Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters How to measure LOP needed for hunting rifles

How can I measure the length of pull I need in a hunting rifle stock?

Not a writer but I believe it's from the trigger to a point on the buttplate that's 1/2 way between the toe of the stock and top of the comb.

Make sure to wear your usual hunting clothes when mounting the rifle.

Also it depends on your shooting position in your shooting situation.

In any event the shooting mount should be smooth and easy.

The late Jeff Cooper liked a short stock (12.5")and he was 6'2".

There's more on this topic over on scoutrifle.org.

The "average" LOP for American factory rifles is 13-1/2", give or take a tiny bit. This supposedly fits the average American adult male, who's around 5'10" tall. It also work pretty well for women.

Many professional atockmakers use this is a very basic guideline, adding 1/8" for every inch of height the person is over or under 5'10". This means 12-1/2" for a 5'2" woman, or 14" for a 6'2" guy.

This usually works out pretty well, but shoulder width, arm length, clothing, etc. all have an effect. I'm 5'8" but like 13-1/2", probably because I have fairly broad shoulders. My wife is 5'7" and also likes 13-1/2" because she has long arms. But when hunting in real cold weather I prefer 1/4" less, the reason a couple of my big game rifles that might be used in cold have 13-1/4" LOP's.

One of the best things to do is try a bunch of rifles with different lengths, comb styles, etc. Shoulder slope and neck length also have an effect. I have square shoulders and a short neck and prefer a pretty straight stock, but my wife has sloping shoulders and a long neck and likes a Monte Carlo comb.

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Thanks!

MD is spot on. I am 5'11" and like a 14" to 14.5" LOP depending on the rifle. I have a gunsmith friend in SoCal who is built nearly identical to me. He likes a 12.5" LOP. I have a long neck and tend to crawl up the stock, hence one of my reasons for preferring a longer stock. Otherwise my eye ends up too close to the scope.

I can shoot rifles with LOP's ranging form 12" to 15". Heck, I even test fired one last weekend for a customer who has a 16" LOP. But, I prefer something more like 14.25" give or take.

The shortest stock that you can fire from prone bipod supported, behind a properly adjusted scope (typically as far forward as it can be mounted) with a 30/06 or similar case, and not get knocked into next week, will be best all around.

Most of these long stock afficionados, when you put 'em on a shooting timer and have them make snap shots and 25/50yd and rapid standing to kneeling or sitting, they'll look like Helen Keller.

What Mule Deer said.

I've done a lot of fiddling with different lengths of pull on different firearms and I get the best fit a little short of average. Don't know why, I should be average or just a little longer by the standard advice. Not that it makes a great deal of difference with rifles though the scope aligns automatically with my eye when the fit is right.

The common wisdom is to hold your shooting arm out to the side level with what you're standing on. Then bring your forearm up at a 90% angle toward the sky. Measure the distance from the inside of your elbow to the second knuckle on your trigger finger. That should be your ideal length of pull. Well, maybe. Many of us like it shorter or longer due to our personal preferences. The above will give you a place to start.

Back when I first started hunting, I had a hard time finding a rifle that fit me. 13.5" just wasn't enough. Just to give you an idea of my dimensions at that time, I drove up to Dayton once to visit a female friend during the summer.

Her mother came out to meet me, gave me a big hug and said, "I want you to do your trick. Rene said you've got a great trick."

"Huh?"

"She says you can clasp your hands and jump rope." She was dead serious.

I guess it was believable back then. Rifles were a problem for me and shotguns were even more of a problem. A lever 30-30 just disappeared on its way to my shoulder-- felt like I was shooting a cap gun. My solution was to either put the longest butt pad I could find, or use a slip on butt pad with a spacer.

Things change. I changed. I still have long arms but standard rifles fit me now a lot better. Part of it is that I have gained a layer of fat that I did not have at 19. Part of it is that my spine curvature has changed. Part of it is that I now wear an extra layer or two to keep out the cold. As a result, I've spent the last decade removing all the thick butt pads and going back to the original plates. All but one were still in the drawer I threw them into back during Reagan's first term.

The moral of this story is that without shouldering a rifle, there is probably no good way to tell. If you go by my height, I have actually grown an inch or better since I was 19. If you go by the Skidrow's measuring, I'm still a 14.5" shooter. Truth is that a standard 13.5" is getting a bit short for me.

That "Common Wisdom" has been totally debunked every time anyone actually looked at it. It is close to the average, but far from wisdom. Most stockfitters laugh at the concept.

That hinge in the middle of the arm called an elbow allows virtually everyone to use a stock, regardless the length of their arms. I am 6'4" and XL Tall shirts are short in the sleeve for me. The Knucklehead Common Wisdom says I need a 17" stock. Somewhere around 13 3/4 is what I really need.

The geometry between shoulder, eye, jowl, neck, and hand is everything.

Also stance. The M16A2's stock was lengthened from 13in to 13.5in at the behest of Camp Perry types who typically use that gay-assed bladed offhand stance. When we started going to war in addition to going to the range we found the new longer stock sucked balls for about 99% or users, regardless of height, arm length, inseam, shoe size, astrological sign, etc,etc..... This is a much more effective stance:

For sure. A T-shirt LOP will be differenter than a parka-wearing LOP.

I measured the thickness of the heaviest clothing I would ever wear hunting (compressed), and came up with something like 1/4". In other words, not enough to matter.

I have used these for seasonal adjustments on shotguns (where it matters more) with good results. As you see the barrel nut threads into the wood stock and whatever pad you choose fastens to the nut with a machine screw. Thick pad for early season, thinner for late season. Or use spacers. Much easier than fighting wood screws and no danger of loosening the screw hole. Wouldn't be my choice on a fancy gun but works well for field guns.


Gun Nut II - Brownell's

Apparently you copied it all but you didn't read it all. Never said it was the perfect way to do it. Just a place to start. On the other hand you could just start out at 10 feet and work your way down.

Interesting thread. I as mentioned in an earlier post put on a thick shirt and handle as many as I can and try to select the one that fits best. At 6'2" with long arms and neck and a thin face what feels best is the BDL style Remington stocks. The classic lines are pretty to look at but they don't fit as well and seem to whomp me more on the backend.

As TakeAKnee said it should be every bit as useful as your astrological sign, too... Fact is if you start around 13 1/2" you will have a better starting point... With more testable examples easily at hand.