So there I was, holding a sub moa rifle, trying my best to find a better way to support the gun for accurate shooting. I tried a variety of methods, including a half-assed sandbag, a range bag, and a slightly longer magazine. My CZ 600 Trail was plenty accurate, but it could be better if I had some means to stabilize the rifle better. I finally figured out that I needed a bipod. That’s what lead me to the Caldwell XLA Bipod.
Well, that and the rather attractive price and M-LOK connectivity. Attaching a rail to a handguard introduced an entirely new failure point. The CZ 600 Trail provides a long M-LOK handguard that leaves plenty of room for attaching accessories of all types. On a sub moa precision-style rifle, you don’t need much, but a bipod is pretty handy.
Another factor in my selection of the Caldwell XLA was the light weight. At 8 ounces, it isn’t adding much to a rifle designed to be lightweight and compact. With that idea in mind, I stuck to the 6 to 9-inch variant of this bipod. I didn’t need to get too high with my shooting, and a shorter bipod is a lighter bipod. It all came together to convince me to come off a little bit of money for a whole lot of stability.
The Caldwell XLA In Action
Attaching the bipod to my M-LOK handguard took no time at all. Attach the right adapter and use two M-LOK attachment screws. If you’re new to M-LOK, you need to tighten each screw a half turn at a time to make sure it attaches evenly and tightly. Loc-tite is an option, especially on heavier recoiling firearms. On a 5.56 bolt gun, the recoil isn’t going to shake off the bipod any time soon.
The Caldwell XLA extended from 6 to 9 inches, and there is a total of 4 different positions. Each leg can be independently adjusted to make up for uneven ground. The legs are spring-loaded and deploy quickly: unlock the legs, hit the buttons, and boom, the legs deploy. You can lock the logs in the preset areas, but you can also use the locking wheel to lock the bipod legs at any position between the preset positions.
Locking down the wheel even when the legs are in their preset position is a good idea. If you don’t, they won’t collapse, but they tend to wiggle a bit. Locking them down maximizes stability, and the point of a bipod is stability. It’s all simple, and these adjustments can be made in the firing position with ease.
The feet are soft polymer round feet that are slightly narrowed upward. They provide a nice stable grip when placed on the ground and allow you to drop and pull the bipod into a nice locked position. These are the only feet you can get, so if you want spiked feet, square feet, or anything else, you might want something a little different. For 99% of my shooting, they are just right.
At the Range
With my lightweight little rifle equipped with its bipod, I marched out to the range with a heart full of hope and a range bag full of ammunition. I’m stuck at 100 yards at the home range, but that’s enough to see what is what.
At the first shot, I felt a good degree of liberation. Why struggle with supporting the gun when a bipod can do half the work? It stabilizes better than I can. It was at this moment that I understood the weakness of my flesh. A set of aluminum legs make a huge difference in stabilizing the weapon and getting it on target. Once you are on target and dug in, you can keep it on target.
The Caldwell XLA bipod is simple. It doesn’t move or slip. Once the legs are locked, they are locked. The independent adjusting legs make micro-adjustments easy for uneven terrain and allow you to drop rounds on target with ease.
It seated firmly to the ground, allowing me to land shot after shot in a teeny tiny group. It makes firing a bolt action faster and allows for stability and consistent performance. After a few dozen rounds, I checked to ensure it was still firmly attached to the gun. It was and hadn’t wiggled even a bit. Not bad for a fifty-dollar upgrade.
The Budget Bipod
With that said, the Caldwell XLA is not a duty bipod or serious competition bipod. It’s best used at the range, for hunting, and other similar low-stakes shooting. It offers no pan, no cant, and no interchangeable feet. The aluminum does provide a rugged and strong base, but it’s not likely something you’d want to deploy to Afghanistan with.
Budget bipods aren’t for everyone, but for reviewing guns and stroking my accuracy ego, it’s perfect. The same goes for taking accurate and humane shots on various medium and small game. A little stability goes a long way. I don’t need an Atlas bipod for everyday shooting.
A simple and affordable bipod is a great attachment for rifles designed for young or inexperienced shooters. It allows them to handle rifles that might be a bit intimidating from a supported bench rest position. This helps new shooters learn good basics and increases confidence by embracing stable shooting. It’s also a lot safer to let the bench hold most of the rifle. You don’t need anything fancy for this, and the Caldwell XLA bipod is a great choice in this situation.
Sure, it’s not fancy and you might like features like pan and cant, but for the price point, it’s excellent. It’s well made, with spring-loaded legs, it provides good support, and it isn’t made from plastic. You can’t ask much more from a bipod that costs less than one Benjamin Franklin.
