LOP

[hugh]

I started to inlet my buttplate on my fowler and realized
I needed to shorten the LOP, my question is how do you
measure for the LOP? Thanks

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

it's the distance from the trigger to the center of the butt plate.

[camerl2009]

yep trigger to center of buttplate 

and to measure your length of pull a good way to is when your arm is flexed from the tip of your finger to  the inside of your elbow

[James]

I'm not posting to say I know anything, but I used the elbow to fingertip and got 15", which is short of right for me by nearly 2"in warm weather shooting. I think my long neck is coming into the mix. As has been mentioned, heavy clothes takes some off the pull.  Is there a better way to get close?

[hugh]

Well I hope to be able to use it all year long for different hunts, so warm and cold weather and everything in between. Maybe this will help I 5'8" and just an average build no really long arms no long neck just dang average. I am thinking somewhere around 13 and 3/4 for the pull after measure from crook of elbow to finger tip being around 14" Thanks for the input

[flintriflesmith]

A 13 inch pull is usually considered "average" because it is easer to use a rifle that is a little too short than one that is a little too long. Probably why most modern rifles ahve 13 to 13 1/2 inch pull.

A 14 1/2 to 15 inch pull would suit a man who wears a 37 inch dress shirt sleeve lenght (extra tall).

The fit on a rifle isn't nearly as critical as that on a shotgun because a wing shooters eye is in effect the rear sight.

Gary

[Don Getz]

James, did I understand the your measurement of 15" is 2" too short???    You had better check your ancestry, you've
got some Orang-a- tangs (spelling?) in there somewhere.   Most modern guns have a pull of about 13 1/2" - 14".  The
13 1/2" part will work OK for me, but, something a wee bit shorter is just great............Don

[James Rogers]

Hugh,

As stated, middle of trigger to center of BP.
If you are asking how to choose a LOP for an individual there are no magic formulas. The crook of the arm thing is mostly a wives tale and may or may not work as in James' case. My son shoots competitive sporting with a 15" pull and he is 5'8".
As Gary stated, rifle LOP is not as critical as your can conform yourself to line up sights. Your eye is the rear sight on a shotgun.
Regardless, it's good to get as good a fit as possible on any firearm IMHO.


So LOP is not such a critical measurement in and of itself but once chosen becomes the foundation in which the other more critical stock measurements are built off of.

To find your correct LOP, first wear the heaviest clothing that you intend to be shooting in.
LOP just needs to be COMFORTABLE. Not so long as to catch on clothing and become an effort to mount and not so short your thumb is in your nose. Usually about an in and a half to two inches from the thumb knuckle is where that area will be located.

[Acer Saccharum]

I find I can always shoot a short pull rifle. When the pull is long, all that BBL weight is farther out, and takes more work to balance.

[Collector]

Q's. for Hugh:

Good advice from all, but ultimately what LOP works for you, will be the result of you picking-up several types of firearms and mounting them, slowly and rapidly.  Rifles and shotguns will not be the same.  

When I'm checking LOP on a firearm that I'm considering purchasing, I close my eyes and mount it smoothly and quickly, making sure that I've got a proper cheek 'weld' on the comb.  If the LOP is too short, when I open my eyes, I'll be looking over the barrel or over the sights, as opposed to looking through them, in exact alignment.  Too long and I'll have to raise my face off of the comb to see the sights properly.

Somewhere, in one of these forums, one member wrote of making a reasonably simple/inexpensive 'try gun' form, out of plywood, which might be of help to you    

Q. Do you currently do any kind of shooting at all?  Q. Do you have any friends, that have firearms, i.e. rifles and shotgun, that you can use as a 'try gun?'  Another option might be for you to go to a local gun store and try out several rifle firearms, until you've found one that truly suits you in LOP.

Myself, I'm good with any shotgun with a 14" to 14-1/4" LOP, regardless of clothing.  On rifles, I prefer them at 13-5/8" to 13-7/8" instead of the factory 'standard' of ~13-1/2"  Why?  I have longish arms, for my height and I have a tendency to 'crawl' a rifle stock.  It's not all simple measurement and anatomy.  You will, in time, learn your shooting habits/style and factor it in also.

An ill fitting stock, in a firearm with a fair amount of 'manageable' recoil, can beat the snot out of you in a full days worth of shooting or shooting power-house loads and you'll have the shoulder and facial bruising and black and blue marks to prove it.      

Good luck!!

[hugh]

I shoot quite a bit, but all production guns both modern and muzzle loaders mostly my GPR caplock. I will measure them and see what they are I think that I need to trim at least 1" off of my stock though but I will measure twice or three times before I cut anything off. Thanks again.

[Kermit]

How can you figure LOP in isolation? Seems to this unschooled writer that drop at comb and heel and cast off figure into it too. Maybe even stuff I don't know enough to ask about. I've heard of "try stocks," and it seems that's the best way to get the best fit. That said, I wonder how many of my ancestors did just fine, thank you, with guns bought off the rack at the hardware store.

[James Rogers]

LOP can be figured in isolation because it is the least critical and only becomes important when the other more critical measurements are based on it. There is always a range where LOP can be comfortably chosen.  This is why there is no magic or science in choosing LOP. All that stuff comes in with the other measurements.

Once a LOP is decided upon though, it becomes very important as the other measurements of fit will be built around that pull length.  If I choose a LOP of 14" , I have to base all important measurements for fit on that length. A  1 1/2" drop at comb nose on a 14" pull is going to do different things for me than the same drop on a 13" pull. A quarter inch of cast is going to set my face off differently between a 13" pull and a 14 1/2" pull.