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Joined: Dec 2004
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 17,247 |
I’m a tick shy of 5’9” and fairly slim. Remington’s old 13 3/8” they used for years fit me perfectly in light clothing. I could really stand to drop a quarter inch when wearing heavier clothes. As a result, several of today’s factory rifles are a touch too long for me, and the “keepers” often get cut down a bit with a new pad. Looking in the safes, there’s only 3-4 rifles left at factory LOP, and two are likely getting trimmed up at some point. I’d like to be about 2 inches taller, just so factory rifles would fit right!
Now with even more aplomb
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 7,365
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: May 2010
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6’1” here. Never had a problem lining up with any rifle. Wear heavy clothing in December PA deer season, but lop on factory guns has never been an issue. Prefer a longer lop to keep my eye a bit further from the ocular lens. The McMillians that I’ve ordered had a 13 3/4” lop and fit me perfectly whether at the range or in the field. Some of the stuff discussed in this thread has never entered my mind.
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 10,105 Likes: 3
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Prefer a longer lop to keep my eye a bit further from the ocular lens. Please point out the obvious of what I'm missing here. In order to get full field of view, doesn't your eye need to be the same distance from the lens regardless of LOP?
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,934
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2005
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13.5" LOP seems to fit me perfectly. The longest LOP of any rifle I've used is a Mauser M12. You have to be a giraffe to get behind it and winter clothes makes it more so.
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Joined: May 2010
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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Prefer a longer lop to keep my eye a bit further from the ocular lens. Please point out the obvious of what I'm missing here. In order to get full field of view, doesn't your eye need to be the same distance from the lens regardless of LOP? Didn’t express it correctly and it may just be my imagination, but it’s just more comfortable and a lot easier to line up on a scope and control the guns recoil if I’m not all hunched up on rifle with a short stock.
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,234
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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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. Huh. So that's why every factory rifle I ever decided to keep required swapping out the recoil pad for one around a 1/2" longer. Except for just one - a CA Mesa. That one is just right. Weird.
It's you and the bullet, and all the rest is secondary.
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 495
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
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[[/quote]
Please point out the obvious of what I'm missing here. In order to get full field of view, doesn't your eye need to be the same distance from the lens regardless of LOP?[/quote]
Didn’t express it correctly and it may just be my imagination, but it’s just more comfortable and a lot easier to line up on a scope and control the guns recoil if I’m not all hunched up on rifle with a short stock.[/quote]
Feel the same way. I'm 6'1" with a longer than average neck and arms. Getting "hunched up" is very unnatural feeling for me when shooting from any shooting position for me.
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Joined: Jun 2005
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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I prefer 13 3/4" for a rifle to be shot in all positions. For offhand only I could go shorter. This matches up to the formula Mule Deer posted above.
Too close for irons, switching to scope...
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Joined: Nov 2005
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Campfire Tracker
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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. I have no idea why the synthetic stocks run so long. I usually go to a thinner pad. I like to run bolt guns from my shoulder. I may have been affected by Springfield 03's. A 13.5 " LOP is the longest I can go even in summer clothes. I run 13 in LOPs on my big game rifles I use in the winter. I have a Ruger GSR and added their snthetic stock. I really appreciate how easy it is to adjust the LOP on it. Oddly a 14 in LOP will work for me with a shotgun. I do prefer 13,5"
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,167 Likes: 16
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
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Yeah, shotguns typically have longer LOPs--partly because we usually don't have to deal with scopes when using 'em. The industry standard is usually 14" or a little longer.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
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Joined: Aug 2021
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Just reading through all the posts, it seems to me that: When you shorten the stock, the scope should be moved forward to keep the same eye relief. Correct LOP is more related to arm length rather than height. If you have a large chest, either from muscular development with your pecs or being overweight, you need a shorter LOP.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2001
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Correcting LOP is the first thing done to any firearms bought for my wife, rifle or shotgun! Then if a rifle, the hand-lapping starts on the rifle bore! Then of course……the proper fitting of the scope!
Being less that 6’ tall incorporates a lot of “specialized tuning” for those a wee bit short in the LOP department! memtb
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
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Joined: Aug 2021
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Another thing is that LOP is made up of two distances, the distance from trigger to the grip and the distance from grip to the shoulder. These measurements vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Assuming that perhaps a 13.5" LOP is always correct for a particular person across different brands assumes that the distance from trigger to grip is always the same...which it isn't. Furthermore, some recoil pads are slipperier than others (e.g. Sako's), and don't catch your clothing when you bring the rifle to your shoulder - this allows a marginally longer LOP as feeling correct when mounting the rifle to your shoulder.
Last edited by Riflehunter; 09/04/23.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Campfire Outfitter
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When I work a stock for my wife, I’ve always used a Pachmyar Sporting Clays……it has a “slick” plastic insert at the top of the pad, which helps with clothing drag! memtb
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
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Campfire Tracker
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Consider this….
Can you work the bolt for three shot from the shoulder? Am guessing most will want a shorter stock.
Jeff Cooper was a pretty big guy and shot a sub-13” LOP. Of course Cooper was rifleman and didn’t focus on shooting from a bench or using gizmos.
Last edited by RinB; 09/04/23.
“Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Posted by Brad.
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Consider this….
Can you work the bolt for three shot from the shoulder? Am guessing most will want a shorter stock.
Jeff Cooper was a pretty big guy and shot a sub-13” LOP. Of course Cooper was rifleman and didn’t focus on shooting from a bench or using gizmos. Why yes, yes I can. Good point though. Not even sure what my best LOP for bench shooting would be.
Too close for irons, switching to scope...
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Joined: Jun 2020
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Campfire Outfitter
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I’m 6’3” with longish arms typical factory rifles fit me pretty well. If anything I like a shorter LOP. a I adjust my body position and blade or square up more to the target to make it work. With shotguns it seems to be about 50/50 as far as fitting well or having to add a thicker recoil pad in order to see the bead.
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