Hey everyone I am 6'4" with fairly long arms and I'm looking at getting a hunting rifle in 30-06. There are a lot of nice guns out there but so many of them just feel way to short on length of pull for me. I would really like to get a T3 stainless with laminate stock. My question is without adding spacers and a recoil pad as well as the scope I want with the right hight rings at the store, how can I tell if the gun will work for me without having any of the stuff I would have to add. I'm worried I'll spend a couple grand on a hunting rifle to find out it just won't work for me.
Long arms!
- Thread starter Lucien
- Start date
Put your hunting gear on, then find a rifle that fits. Think it through. Are you going to shoot from a stand with a thick coat on, or are you going to be shooting on the hike with a lighter jacket, but backpack on?
Carbonrod has some good advice, having said that I have had to modify the stock of every gun I own for opposite reasons to yours .You may have to accept that if you have a physique different from the norm adding spacers, a thicker pad or a slip on may be your only options outside of a custom stock.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
The height of the rings are dependent upon the objective diameter of the scope you choose, and to the height of stock's comb. The LOP doesn't effect the height of the scope beyond where your cheek lies on the comb. Unless you decide to choose a custom stock, adding spacers to the stock shouldn't pose an insurmountable problem once you determine how much length you need. The question you should ask yourself then is whether you are better served by solid spacers or an adjustable for length butt plate. Either way, it seems that a gunsmith is in you future, so don't leave it to the last minute. Whichever route you choose, you will have a better fit then 90% of the guys who buy an of the rack rifle and force themselves to use it as is.
yep, right around a 13 inch LOP suits most of us around here just fine. With one exception, my middle son, the reg 13 3/4 works for him.
Same here, and agree. Or add some spacers under the butt stock pad for a quick fix.
back40sniper
CGN Regular
- Location
- South east Sask.
I have same problem as OP. I just add a couple spacers and a limbsaver as they are thick. Works for me, but then I don't fret over fashion.
Thanks everyone! So I guess I will buy the rifle I want and make it work for me since I have yet to try one that fits out of the box. Carbonrod makes a good point about the clothing aspect. Truth be told its my first season since I was a kid so I sort of overlooked the cold weather clothing. Has anyone here made a pattern stock for duplication. I watched a video on YouTube from Midway USA where buddy makes one for himself. To me it seems it might be a cheaper option than a gunsmith. Thoughts???
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
Nothing will work out of the box. I'm 6'5 and have the same problem. If you hunt in the cold you will likely find that with your gear on a standard stock will fit you well enough.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Hey buckbrush, you were cheated! If you had a 36" inseam you'd be a monster, almost as big as that bouncer I met in the T&C one evening many years ago. You make a good point though, the thicker your arms, chest and shoulders, the shorter the LOP you need, regardless of your altitude.
Jesus wept, the Airliner!? Haven't heard that name in years. Anyway, try the gun with your winter clothes on, I bet it works just fine. - dan
I'm a big guy too. I like a 14" LOP. Adding a thick pad gets most rifles bang on for me. I also like a scope height that is as low as possible. However, my cheek bone is large so I make sure I don't have my face jammed down hard to the stock when shooting. Then I get a kick and slap when I fire the gun.
Fairly new to hunting with rifles, almost all my hunting has been with shotguns. I have never been measured but have fired SxS shotguns with a LOP of 14 5/8" and 14 3/4", found them to be comfortable. Would the LOP for a rifle be as critical as for a shotgun?
the best way to find if a rifle will shoulder you properly is to take the but end on the stock and place it at the joint between your bicep and forearm. Then, bring your forearm up the stock without bending your arm at all. If your trigger finger lies perfectly on the trigger the gun is the perfect fit. Id recommend going to one of your local gun shops and trying this with many of the different models they have available to see what shoulders nicest. I myself found the rifle that fits me best is my sako 85. Try it out sometime, i bet you will be surprised.
So I went into wholesale sports yesterday and dealt with a dude that was at least an inch taller than me (I'm 6'4" ish) I gave him my schpeal and he was totally straight up with me! There was no "well you should get this and that". It was more to the point. I came in all wishy washy, being a total noob wanting a hunting rifle and a long range target rifle in one. He basically said hey look man you are looking at two different beasts! Do you want to hunt or target shoot?........ Hunt! I said. "Ok then this is what I use and why". For some reason I was stuck on a 4-16 scope and expressed it as wanting to be able to shoot long distances. He gave me a dummy scope test rifle and told me to freestand aim at a target mounted 50 yards away on the store wall with a 3-9 scope. I did as he asked and was wobbly at best. He then said try holding it steady at 4-500 yards! I totally got the point. Now I know some of you will be saying "Damn rights you can make a clean kill at 4-500 yards and I don't disagree with you whatsoever but as a noob and ethically I don't feel right about taking my first kill at farther distances requiring greater marksmanship. So I went with the laminate stainless tikka t3 wih a 3-9 Zeiss conquest stainless scope.
