Pod-Loc
TM
The original and proven bipod locking kit
Standard issue with military and police sniper teams around the world.
The original and only bipod locking kit issued it's own N.S.N.
Who is using the POD-LOC kit ?
Click on image for notes and larger view
Users include but are not limited to U.S.Marine Corp, U.S. Navy, U.S.Army, British Military, Australian Military, Federal Bureau of Investigation, over 20 U.S. State Police SWAT units, numerous other Federal, State, City and County agencies.
No tools needed to adjust: Your Harris bipod swivel feature can be locked and unlocked with only your thumb and finger . . . . within seconds . . . . without breaking your firing position.
Dirt and weather resistant: The integral dust shield of the Pod-Loc spacer protects the clutch area of the factory Harris mechanism. The clamp lever is glass reinforced nylon synthetic and all other component parts are stainless steel.
Low Profile: The locking lever can be pulled back to disengage the internal ratchet witout effecting the swivel lock tension. This allows the Pod-Loc lever to be "parked" close to the stock minimizing snag points when on the move or working around or on top of your other gear. All stainless steel surfaces have been chrome sulphide treated to for a blacked out / low visual signature.
No Permanent Alteration: Your bipod can be restored to "issue" configuration within 2 minutes.
The Pod-Loc is the only bipod locking kit totally designed, engineered and manufactured in the United States. This kit is also the original design that others have tried to duplicate with imported components.
Since this kit entered service with the shooting market in early 2000, we have been blessed to have it see world wide use in many shooting disciplines. A large number of law enformcement and military units now issue this kit as standard load out on their precision rifles. Many competition shooters, varmint hunters, big game hunters and recreational shooters have also adopted this kit as a worthwhile improvement to their rifle setup.
Because most of my kits are sold through a distributor network, I am not sure exactly how many groups are using them. Some are listed below the photo gallery.
WHY did I develop the POD-LOC ?
This all began in the late months of 1999 after competing against U.S.M.C. Scout Sniper teams at the North American Sniper Championships. I saw them using some of the first S-Series Harris bipods and every one of them were utilizing their plier multi-tools to adjust the knurled locking nut.
Multiple interviews with team after team documented the same concern that we had already noticed. The factory knurled locking nut cannot be easily tightened enough by hand to consistently lock the swivel feature of these bipods.
At this point, I recruited several people to help me search for an existing product or kit that would fix or improve this drawback of an otherwise excellent bipod.
Extensive searching revealed nothing available to address this problem. I was already experimenting with modificaitons to my own bipods and after seeing a glimpse of the larger picture, I began work on a viable kit to upgrade these bipods.
HOW did I develop the POD-LOC ?
From the beginning, I wanted to isolate and improve this one aspect of this bipod. My reason is that the Harris Engineering Bipod is the most proven and well established in the Western World. Too many modifications would certainly compromise the bipod design adn make it "non-standard" in the eyes of many serious users.
I found that an extended lever substituted for the factory knurled nut could easily and quickly allow me to lock the cant position of the bipod in any position I wanted. One problem is that the lever would sometimes be positioned in a less than ideal location when adjusted to my preferred tension. Finding and testing a lever assembly that featured a re-settable position proved to be an excellent solution.
Next I experimented with several versions of spacers to be used between the lever and bipod body. A final design was settled on and worked well in testing. I then made up 10 complete kits and sent them to contacts that I knew were serious shooters and regularly used rifles as part of their work.
I brought a couple of these kits to the 1999 Autauga Arms Super Sniper Shootout at Camp Shelby, MS where we were competing as a two man team for the Rapides Sheriff's Office. Now known as the North American Sniper Championship, this competition saw Law Enforcement and Military teams from Europe, Russia, Canada and East Asia. Additionally, most branches of the U.S. Military attended in various shooting scenarios spanning a 4 day period. 100% of the feedback from the kit's exposure there was positive and I made the decision to proceed with a small quantity of finished kits to test the market for such a product.
HOW do I produce the POD-LOC ?
At first, we found it difficult to locate quality components that were manufactured in the United States. No offense to some of our overseas neighbors but one of the main missions of KMW is to use "Made in U.S." products when possible.
Many different materials, sizes and finishes for our kit were experimented with and tested. Our initial kit consisted of a lever assembly (4 components) and a mission specific spacer/dust cover. From the start, I specified all stainless steel internal parts including the compression spring. I knew some of these kits would find their way to severe environments and wanted a corrosion resistant product.
The handle section of the lever was specified to be glass reinforced nylon. This part was intentionally chosen over a metal lever. If the user were to accidentally snag this lever on an obstacle or gear during movement, a synthetic material would flex or even break thus freeing the rifle, whereas snagging or impacting a metal lever could break the internal pivot rod of the bipod causing the entire bipod to fail. I would rather the synthetic lever break and the bipod remain serviceable for the mission rather than chance breaking the internal parts of the bipod.
When only a lever assembly is used to lock these bipods it is somewhat functional but the bipod's exposed pivot rod is not supported and is also vulnerable to dirt, sand and debris. To remedy this, I included a special bell shaped spacer/dust cap designed to fit between the lever assembly and the body of the bipod. This part proved to be very important to the long term function of this kit during heavy use.
The design of the lever assembly used in this kit is not new, but it's utility in this role was new at the time the kit was first brought to market. Early on, we realized that "off the shelf" levers could not be trusted to work properly 100% of the time. We also found that in spite of the marketing and marking of these levers, none are actually Made in the U.S. We found that many had flaws such as imcomplete thread profiles, malformed springs, improperly formed teeth on the insert gear and even plastic or metal chips inside the assembly!. The only way I could assure the quality of this kit was to have the individual components manufactured to my specifications and shiipped to KMW for inspection, assembly and packaging.
Each lever assembly is assembled by KMW one at a time. LocTite thread locker is used on the assembly screw to lessen the chance of failure. In 2007, I changed this assembly screw to a "tamper resistant" drive head to minimize users trying to "adjust" the lever position (as the included instructions describe, no tools are needed to adjust the lever) and breaking the screw.
In 2009, I figured out a way to combine the internal gear hub and the spacer/dust cover into one hybrid part machined out of 300 series stainless. This was more expensive but simplified the design and number of parts. Accordingly, the kit became a one piece product that was easier to install also.
After assembly, premium LocTite 77164 lubricant is placed in the female 10-32 threads so that the kit will perform well under torque load once it is on the bipod. The completed assemblies are then packaged with a detailed green instruction sheet that includes KMW contact information in the event of any installation issues or usage questions.
EVERY POD-LOC KIT HAS A LIFETIME WARRANTY -
If you read the above list of users, you can understand why I take the quality of this small kit very seriously. I order the highest quality parts, assemble them with great care, inspect them and package them in protective materials to insure they are delivered to the user ready to install.
I could improve my profit margin on this kit by 100% AND reduce the selling price by using imported and low grade components already pre-assembled. Because of the clientele I serve, I refuse to compromise the quality and reliability of this or any other KMW product.
The primary business of KMW is building precision field rifles. KMW is a small boutique shop and my business model is not set up to efficiently handle high quantities of orders for this type item.
While KMW will always be your primary contact for any issues or failures you may experience with this kit, I respectfully ask that you contact one of the distributors listed below if you would like to order a genuine POD-LOC kit.
These fine people offer friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff. Just like KMW, they also appreciate your business. Their links are listed below in no particular order:
March Scopes UK / PBS International