Neal Haarberg
Active member
I am getting ready to cut down the stock on a 20ga for my daughter. The question I have is how to determine the length of pull?
Shotgun Stock length?
- Thread starter Neal Haarberg
- Start date
Denis Cruts
New member
You may be better off looking for a youth stock depending on the gun. Kids can grow into a full length stock pretty fast. In the past with my own kids, I used a series of plexi-glass spacers and a couple of different thickness recoil pads to follow growth sperts. As for your original question, the stock on my sons youth model 1187 measures 12 3/4"
Neal Haarberg
Active member
I would get a youth stock but I can't get one for this gun. It is an O/U that my dad won at a quail unlimited banquet. The make of it escapes me at the momemt. There was lot of discussion about just getting youth 870 but my wife is short and she will be able to use the gun after my daughter outgrows it and then my son is next in line in 5 years for it. I have been thinking about doing spacers like you said to deal with growth spurts. I have considered putting threaded inserts into the stock so that the spacers can be taken in and out easily instead of using wood screws for the recoil pad. I just need a starting point.
Pete McMiller
Well-known member
Neal,
I'm not positive but I've heard this method and it seems to come pretty close. Trigger arm out to her side, elbow bent so her hand is straight up with her fingers stretched out towards the ceiling. Measure from the crook in the arm to the longest index finger joint. I just did it for myself and measured 14.875 which is pretty close to my actual length of pull (or maybe slightly long by about 1/8").
I'm not positive but I've heard this method and it seems to come pretty close. Trigger arm out to her side, elbow bent so her hand is straight up with her fingers stretched out towards the ceiling. Measure from the crook in the arm to the longest index finger joint. I just did it for myself and measured 14.875 which is pretty close to my actual length of pull (or maybe slightly long by about 1/8").
Capt Rich Geminski
Well-known member
The crook of the arm is fine for a average fit. You should have about 1 1/2 between the nose and thumb. This is a general rule. The extra distance between does not relate to how much you cut off. Do not know of any formula for measuring. Cut the stock for a 1/2" pad as you can put a 1" to extend it.
andrew chaffe
Active member
How thick is the recoil pad on the stock currently?
check to see if you can get away with a but plate first before you cut, if you have to cut a lot off you may need to add some weight to the butt to help keep the balance close.
Have her mount the gun and watch how she mounts it (even with it too long) you will get a good idea of how much to long it is. As far as the ideal length that is a really good question but there are many methods, the elbow to first knuckle is a good starting point. If you look at any English shooting books that talk about fit, they fit stocks longer than the average American would fit a stock.
It also depends on the intended use, my trap gun is about a 1/2" longer than most of my guns.
Speaking from experience of having a classic O/U that was cut to fit me to shoot trap when I was a small 12yr old, see if you can buy a used stock first and keep the original uncut and cut down the used one.
check to see if you can get away with a but plate first before you cut, if you have to cut a lot off you may need to add some weight to the butt to help keep the balance close.
Have her mount the gun and watch how she mounts it (even with it too long) you will get a good idea of how much to long it is. As far as the ideal length that is a really good question but there are many methods, the elbow to first knuckle is a good starting point. If you look at any English shooting books that talk about fit, they fit stocks longer than the average American would fit a stock.
It also depends on the intended use, my trap gun is about a 1/2" longer than most of my guns.
Speaking from experience of having a classic O/U that was cut to fit me to shoot trap when I was a small 12yr old, see if you can buy a used stock first and keep the original uncut and cut down the used one.
you mite try mounting a youth stock of another gun at a gun store . see how she handles that length. then go to the over under cut to that size about 12 half in. now have her look at target and bring gun to mount.U standing on gun side to see where our if catchs on underarm( tee shirt on) you can get ball park mark on stock to cut. then look for distance between nose and thumb . you also want to know what she sees down the barrel (top of barrel or back of reciever) now u can make second cut to fit recoil pad and hunting jacket hope this helped rick
Neal,
I second Pete's post. That's how a gunsmith told me when I bought a gun that was to long for me. Don't forget to subtract the thickness of the recoil pad you will use. Another thing the smithy told me was to assemble the recoil pad AFTER cutting the the length of the stock and then shape the pad to the new perimeter of the stock. The first time I did this I made a template and tried to shape the recoil pad before assembling to the stock. It never fit right and looked like crap.
Hope this helps.
I second Pete's post. That's how a gunsmith told me when I bought a gun that was to long for me. Don't forget to subtract the thickness of the recoil pad you will use. Another thing the smithy told me was to assemble the recoil pad AFTER cutting the the length of the stock and then shape the pad to the new perimeter of the stock. The first time I did this I made a template and tried to shape the recoil pad before assembling to the stock. It never fit right and looked like crap.
Hope this helps.
I am certainly no gunsmith but I have been tinkering with stock fit on mine and my friends guns for many years. Here’s a few thoughts you might consider if you intend to do the work yourself.
First try to determine whether she’s left eye dominant, the vast majority of girls/ladies are. A gun of given dimensions will fit a little different for a righty shooting left handed than a righty shooting right handed. There are a couple of ways to do it, if you want an explanation I or others here can explain it. If she’s a righty and left eye dominant, you should think about whether she will learn right handed and either close one eye or use an occluder, or learn lefty. Check the stock for cast/twist, these complicate the fitting if they are set up right handed for a lefty.
As for stock length the suggestion given by others are good starting points, the objective being that when she shoulders the gun in good shooting form there must be enough room between her nose and thumb to prevent a recoil collision. Extra space may be required for glasses depending on what type and the way they fit her face.
Another stock dimension, in my opinion as important and sometimes more so than length is pitch. This is the angle between the butt and the rib line. For instance, a trap gun will typically have no pitch while most field guns have a considerable amount of down-pitch. The reason this is important is that for the barrel to extend roughly perpendicular to the body when the gun is properly and comfortably mounted the pad needs to match the contour of the chest. For obvious reasons most ladies require more down-pitch than most men in order to avoid having the toe of the stock bruise them. When you see someone “crawl” a stock with their face it is many times a result of compensation to avoid discomfort due to lack of pitch. I can’t stress enough how many ladies have suffered with guns with no pitch and find relief with this one relatively simple adjustment.
I suggest picking up pads and spacers before cutting the stock so you can “measure twice, cut once”. There are many good online stores, I prefer Brownells. I might add that you can buy pitch spacers but they will of course add length back to the stock after you cut. Also, if you don’t totally butcher the scrap you can save it for use as a spacer later on.
To cut the stock I have had success on both a chop saw and a radial arm saw. Wrap the stock in tape to prevent marring and splintering and make sure the stock is laying level on it’s side before cutting or the butt will be at a left/right angle to the comb. Confirm before cutting that the stock bolt won’t protrude and that there will be enough room to seat the pad screws in the stock.
To fit the pad or spacer, screw it to the stock and scribe the back of the pad with an exacto. Remove it and sand it on either a bench sander or belt sander in a vice. Take your time, 100-grit works fine, you will be surprised how close you can come by eyeballing the stock contour and transferring it to the pad. Leaving a little flair all around will generally be most comfortable since a larger pad sits firmly on the shoulder and spreads the recoil more.
There have been many books written on this subject, this is just a quickie primer. If it sounds like too much trouble to do yourself, find a gunsmith who is willing to spend time and work with you and your daughter. Good luck.
First try to determine whether she’s left eye dominant, the vast majority of girls/ladies are. A gun of given dimensions will fit a little different for a righty shooting left handed than a righty shooting right handed. There are a couple of ways to do it, if you want an explanation I or others here can explain it. If she’s a righty and left eye dominant, you should think about whether she will learn right handed and either close one eye or use an occluder, or learn lefty. Check the stock for cast/twist, these complicate the fitting if they are set up right handed for a lefty.
As for stock length the suggestion given by others are good starting points, the objective being that when she shoulders the gun in good shooting form there must be enough room between her nose and thumb to prevent a recoil collision. Extra space may be required for glasses depending on what type and the way they fit her face.
Another stock dimension, in my opinion as important and sometimes more so than length is pitch. This is the angle between the butt and the rib line. For instance, a trap gun will typically have no pitch while most field guns have a considerable amount of down-pitch. The reason this is important is that for the barrel to extend roughly perpendicular to the body when the gun is properly and comfortably mounted the pad needs to match the contour of the chest. For obvious reasons most ladies require more down-pitch than most men in order to avoid having the toe of the stock bruise them. When you see someone “crawl” a stock with their face it is many times a result of compensation to avoid discomfort due to lack of pitch. I can’t stress enough how many ladies have suffered with guns with no pitch and find relief with this one relatively simple adjustment.
I suggest picking up pads and spacers before cutting the stock so you can “measure twice, cut once”. There are many good online stores, I prefer Brownells. I might add that you can buy pitch spacers but they will of course add length back to the stock after you cut. Also, if you don’t totally butcher the scrap you can save it for use as a spacer later on.
To cut the stock I have had success on both a chop saw and a radial arm saw. Wrap the stock in tape to prevent marring and splintering and make sure the stock is laying level on it’s side before cutting or the butt will be at a left/right angle to the comb. Confirm before cutting that the stock bolt won’t protrude and that there will be enough room to seat the pad screws in the stock.
To fit the pad or spacer, screw it to the stock and scribe the back of the pad with an exacto. Remove it and sand it on either a bench sander or belt sander in a vice. Take your time, 100-grit works fine, you will be surprised how close you can come by eyeballing the stock contour and transferring it to the pad. Leaving a little flair all around will generally be most comfortable since a larger pad sits firmly on the shoulder and spreads the recoil more.
There have been many books written on this subject, this is just a quickie primer. If it sounds like too much trouble to do yourself, find a gunsmith who is willing to spend time and work with you and your daughter. Good luck.