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Posted: 12/27/2010 4:21:00 PM EDT
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I'm looking for an M2 bipod to 'complete' my E2 rifle. What's the going rate for the true USGI bipods or who has the best deal on the Chinese knockoffs?
Sarco states that theirs ar "not cheap Chinese imitations", is that true? |
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Thanks, so the Sarco isn't legit? I don't plan on shooting with it, just for looks/display. Sarco may be. If they say it is real, it may be. I've ordered from them in the past, and it's been hit and miss. Some parts are beautiful, others looked like reject parts. IIRC, the real ones i've seen were blued, and the fakes are mostly parkerized/black spray paint. I'm sure someone more educated in this area will be along shortly. I gave up, and we went with a Harris. |
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Sarco states that theirs ar "not cheap Chinese imitations", is that true? Are they saying that their bipods aren't Chinese; or, are they saying that they aren't cheap? I have one and it wasn't cheap. It is also blued, not parkerized. The US doesn't purchase blued and shiny weapons parts. |
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Sarco states that theirs ar "not cheap Chinese imitations", is that true? Are they saying that their bipods aren't Chinese; or, are they saying that they aren't cheap? I have one and it wasn't cheap. It is also blued, not parkerized. The US doesn't purchase blued and shiny weapons parts. You're 99.999999999999 % correct. About 1998, the U. S. Navy did purchase some Taiwanese (Wayne Machine, Inc.) M2 bipods from Sarco (CAGE Code 8R320). Reference: Bill Ricca |
| I have not seen one "new in wrap" in about 10 years. I had a mint M2 bipod and sold it about 6 years ago for $200. They do look cool on the gun but remember not to transport the rifle in a case or lay her on either side because the feet of the bipod will gradually leave nice compression marks on the stock. You'll also loos a small amount of finish off the gas cylinder where she clamps on also but that's unavoidable. |
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First, I am no expert, but think the info provided below to accurate and correct at the time I posted!
I have an original M2. There are two variations, one has a sling swivel and the other does not. Mine is without the swivel and these are a bit more scarce as they were early production and most of these were armory refitted with a longer pin and sling swivel. 
USGI M2 bipods - Note the different part numbers and the brazed joints. USGI drawing 7790688 bipod with no sling swivel and USGI drawing number 7790833 bipod with the sling swivel. 7090633 bipods had the sling swivel added per a Modification Work Order (MWO). The swivel is contracted type, not the Direct Support (DS) level field modification type. Taiwanese copies of the M2 bipod "may" have W M I written on them, the Chinese versions "will" have the W M I marking. Some Taiwanese M2 bipods have been sold to the U. S. Navy, sold by SARCO, they do not have the W M I marking. From the 01/31/07 draft of the Third Edition of M14 Rifle History and Development: "M2 Type Bipods The M2 bipod design was standardized in December 1959 and improvements were added later. M2 bipods have been produced in the United States, Taiwan and China. Chinese copies of the M2 bipod do not have as excellent a reputation as compared to the USGI and Taiwanese models. Taiwan models - The Taiwanese M2 bipod is reliable and suitable for civilian use. Beginning around 1998, some Taiwanese M2 bipods were sold to the U. S. Navy by Sarco, Inc. (CAGE Code 8R320). Taiwanese M2 bipods are made by Wayne Machine Inc. of Taipei, Taiwan. Taiwanese copies of the M2 bipod may have W M I stamped on the yoke. Taiwanese bipods sold by Sarco to the U. S. Navy do not have the W M I mark. Early Taiwanese bipods were brazed but failed routinely. Otherwise, Taiwanese bipods are welded and have had no problems through thousands of rounds of automatic fire. Some of the Taiwanese M2 bipods were installed on M14 rifles and used in combat in Afghanistan in 2005. Seven of these bipods were removed from combat service in July 2005 because each suffered the loss of the retaining pin holding the spring and button in one of the leg folding pushbutton assemblies. Chinese models - The Chinese M2 bipod is marketed by Norinco. The Chinese versions will have the W M I marking. If the yoke screw requires a hex head wrench to tighten or loosen, it is a Chinese bipod. USGI models - USGI M2 bipod parts were made of carbon or alloy steel depending on what the drawing specified for the part. A USGI M2 bipod will likely be of brazed construction for the most part. The leg shoes or pads were always arc welded to the bottom of the leg extensions. The furnace brazed joints on the leg shafts had to withstand an applied tensile load of 2,000 pounds without separating. Similarly, the head assembly brazed joints were tested with a load of 3,500 pounds. Alternately, the head assembly plates could be arc welded to the leg assemblies. The welds and the jaws were examined for defects by the wet process magnetic particle inspection method. A phosphate coating was applied to all surfaces of the bipod. USGI M2 bipods left the factory with a yellow DOD acceptance stamp and three blue letter M markings, one on the bottom of each leg pad and one on the outside of the right hand jaw. The blue letter M signified satisfactory results from non-destructive examination. The yellow DOD acceptance stamp was applied to either the front or the rear head assembly plate. The yellow and blue markings tended to wear off with use in the field and are rarely seen on bipods found today. An American made USGI contract M2 bipod will have the following markings on the yoke: U. S. 7790688 BIPOD RIFLE M2 or U. S. 7790833 BIPOD RIFLE M2. The USGI contract manufacture M2 bipod was initially produced without a sling swivel. The sling swivel was added to the M2 bipod in September 1963 as part of the M14E2 rifle design. M2 bipods were later manufactured with a sling swivel. Sling swivels were also added to M2 bipods while in service through a Modification Work Order or a Direct Support level field modification. M2 bipods with swivels will have a longer pin to secure the swivel to the yoke. Some early USGI M2 bipod locking bolts do not have a screwdriver slot. The M2 bipod was revised in February 1967 to add a small screw and nut to the top of each leg extension. In March and April 1967, the bipod jaw drawings were revised for improved grip." |
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The Fifth Edition of M14 Rifle History and Development is more complete:
M2 Type Bipods The M2 bipod design was standardized in December 1959 and improvements were added later. It was a component part of the experimental CMG-2 machine gun in 1967 and the XM-106 squad automatic weapon in 1978. M2 type bipods have been produced in the United States, Taiwan and China. Chinese copies of the M2 bipod do not have as excellent a reputation as compared to the USGI and Taiwanese models. Taiwan models - The Taiwanese M2 bipod is reliable and suitable for civilian use. It was available commercially as early as 1990. Around 1998, some Taiwanese M2 bipods were sold to the U. S. Navy by Sarco, Inc. (CAGE Code 8R320). Taiwanese M2 bipods are made by Wayne Machine Inc. of Taipei, Taiwan. Early Taiwanese bipods were brazed but failed routinely. The early Wayne Machine, Inc. M2 bipods were marked S. A. BIPOD M2 or BIPOD M2 on the head assembly. Otherwise, Wayne Machine, Inc. M2 bipods were welded together and will hold up to thousands of rounds of automatic fire. Later (welded) Wayne Machine, Inc. bipods were marked BIPOD RIFLE M2 or W M I BIPOD RIFLE M2 on the head assembly. Taiwanese late version M2 bipods sold by Sarco to the U. S. Navy do not have the W M I mark. A few Taiwanese M2 bipods were installed on M14 rifles and used in combat in Afghanistan in 2005. Seven of these bipods were removed from combat service in July 2005 because each suffered the loss of the retaining pin holding the spring and button in one of the leg folding pushbutton assemblies. Chinese models - The Chinese M2 bipod was marketed by Norinco beginning in 2003. The Chinese version was marked W M I BIPOD RIFLE M2 on the head assembly similar to the copy made by Wayne Machine, Inc. If the locking bolt accepts a hex head wrench less than 3/8 " size, it is a Chinese bipod. In 2009, New Century NcStar, Inc. (previously New Century Science &Technology) introduced a hybrid M2 bipod for the M14 rifle. It was very similar to the M2 bipod except that its attachment mechanism was unique. The M14 Quick Release Bipod attached to the rifle by way of the NcStar design quick release system that allowed removal or attachment of the bipod with a single push button. It could attach to any Weaver or Picatinny style rail or to the M14 rifle barrel itself. The NcStar M14 Quick Release Bipod (catalog number ABUQ14) was made from steel and aluminum parts. ProMag Industries - As of 2007, ProMag Industries was producing its own M2 bipod (catalog number PM019). It was made from high carbon steel and marked PM BIPOD RIFLE M2. USGI models - USGI M2 bipod parts were made of carbon or alloy steel depending on what the drawing specified for the part. A USGI M2 bipod will likely be of brazed construction for the most part. The leg shoes or pads were always arc welded to the bottom of the leg extensions. When deployed, the leg shoes act as skids when the rifle is moved laterally. The furnace brazed joints on the leg shafts had to withstand an applied tensile load of 2,000 pounds without separating. Similarly, the head assembly brazed joints were tested with a load of 3,500 pounds. Alternately, the head assembly plates could be arc welded to the leg assemblies. The welds and the jaws were examined for defects by the wet process magnetic particle inspection method. A phosphate coating was applied to all surfaces of the bipod. USGI M2 bipods left the factory with a yellow DOD acceptance stamp and three blue letter M markings, one on the bottom of each leg pad and one on the outside of the right hand jaw. The blue letter M signified satisfactory results from non-destructive examination. The yellow DOD acceptance stamp was applied to either the front or the rear head assembly plate. The yellow and blue markings tended to wear off with use in the field and are rarely seen on bipods found today. An American made USGI contract M2 bipod will have the following markings on the head assembly: U. S. 7790688 BIPOD RIFLE M2 or U. S. 7790833 BIPOD RIFLE M2. The USGI contract manufacture M2 bipod was initially produced without a sling swivel. The sling swivel was added to the M2 bipod by no later than 1962 for testing of the M14 (USAIB). This modified M2 bipod was made part of the M14 (USAIB) Technical Data Package in September 1963. It carried over to the M14E2 (later M14A1) Rifle. M2 bipods were later manufactured with a sling swivel. Sling swivels were also added to M2 bipods while in service through a Modification Work Order or a Direct Support level field modification. M2 bipods with swivels will have a longer pin to secure the swivel to the head assembly. Some early USGI M2 bipod locking bolts do not have a screwdriver slot. The M2 bipod was revised in February 1967 to add a small screw and nut to the top of each leg extension. In March and April 1967, the bipod jaw drawings were revised for improved grip. |
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I have seen bipods for sale with the U.S. marking and the 7790688 drawing number on the top line followed by BIPOD RIFLE M2 and a diamond symbol on the next line. What is the diamond symbol? Is this a knock off? Genuine USGI M2 bipods did not have a diamond symbol placed on the head assembly, AFAIK. If you or someone else could supply a photo, that would help the research effort. Please e-mail to me at [email protected] It does sound like a commercial reproduction. AFAIK, there was only one contractor for M2 bipods, Farmer Supply & Tool Manufacturing Corporation (Denver, CO) but there could have been another I'm not aware of. Farmer Supply & Tool made the M2 bipod in 1962. This thread got me to do some checking. I have two genuine USGI M2 bipods, one with a head assembly plate marked 7790833 and the other marked 7790688. What I noticed is that the plate marked 7790688 has tabs at either end that protrude into the 7790834 plates to which the legs attach to. The bipod with the plate marked 7790833 has no tabs at the ends. The USGI drawing D7792847 for the M2 bipod head assembly allows for either method of construction, two head plates with or without the tabs. If anyone has a genuine USGI M2 bipod, see if the head plate has tabs or not and how it is marked. Perhaps I stumbled on to something. |
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Have a look at this: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=217068556
Several months ago, glock21_45 (2234) had advertised an "authentic" bipod on gunbroker. It had the same diamond just like the one in the above link. As you might notice, glock21_45 (2234) has made a bid on the bipod in the above link. I think that somebody must be dealing diamonds. I just cannot say one way or another if the diamonds are real. These guys that advertise anything as genuine should have a consequence if indeed it is not. Nobody should wind up as the sucker, but it happens and people seem to get away with it. |
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Should we now conclude that the diamond is a required "postmark" for the field modified 7790688? It's sharting to make shome shense! I have a USGI M2 bipod with the 7790688 plate but no diamond. I don't think you can say the diamond was required. It's not on the drawings. My thought is that the diamond was possibly a manufacturer identification, some company other than Farmer Tool & Supply? The diamond could mean the field modification was done, I don't know. That's a good question for Bill Ricca. I checked my notes. Farmer Tool & Supply Manufacturing had another M2 bipod production run in 1968. HTH |
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