Does anyone know what the length of pull is on a Tikka T3? I looked at Tikka's website, and it mentions that the LOP is adjustable with spacers, but I didn't see the actual measurements listed anywhere.

I'm trying to determine whether the T3 could make a good youth rifle, and the LOP will be important as full-sized stocks do not fit my son very well.

Thanks.

After doing more research on Tikka's website, it looks like spacers can be added to increase the LOP, which sort of implies that the LOP can not be shortened. I guess the T3 won't be a good fit.

I would recommend the Marlin XS7Y which is a dedicated youth rifle.
Even better would be the Weatherby Vanguard Youth Synthetic which has a youth sized stock with spacers to grow the stock with the child.

for me the t3 feels pretty short, anytime you have a stock with a pistol grip that is more upright it causes the stock to feel shorter to me, in an extreme case like an ar 15 that feels insane short to me. I would take your son in an let him try it to see if it would work.

Thanks. I know there are dedicated youth rifles out there, but one thing that I am somewhat skeptical of is their long-term desirability, if that makes sense. I still have every gun my dad ever gifted to me, including a pre-64 M70 that he bought from a friend when I was 6 years old, and they still see regular use. Because of that, I have a notion that I would like to buy my son, and later my daughter, guns that they will want to hang onto for years to come. Not that the Tikka is an heirloom-quality rifle, but I wouldn't be ashamed to carry one.

I also have my eye on a Browning X-Bolt Micro Midas that has a 12.5" LOP. My concern there is that the rifle may be more than I want to afford and that it would be too small in a few years. However, I know that a LOP that is too short by one inch is better than one that is too long by a 1/4 inch.

On the other hand, there is much to be said for getting a youth rifle that fits and doesn't break the bank. Maybe I can tell my son that it is only on loan and then let my daughter use it in a few years (if she decides to shoot - not yet sure if she is leaning towards hunting/shooting). It may fit her for the rest of her life.

The late Jeff Cooper in his book "Art of the Rifle" has stated that current hunting rifle's LOP are too long. He was 6' 2" tall and his rifle had a LOP of 12.5"

As an aside: I am 5'11" and my Ruger Compact has a LOP of 12.75" and is the "handiest" rifle I own. It is the one I use exclusively for deer hunting.

CoalCracker............Imho, so-called youth sized rifles with 12.5" LOP, can be used very effectively by us big boys too.

At 6'3" and 240 lbs, I am very comfortable with the handling, the shorter LOP, and the OAL of my compact Ruger Frontier. For handling and when carrying, it is absolutely wonderful in the field. I don`t believe that you`ll have anything to worry, such as one out-growing a rifle with a shorter 12.5" LOP.

In warmer weather with less clothing on, (t-shirt) if I feel I need to add another inch to the LOP, I`ll quickly slip on my Limbsaver slip-on recoil pad giving me 13.5" of LOP. Doing the opposite when wearing thicker clothing, I`ll take it off if more shooting comfort requires it. Properly fitted slip-ons are very simple, versatile and you won`t need to deal with any stock modifications.

Because of their size (35.5" OAL), the real true and dedicated youth rifles are the Ruger compacts.

I can't disagree more with the LOP issue, I am 6'1" and find that most 13.5 lop rifles are too small for me. even with a 14" LOP I find scopes like leupolds and conquests to have too much eyerelief almost, I have to run them as far forward as they will go. I think rifles are actually stocked too short in most cases.

as for rifles and heirlooms I totally agree with that, I have a couple guns my dad gave me and have been tempted to trade them but never will because it was something my dad bought for me. I am a big tikka fan however in 100years I wonder if that plastic could get old and brittle, if you are worried about that, its tuff to beat a ruger or winchester. but if you want an out of the box rifle to shoot and don't wanna dink with it, tikka is your unit. I have been shooting standard stocked rifles since I was 12 or so.

............Your LOP comfort zone is simply different. In my view, it doesn`t matter if a scope is moved more or fully forward towards the muzzle or not. It boils down to where one`s best comfort zone is. Sometimes the scope is fully forward and in other times depending on the person, it is not.

I had a 1.5-5x20 VX111 on my compact Ruger. That scope had quite a bit of eye relief. But nevertheless for my particular comfort zone, mounting it fully forward still wasn`t needed. Now it wears a 2.5-10x32 Sightron with shorter eye relief. The mounting tube still has 1/4" of mounting space remaining before it could be considered in the fully forward position towards the muzzle.

Where my Ruger compact is concerned, even with my size and longer arms using either scope, the 12.5" LOP without the slip-on pad or the 13.5" LOP with it on, there is enough mounting tube length flexibility to still have a good balance of comfort for eye relief.

It all depends on the individuals.