Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Help me with length of pull questions please

I'm in the process of building a Mauser rifle for my 23 year old son Thread here. I'm about to fit the recoil pad and finish sanding the stock. To that end, I am trying to determine the correct length of pull. I have used both methods I am aware of;
First, we did the 'hold the stock in the crook of the arm and measure from elbow to trigger finger joint'. With that we got a lop of 14.5".
Second, we did the Boyds Stock method of measure back from trigger and mark stock and then shoulder stock and have nose 1" behind the first mark.
Right now I have the stock cut so that when I attach the recoil pad, a 1" decelerator, the total LOP comes to 14.5". He has held that and shouldered it with just the action in, he says it feels good.

My thought is that sounds like a very long LOP. I'm worried it won't be right for some reason. On the other hand, he is about 6'2 and has fairly broad shoulders, and has held it and likes it although he has never had anything other than a factory Rem 700.

Is there anything I'm missing? Another way to fit him that I should try? Does it sound about right to folks here?

Thoughts and suggestions greatly appreciated.

Scott

I'd have him put on his hunting coat over a thick sweater, sit in a chair, twist back hard to his right and shoulder the rifle like he is shooting at his 2:00 position. If he can make 14.5" work there, it will likely work anywhere.

I'm 5'8" and a 13.5-13.6" feels great to me in a thin shirt when I'm shooting from a standing position, but I like something closer to 13" for actual hunting in winter clothes.

If I remember correctly the old rule of thumb is that 13.5" is correct for a 5'10" person. For every inch more or less than 5'10", add or subtract 1/8". Of course, that assumes everyone is built alike. But the formula would call for a 14" pull for your son which I think is more likely than 14 1/2".
Phil

Even at 6'2", for a hunting rifle it seems like 14" would be closer to ideal. Given the fact he will probably be wearing a heavy jacket. Especially if hunting elk in November etc..

I held Tom Selleck's Shilo Sharps from the movie Crossfire Trail when I went to order mine at the factory. It had a 17" LOP and fit me like a glove. Maybe since we are both 6' 4". I was wearing a T-shirt at the time so ordered mine with a 16" LOP. Fits as well with a coat on. For scoped rifles I like 14, but can deal with a tad shorter. 2 of my rifles have 13.5" LOPs and feel a bit too short, but I can make them work and are not heavy kickers. Don't want to get too short and bloody my nose.

Perhaps I should have added, this will be a .270 Win, Mauser 98 with a scope.

Everyone is different. I like a 14.5" LOP and I'm 5'10".

Well, heck.....

I think I'm going to go with 'there is no formula, and everybody is different'. Like I said, he held it with the action and scope rings in place and said it felt good. The crook of the arm measurement worked for him. I guess I'll build it at that length, or as close to it as I can to clean up the end of the stock.

Thanks to everyone for the help and comments.

Look at it this way, you can always shorten if the need arises but lengthening is much harder to do.

Longer LOP on shotguns, shorter on rifles I set mine up with shoulder the rifle and have my nose 1.5-2 " in back of my thumb when it is over the wrist of the stock.

Fix it...throw a scope on that action and let him throw it up a couple of times. I have a LLOP and it will let him know where he stands. powdr

I wish I could. He's at Tech in Lubbock, I'm at home east of Dallas. I took it with us this weekend when we went to visit him. I will say it looked like it fit right when he held it. No crowding the stock and his head not so far back to look awkward.

Put on hunting clothes.
If you actually hunt as opposed to sit, squat at the b are if a tree and try to shoot around it, like you see a buck and are trying to shoot through
an opening. Try it standing.


Bet you will suddenly like stocks much shorter than you thought.


5'10, longish arms, I find youth guns way too short just playing,
or bench shooting. But have hunted the daughters rifles just fine.
Too short works fairly well, too long doesn't work.

No idea what my 308 is cut to, but 13" or so is probably about what
I want on a hunting gun.

14.5 might be tough when he goes to shoulder the rifle in a heavy coat, especially in a compromised (say 2 or 3 o'clock) position. Most factory rifles come 13.5" and a half inch in either direction goes a long way. On the other hand...it's easy to shorten. He'll figure out during his first season hunting with it whether he wants shorter or not.

Dead on! This is the formula given me by a pro stock maker years ago. It works! All the guns I've built since then have ended up with a quarter inch short of 13" for LOP. I short arms. It's served me well!

JOC wrote something like "Americans like their rifle stocks too long and their shotgun stocks too short."


Using the forearm method is ridiculous. I would use over 16" because of my arm length. That is far too long.

Some good advice here, and the old rule of thumb is pretty good: when in doubt make a rifle stock shorter and a shotgun stock longer.

There is a lot more to getting the length of pull right that involves the shape and length of the grip.

With typical rifle stock grips today, I am best suited with a length of pull of 13.5”, and 13.25” feels pretty good too. In shotguns, for comparison, with most pistol gripped guns, about 14 3/4” is right (and I shoot them a lot, as a tournament sporting clays shooter and bird hunter). I am 5’9”, with a 34” sleeve on a dress shirt.

I’m 6’2”. With finger on trigger, crook of the arm measurement puts me at about 14”(which I really like). 14 1/8” is even better. Doesn’t matter whether I have thick hunting clothes on or not. I like 14 1/8”.

Everybody is different. Remington’s standard 13.5” always seems too short to me. Winchester’s 13.75” always felt better. When I had a McMillan stock made for one of my Model 70s I tried 14 1/8” and have stayed with that for the last 3-4 McMillan’s I’ve ordered.

I’m of the opinion, it’s easier to take length off than it is to put back on.

Leftybolt

If you going to err, err on the long side...............

I have never mounted a long gun with a LOP that was TOO long to use comfortably....

IMHO, YMMV

True. Thanks to all with suggestions. I will make this at 14.5", since that is what he tried out and liked. I can cut it later if need be. Thanks again

Scott