Length of pull???

[750k2]

How do you figure your length of pull and why do they seem shorter for
front stuffers???
I shoot a 14 1/4 on my skeet gun but everything I seem to read says
14 1/4++ is for 6 footers?
I'm 5'10" average build or is there a formula like the old crook of the arm to the finger pad deal??? :hmm:

 

[atr]

I don't use formulas . I put the butt of the gun tight against the inside of my elbow on my bicep . From my shoulder to my elbow , that part is parallel to the floor . From my elbow to my hand it is raised up 90 degrees to the rest of my arm and while holding the gun in that position my trigger finger reaches for the trigger . If i can keep the middle knuckled of my trigger finger bent on a 90 and the trigger finger touches the trigger half way between the tip and the first joint right on the pad the length of pull is right . If i have to bend my middle knuckle father than 90 to reach the trigger with the tip of my finger the length of pull is too long . If my middle knucked extends past the trigger allowing me to put most of my finger through the length of pull is too short . :results:

 

[Birddog6]

Really it all depends on what is comfortable to you & also what you are going to do with it & the type of weather. IMHO

I am 5'11" and 200# and shooting Skeet I use a 14" pull, even tho I wear a 35" sleeve dress shirt. My arms are long but I like a shorter pull than most guys my height. On a ML I want a 13 3/4" pull and in cold weather such as for deer hunting I like a 13 1/2" pull because of the heavy clothing.

However :imo: The LOP on a ML rifle is not nearly as critical as the LOP on a skeet gun. On a skeet gun you have to instantly pull up & move & be on target every time & the gun must shoulder the same every time for you to shoot consistantly good. On a ML rifle you have plenty time to adjust & a snap shot with one IMHO is a foolish shot anyway & I just don't do that.

I suggest you go to someones house or a dealer that has allot of variation in ML's so you can try lots of dif. styles & LOP's and then find what is comfortable. FORGET about looks a styles for now, find one that is COMFORTABLE and them look at the various looks & trims in what fits you.. :results:

If you are anywhere close to Nashville, I suggest going to Tip Curtis Frontier Shop & Tip will hve about 40 rifles built & would be more than happy to fit you to one. You don't have to buy one just to visit, he is a heck of a nice guy & very cordial. If not close to that, try & find another shop or find a ML club & pay them a visit. You will be glad ya did.

Custom Muzzleloaders & Custom Skinning Knives

 

; Stock length for a ML cannot be compared to a stock length for a Skeet Gun, Trap gun, Sporting Clays gun, upland partridge gun, quail gun, whatever gun - just doesn't compute, due to differing styles of shootng requiring different stock lengths. As well, a person's height doesn't come into it much either, but length of neck, length of arms, straighness of back- normal posture, shooting style, straight-back and head or climbing into the gun crawling the stock, hard to cheek along with stock styling - all dictate a 'proper' stock length .
: Most shooters with lots of experience can shoot a range of lengths just fine and don't have to have a 13.679" LOP. One that's between 13 3/8" to 13 7/8" will do just fine.
; I'm 6'1", 200lbs with a 36" sleeve, and prefer something from 13 1/4" to 13 3/4" I can shoot a 14", or a 13"- doesn't matter much, just move the shoulder to compensate. After a few shots, it's a natural position and the shoulder moves automatically when mounting the gun. It isn't like getting set, "Into" the gun before the shot to call "PULL". Most ML shooting is offhand shooting. Most ML shooting is straight-up, straight back with the head held high.
: Shooting requirements have different stock length requirments. You need somehting that will work over a variety of positions. We arent' held to one type or holding style as in trap or skeet. We have 1 sitting shot and 1 squatting shot on the trail-walk. The remaining 48 shots are all offhand at ranges from 12 yards to 100yards. Some are up hill, some down hill. Some crouched, some stretching to ge tover a branch, or crouched under one. One, non-offhand shot is close, 18 yards or so, at a squirrel's head through a crotch of a tree - taken while 'squatting' & the other non-offhand shot is around 75 to 80 yards at a 4" round gong target. Both of these are kinda 'gimmies'- easy targets, except both are left handed for right handed shooters, right handed for lefties. No sense making them too easy. There are a several more left-handed shots - so what's the correct length of pull? Whatever feels best for most of the shooting you do, is the correct stock length for you. For most people, it's between 13 1/4" and 13 3/4". People from 5' 10" to 6' 2" who have over 14" pulls, usually end up getting them shortened & that can be expensive due to re-inletting and finishing. 13 1/2" to 13 5/8" covers most people just fine - so, pehaps that's the formula?

 

[Birddog6]

Daryl: You will find that 99.9% of the new ML shooters have no requirements, other than they need something theyy can shoot & start with. Nt 49 dif positions, just learn to shoot & shoulder the rifle..

 

[wulf]

All of the origional Kentucky's I have examined had the short pull. 13 3/8 to max 13 7/8.. I asked why they were so confortable and the owner informed me that it was to get the weight back towards the shooter. To give a closer reach to the center of the "long barrel"...So by shortening the butt stock even just a little brings the total weight more near a balancing point for the left arm....He had 20 of them all in excellant condition by the famous names.... :cry:

 

[Zonie]

Wulfs answer is about what I was going to say.

A thick walled 36-44 inch barrel (even if it is swamped) moves the center of gravity out away form the butt plate.
Moving the butt plate a little closer to the center of gravity helps the shooter control it better.

 

[Herb]

Daryl- I agree with you. I like 13 1/4 to 13 5/8. I cut my Green River Leman Trade rifle from 14 1/8 down about 1/2 inch. Just too long to be handy. Shorter is easier to use, especially in winter clothing.

Wulf and Zonie- Good points. I restored a Jacob Wigle rifle (Westmoreland Co., PA 1811- 1844) for a museum here. Was taken in 1946 from a cave burial of a mixed blood boy about 7 years old, probably buried about 1880. The pack rats had chewed on the stock for salt, at the balance point where it was carried. You could see the four individual fingers of the right hand. That barrel was about .38 caliber (muzzle too rusted to be certain), one inch across the flats, had been cut to 35.5 inches, but based on the balance point, it had been about 44 to 46 inches long. I know of two more that Jacob made, there are photos in books. One is .38 caliber and 44 3/4 inch barrel, the other not stated but calculates to be about 46 inches long. The museum rifle has a silver thumb plate with the initials M.C. It is possible that it was Moses Carson's rifle. He was the older half brother of Kit Carson, who spent a winter or two in this area. Moses also travelled through here and once his band of trappers got into a fight with Utes east of this basin. Further research continuing. EDIT- I forgot to say, the museum rifle has a 12.5 inch length of pull.

 

[Stumpkiller]

A thick walled 36-44 inch barrel (even if it is swamped) moves the center of gravity out away form the butt plate.
Moving the butt plate a little closer to the center of gravity helps the shooter control it better.

Zonie - as always, I bow to your smithing skills . . . but.

You'd have to prove to me how removing weight from the South end of a gun, or anything, is going to do anything but move the center of gravity North, AWAY from where the material was removed. I've built enough planes to know you add weigh to the tail to bring the centar of gravity aft, and you add it to the nose to move it forward.

You want to control that big barrel, you need a bigger rudder (buttstock) on the far end. That's why the longer rifles had thick buttstocks and heavy buttplates. Gets the weight back without increasing the LOP. I like the balance point between my hands. Maybe 2" ahead of my right for a shotgun and 4 to 6" ahead of it for a rifle. A shotgun needs to be snappy and maneuverable, while a rifle with a heavy nose allows you to "hang" it against your left arm at the 6:00 position for offhand stability. Long as I'm not bustin my nose and knockin my glasses akilter with the back of my thumb the LOP is long enough.

Oh, I'm 6'3" and like a 14-1/4" LOP. Rule of thumb (or arm) is to measure from the first knuckle of your trigger finger (or from the finger pad with the finger bent as it would be on the trigger) to the inside of your bent elbow. Just what ATR said, but with a ruler instead of using a gun. If you shoot more with a coat on - measure it with your coat on.

 

[Kenney Moore]

Howdy,
If you want a mathmatical formula on how to figure the length of pull, Keith Casteel's new book has his way of figuring it. It is based on a right triangle.

 

yeah, and Keith's method is complex, for me anyway...the best thing is to try out different lengths, but that is not always possible. I am short (but my legs reach the ground) and most factory stocks are too long by an inch! You will find old original ML rifles with LOP from 12" to 15"--just as today, people come in different sizes. Depending on stock design I can use 13"-14" LOP stocks--I usually compromise with 13.5" LOP. The old rule of thumb using the distance from the crook of your arm to the curl of your trigger finger is OK for rifles, but maybe not for shotguns, which tend to be cut longer....

 

Stumpy,

Using your formula, I get 15-1/4 from my bicep to the first knuckle on my trigger finger. I'm only 6'0" but just like swinging from the trees... :blah:

However, my Uberti Hawken is more comfortable to hold with its 14-1/2 LOP vs. the TOTW kit I built that I made to 15". I think the TOTW rifle is going to get a haircut (or maybe a buttcut). ::

 

[Stumpkiller]

With a handle like Anvil, I'm not surprised. Isn't there some poem about "mighty sinews" and "village smithy's" and such. Swingin that big casing hammer has stretched your arm.