Fitting Rifles to Users

[galamb]

This is the guidelines I use to determine the measurements being discussed.

Now, if you are specifically building say a Bedford rifle it would be impossible to stay true to the architecture with a 3" drop at the heel, but, if you can "jig" the measurements a little you can build a better fitting rifle "from the start".

Might the shooter want to have it adjusted/tweaked? sure, but you can only build to a given set of specs. Any follow on adjustments, provided you produced what was asked for/detailed in the first place, should be on the "buyer", not the builder.

Anyhow, this is what I use:

(the last measurement listed is for Length of Pull - I forgot to identify it)



While I have had criticism of this method before, I only suggest it is a viable option (and not the holy grail).

Using this method on myself I come up with a 2 1/2" drop at the comb, 3 1/2 drop at the heel, 1/4" cast off and 14 1/2" length of pull (I'm 6'1" tall and wear a 34" sleeve in a shirt).

My best handling "gun" is a 20 gauge shotgun. While it has no "cast off", the LOP is 14 1/2", the drop at the comb is 2 1/2" and the drop at the heel is  3 1/2" (and I measured the gun "after" tripping over this formula).

So for "ME", the above method worked near "perfectly". So I absolutely use it, if at all possible, when building a rifle for someone else (which is rare in my case, so have very little anecdotal evidence, beyond my own personal rifles).

Take it for what it's worth.

[jerrywh]

 Dan.
  That is a very interesting rifle. What are the specs on that rifle and where did you get the lock. It looks like you constructed the lock.

[Captchee]

galamb
thats the sheet i got from Steve many years ago and i mentioned earlier

[P.W.Berkuta]

Rifles & shotguns are not the same and can't be stocked the same. I have been an ATA member & shooter since the mid 60's and fit / restock my own shotguns as well as others so I know what I'm talking about. If you are building a period correct MUZZLELOADING rifle you can't rely on modern shotgun or rifle dimentions. The length of pull will be close but the muzzleloader will be shorter because of the grip and trigger arrangement. The drop is dictated by the style of rifle being built - yes - you can "adjust" this but not by much and still keep the "school" being built. Not all of the early Americans were short and they shot short rifles compared to their "length of pull" (my opinion).  I am not disagreeing with most of what is being said but I think most are comparing "apples to oranges" .

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Over the years, I have kept notes on all the important measurements of rifles, ie:  lop, drop at heel and comb, heel pitch, cast off, etc.
along with notes on my own impression on how the rifle felt during aiming and firing.  I use the best of these dimensions to make suggestions to a client for their particular gun.  But I will not compromise historical architecture to accommodate poor shooting technique.  Many older shooters who are new to muzzle loading shooting, want to hold a flintlock like a scoped hunting rifle - they drop their right elbow, crawl the stock and rest their nose against their thumb.  This is a posture asking for problems, so I try as gently as possible to demonstrate and encourage a heads-up, bring the rifle to the eye, style of shooting.
I agree with Dan on big bored rifles:  as in the example he showed (16 bore flintlock - lovely BTW) the comb line is almost parallel to the bore, there is adequate clearance in the angle of the wrist to give the proper clearance there, and the butt pitch is almost square with the bore.
Some rifle styles are easier to fit to people than others.  Berks Co. rifles I find prone to slap the cheek because of the high Roman nose comb.  Even so, I'm sure they can be made to avoid this phenomenon.  Some say Lehigh rifles do the same, but that has not been my experience.  You want a nice handling gentle and fun rifle to shoot:  build a JP Beck!  But if it's a Southern Mountain Rifle on order, at least emulate the dimensions of such rifles as Beck's.
Keeps notes, and rely upon them.  But above all:  build to suit yourself - otherwise, it's just a job.