Typically the easiest way to check this is to measure the distance between your nose and the thumb of your shooting hand. If the gun has the correct length of pull this distance should be between 1 ½ – 2 ½ inches.
Full Answer
What are the measurements for a shotgun stock?
There are three specific measurements important in any shotgun stock. The measurements are "drop at comb," "drop at heel," and "length of pull."
What are gun fit measurements?
Gun fit is another conversation entirely, but the measurements of a stock are worth understanding. The pertinent stock measurements are: Length of Pull, Cast, and Drop. They are defined thus: Length of Pull: the distance from the front trigger to the center of the butt.
How do you measure a shotgun for a shooter?
One of the most important measurements in fitting a shotgun to a shooter is length of pull (LOP). Shown as measurement ‘A,’ it is measured from the center of the butt to the center of the trigger and is seen as a fairly direct measurement of the length of the butt stock of any firearm.
How do you measure the length of pull on a gun?
Gunsmiths can permanently cast stocks with hot oil or a heat lamp. Length of pull (LOP) is the distance between the front of the trigger and the center of the gun butt. To determine your LOP, mount the gun then measure the distance between your nose and the knuckle of your thumb.
How long should my shotgun stock be?
Length of Pull It should be about two finger-widths or 1-1½ inches. A stock should be short enough that you can mount the gun without snagging it on your vest, but long enough that you don't have to pull it a long way back into your shoulder, which can pull the muzzle off target.
How a shotgun should fit?
0:364:54What is Shotgun Fit | Shotgun Tips with Gil Ash - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThere's a four to one ratio. If. You cut a quarter of an inch off the buttstock. You're going toMoreThere's a four to one ratio. If. You cut a quarter of an inch off the buttstock. You're going to close the gap between the nose and the thun thun knuckle by one inch.
How is length pull measured?
The body's LOP is measured from the inside of the arm at the bend in the elbow, where your forearm meets your bicep, to the tip of your trigger finger, which needs to be bent at a 90-degree angle simulating a correct finger position to achieve a straight rearward trigger press.
Does length pull matter?
It is one of the most important aspects of a gun's dimensions and determines whether the gun will fit you. Meaning how comfortable the gun feels to you and how accurate you can shoot it. With the correct length of pull, you will have quick sight acquisition, better control, better accuracy, and feel more comfortable.
What does shimming a shotgun do?
The 98 cents' worth of plastic shims that came with your new $1,800 semiauto might be the most important part of the whole shotgun. Stock shims let you fine-tune cast and drop to get a perfect fit—and make your new gun almost a part of you.
How much can you bend a shotgun stock?
Typically, we can achieve bends up to ⅜”, though every stock is different.
What is drop at heel on shotgun?
Drop at Heel: extent of vertical offset between the top of the barrels (rib) and the heel of the butt-stock. Cast: extent of offset left (cast on) or right (cast off) between the midline of the barrels and the center of the butt.
What does LOP mean in shotguns?
A: Length of Pull (LOP) on the shotgun or rifle is the distance from the trigger to the back center of the butt plate or recoil pad. LOP is one of the primary measurements in determining if the gun “fits” the shooter.
What is the length of pull on a Remington 870?
14"The overmolded rubber system is grippy with out being sticky, and the 14" length of pull on the standard Remington stocks is just too long for some of us. Plus, if you have a heavy jacket or body armor on, this allows room to easily shoulder the shotgun or rifle.
What is length of pull ar15?
The average length of pull for a standard AR-15 is around 13 inches. An adjustable stock works well for shooters whose ideal length of pull doesn't meet this average measurement. Length of pull can also vary based on the clothes you're wearing.
What is cast on a shotgun stock?
Simply put, cast refers to the deviation of the butt away from the center line of the gun. A shotgun with no cast is straight and a line down the rib will continue straight down the center of the butt stock, when viewed from above.
How long is a gun stock?
This is the LOP of the rifle. Write down the measurement. In case the LOP turns out to be too long or short, you'll need to know the measurement to determine if your stock should be trimmed or replaced. Most factory rifles have an LOP between 13.00 and 13.75 inches (33.0 and 34.9 cm).
How to check for cast issues?
To check for cast issues, get back in front of the mirror (again with a proven empty and safe gun) and see if your eye sits centrally on the rib of the gun (without having to roll your head). The image below shows the correct position plus two wrong positions.
Why is grip important?
It is important though as a grip that suits your hand allows for a more consistent gun mount and more control of the gun.
What is the correct gun fit?
Correct gun fit is one of the three fundamental building blocks to successful shotgun shooting. We have already covered the other two – eye dominance and gun mount so this article completes the foundation series.
What happens if your stock is too short?
If the stock length is too short, you’re likely to feel more recoil and have less control when handling the gun. When it comes to temporary solutions for remedying a short stock, a slip on recoil pad can be helpful and some come with different sized foam inserts which allow you to extend the stock by different lengths.
What should the iris be on a gun?
The iris should sit central and directly on top it of it, like this: If you see any of the below, the drop on your gun is either too much or too little. If your eye sits too high in relation to the rib, seek advice from a good gunsmith as alterations to the stock may be needed.
How long is a shotgun pull?
Typically, this will range anywhere from 14 1/4″ to 15 1/2″ for a gun designed to be used by an adult.
How to tell if a gun is too long?
A sign that the length is too long is if when mounting the gun, you aren’t able to mount the gun into the shoulder pocket but instead it ends up being mounted on the end of your arm.
What is shotgun fit?
Shotgun Fit: Understanding Stocks. There are many factors involved in shooting a shotgun accurately, but one of the most important and least understood is gun fit. Most manufacturers offer a standard stock dimension, something that fits the average shooter. Since shooters don’t have an opportunity to choose between different stock sizes ...
What happens if you shoot high with a comb?
If the comb is too high, the eye is forced high and we will tend to shoot high. To counteract this, shooters mash their cheek too hard against the stock, trying to lower the eye. This isn’t a comfortable, natural way to aim and will lead to more felt recoil from the gun.
What does a small pad do to a gun?
A small pad, having little difference between drop at heel and drop at toe, will result in a gun that sends all its force through a smaller surface, resulting in more felt recoil .
How to find drop at comb?
To find drop at comb, a perpendicular line is drawn down from the rib line to the point of the comb and a measurement is taken (‘B’). This drop is one of the most critical of all the factors involving fit, allowing the cheek to rest at the right height, which in turn allows the eye to fall naturally in line with the rib. The proper drop allows the gun to be thrown up for a quick shot and not have to be adjusted before firing.
Why is pitch important in shooting?
For those shooters, a stock with too little pitch will distribute recoil with only the toe section of the butt, creating an uncomfortable experience and many times bruising their shoulder.
What is a cast off stock?
Cast allows a shooter to look straight down the rib, so a cast-off stock is meant for a right-handed person and a cast-on stock for a leftie. Mounting a cast-off stock left-handed results in the shooter looking down the right side of the rib, meaning their eye will not align naturally with the rib.
What happens if you have too short of a pull?
A too-short length of pull will also result in having the thumb smack the shooter in the nose or safety glasses under recoil. Length of pull is dependent on many factors: length of arms, length of neck, shoulder width and stance. Similarly-sized people they can have completely different LOPs based on stance alone.
What is the stock of a shotgun?
The stock of a shotgun is composed of two parts: the butt-stock and the fore-end or forearm. The butt-stock is the piece of the shotgun that marries to your shoulder and cheek, and allows the trigger-hand a grip.
What is the fore end of a shotgun?
The fore-end is a far easier bit of the shotgun stock to describe. It is simply a piece of wood affixed to the barrels and/or action, providing a place for the forward hand to grasp.
What is the shape of a pistol grip?
Grip: somewhat synonymous with wrist, but used to designate the shape of the grip itself. The three primary shapes are: pistol grip, prince-of-wales/round knob grip, or straight grip.
How far behind your hand is the recoil pad on a shotgun?
Typically you will want the stock length to be a length so that when mounted, your face is about 2 inches behind your hand grasping the grip of the shotgun.
What is pitch in a shotgun?
Pitch. Pitch is the angle of the back of the recoil pad or butt plate. This measurement is important because it affects how recoil is transmitted to the shooter. For details on shotgun pitch adjustment check out this GunsAmerica article.
What are the final tests to ensure the gun is hitting where you’re looking?
The patterning board, clays courses, and birds falling from the skies are the final tests to ensure the gun is hitting where you’re looking. Once you own a shotgun that really fits, nothing else will ever do because you will see the difference, but you will also know just what to look and ask for when buying.
How does a shotgun feel when thrown up?
I’ve had several shotguns that felt really good but never delivered when it was time to hit the targets. Sometimes it’s the point of impact due to rib design but most often it comes down to the true fit of a shotgun where small errors are magnified as the distance increases to the target.
What is cast in golf?
The cast is the amount a stock is bent to the left or right and acts like the windage adjustment to get your eye aligned in the left to right plane behind the rib.
Where is the drop on a shotgun?
Drop. This is the distance that the top edge of the stock is below the line of the rib or barrel. The drop is typically measured at the comb and at the heel, but the drop where your face actually sits is what is truly important. Your eye is essentially functioning as the rear sight of the shotgun and it needs to be aligned vertically with ...
Should you stretch your thumb when recoiling a gun?
You don’t want your thumb hitting your nose during recoil, but you don’t want it so long that you have to stretch to support the gun. Your other arm should be able to support the forearm with a generous bend at the elbow, not a straight arm making it hard to hold up the front of the gun.
Why Is Gun Fit Important?
Gun Fitting Terminology
- If cast, drop, pitch, length, comb, toe, rib and heel all make you scratch your head and want to run a mile, wait! Read on and all will become clear… Firstly, it will help if we break the above into two distinct categories. 1. The physical parts of the shotgun which are important to gun fit 2. The measurements between those parts The diagrams below will help you to understand the anato…
The Proof Is in The Pattern
- Most shooting grounds have a pattern plate which you can ask to use. The purpose of a pattern plate is to allow you to shoot at it from certain distances with different cartridges to see how it impacts your shot pattern. One other use of a pattern plate is to aim at the centre and see whether your pattern is high, low, left or right of where you th...
Summary
- Hopefully you now have more of an understanding about gun fit and how/why the different measurements are used and taken. There is no substitute for spending some time with a seasoned gun fitting pro and as mentioned a number of times in this article you should absolutely do this before having any alteration work carried out on your gun. If you have been wondering ho…