Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Rifle length of pull

Why do so many rifle manufacturers use a 13.75" LOP on synthetic stocks? It's easier to add length than to shorten it IME.

Just catering to the masses as a 13.75” LOP is considered a standard length by many rifle manufacturers. Who wants to buy a rifle and have to add length to the stock? I think it’s easier to shorten a stock.

To clarify, injection molded stocks. I was looking at several different brands and all had a 13.75" LOP.

Because there are very few hunters left. There are shooters that hunt, but by in large most sit on their butts to kill. Very few still hunters around that understand a long LOP, with hunting clothing on, does nothing to help. Too damn many people sitting in heated blinds with Go Pros.

are you saying that a 13 3/4 length of pull is too long for the average,?

that may be but not for all of us LOL a good shotgun fitting mine is over 15 and a half inch length of pull. a rifle at the custom stock I usually like to get around 14 1/2- 15 but not everybody has a 37-in sleeve length ..

Shotgun and rifle are different. It's far easier to accommodate a shorter LOP, when wearing 4 layers of clothing while still hunting with a rifle than it is to deal with a longer LOP. I typed that slowly for you.

I am in the same boat as you with all of those measurements. I have to think when I sell a custom... do I need to cut the stock down to actually sell this rifle or is there another giant with the same taste as me?

Because most are skinny or fat-asses, with no muscle to get in the way, and shoot with a scope from a bench.




GR

I'm 5'10" with 73" arm span so a bit of an ape in that regard but gravitated to an LOP of 13.0" or less. Have had no problem working the bolt or adjusting to eye relief with standard mount scopes, LER scopes or iron sights. The shorter LOP is easier to mount the butt quickly for quick shots, regardless of clothing or wearing a pack. I've read that 03' Springfields, M1 Garands etc. were fitted with shorter stalks to fit a broader range of troops and somehow the taller guys adjusted just fine.

Prefer the 12.50-75" LoP on the M1, and cut down my rifles to that whenever possible.

Can hardly run the bolt on a std 13.75" stocked rifle w/o dismounting it, because of pectoral muscle flex.

6'-1", 74" arm span.




GR

I agree. A 13 1/2” lop works just fine for me.

14.25 is about ideal for me. Keeps the recoil off of my cheek bone. a nice high comb seems to help too. Everybody's mileage very's on this one.

I'm not tall so a 13 1/4 to 13 1/2 LOP works best for me. That means that a lot of factory stocks require shortening for me to get a good fit. This is actually a factor for me in deciding what brand of rifle to buy since shortening is an extra expense and I don't have the skills or equipment to do a nice clean job myself.

I think Americans are larger than they used to be, on average. That may be part of the reason more factory stocks seem to be longer these days. But as others have pointed out, shooting from a bench is different from shooting in the field and that is probably another factor.

Not sure how you’re going about stock length modifications but I consider it much easier to cut stocks shorter than lengthen stocks regardless of construction.

I just shortened my youngest daughters injection molded tikka t1 stock to 11 inches and had no issues. Pm me if you’re interested and I can walk you through it. Took less than an hour to cut, attach and shape the pad

The rule-of-thumb I've heard from more than one custom stockmaker and rifle builder is a 13.5" LOP for shooters standing 5'9", and .1" difference for every inch under or over that height. (5'9" is the average height for American males, though that tends to shrink with age.) This also works for women, who tend to have longer arms than men--unless the have larger than average, uh, chests.

For many years the standard LOP for American factory rifles was 13.5", to accommodate the average man, but we've tended to not only average taller but, especially, heavier than we used to. Which is probably the reason for the slightly longer LOP on many factory rifles these days.

But the "standard" in European factory rifles is usually longer, to allow cutting it down for shorter shooters. But many European hunters expect to have their stock "adjusted" for them, especially in higher-income countries.

what I said in my earlier post was around 14 1/2 pertaining to rifle. this formula comes out to 14.3 so that's pretty close and I am long armed even for my height. shotgun comes out a bit longer I'd say once again mule deer hit the nail on the head

One other thing to consider is with modern fabrics/insulation, we don't have to get bulked up like the Michelin Man any more for cold weather. Depending on the rifle, I like 14.5 to 14-3/4. Shotgun 15 to 15-1/4. Gore-Tex and Thinsulate do make a difference.

another thing I think influences what people like for their length of pull is their style of gun mounting. if you kind of rake up from the armpit you're going to like a little bit shorter length to pull. if you're kind of a push out and pull back kind of guy you probably won't just slightly longer length of pull

Width and thickness of shoulders and length of neck mean more than how tall a fella is but the rule.of thumb is a.great place to start

I'm 5' 11" with big shoulders, chest and upper arms and prefer 13.5" LOP on my deer rifles. It's cold here during deer season, I prefer to hunt afoot and don't want my rifle butt catching on my coat when I need to mount and shoot fast. I also prefer a hard plastic or steel butt plate to those damn sticky sissy pads.