much faster than having to reposition, or problem solve a different way to overcome the obstacle. You might want to look at the RRS bipod adapters. Most of their versions allow you to mount to both arca and pic, which is nice if you need to use the same bipod on different rifles.

 

[tak]

I put the RRS clamp on my Atlas CAL, and it was definitely worth it.
I use it on rifles with full length ARCA and it also attaches to pic rails. You could use that on both your chassis, and you wouldn't have to have a pic rail protruding out on your new one.