PULL

[yip]

 my standard pull on a rifle is 13.5" what would the pull on a fowler? i'm in the process of installing the butt plate  and before cutting  i would like to know.  any advise?

[Eric Krewson]

I made a try stock to get my measurements before I built any guns, I use the same length of pull and drop for everything, including my English fowler.

[yip]

 Thanks Erik; i was just wondering my shotgun about 14" pull

[smylee grouch]

Some people mount their rifles and shotguns different, rifles on/off the arm and shotguns in the pocket so the length of pull might vary from each for the same shooter.

[rich pierce]

Modern production shotguns work for lots of people. I don’t think pull is a big deal until it’s too long.

[James Rogers]

Modern production shotguns work for lots of people. I don’t think pull is a big deal until it’s too long.

Very true. It's the least critical measurement for exactness. Just needs to be comfortable. After chosen however, it's the foundation for all the other critical measurements like drop at nose, heel and face, cast, etc.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

"it's the foundation for all the other critical measurements like drop at nose, heel and face, cast, etc."

That is a mouthful James.  All of those elements of architecture make up a stock that makes it or does not.  They are all interrelated and critical.  One cannot say that "x" is the LOP you need.  Al of the other elements need to be considered.

[smylee grouch]

On some of the pre-shaped stocks sold the seller will state that there is enough wood for up to a 15" pull or some other number but as the average guy moves his butt plate up to something like 13" he might find problems getting all his butt plate on the stock.

[James Rogers]

"it's the foundation for all the other critical measurements like drop at nose, heel and face, cast, etc."

That is a mouthful James.  All of those elements of architecture make up a stock that makes it or does not.  They are all interrelated and critical.  One cannot say that "x" is the LOP you need.  Al of the other elements need to be considered.

Yes, in and of itself, LOP can be within a range of comfort but once it's chosen, say ( 13 3/8 for example) the other measurements are determined according to the LOP because if one uses those cast, drop , pitch measurements on a  14" LOP the fit is altered somewhat.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

SG is correct.  The butt stock is a triangle and as y9ou shorten it, the distance across gets smaller.  So if you take off a lot, you will likely also have to shorten the height of the butt plate.  Or buy one already that dimension.

[hanshi]

Yep!  Now my most comfortable rifle has a lop of 12.5"; but my smoothbore, and all other rifles, are 13".  The smoothbore and the others work just fine and I could easily handle 13.5".  I see no reason, as a non builder, to have the lop on a smoothbore either longer or shorter than the rifles, just mho.

[B.Habermehl]

Yip, I would build the fowler with the same length of pull as your favorite rifle. This is how my guns are. If your rifle has a hooked but piece then all bets are off as it’s meant to be shot from the upper biceps instead of the shoulder pocket. I prefer earlier styles with flatter but pieces, they feel better to me because I’m a bit recoil shy. BJH

[flehto]

Do you have access to  modern single bbl shotguns....using these as "tryout guns"? I don't think the LOP of  a gun used for wing shooting should be determined by a rifle.

Have used many styles of modern shotguns for 50 yrs or so  on ruffed grouse and  one doesn't have much time to "fiddle around" with mounting the gun when the grouse flushes. So.....the stock and LOP either fit immediately on mounting the shotgun and firing or a missed bird is the result. 

A few yrs ago bought 2 Browning O&Us ....a 12 and a 20 ga.  Both had a LOP that was good for me , but the 20 ga  buttstock was too thin and my eye overshot the comb w/ the result that my eye was to the right of bbl center....so had to sell it.

I'd mount some modern shotguns and see how they fit and then measure the LOP on one that fits and feels comfortable .....fowler stock design is similar to modern shotgun stock design......Fred

[L. Akers]

As has been stated, length of pull, drop at nose and heel, cast off/on, pitch, ect. all affect how a gun fits a particular shooter and how well that shooter can shoot that gun.  Michael Yardley, in his book Gunfitting, says "fit is important--vitally important."  To answer the op's question about length of pull, Yardley says "90% of men are accommodated in the range of 14-15 1/2"." He also states that "a gun with a long stock points better than a gun with a short stock and, providing it is not too long, controls recoil better".

Those that can afford a bespoke gun will spend hours on the trap/sheet field with a try-stocked gun arriving at the perfect stock fit.  Since a shotgun is pointed and not aimed as is a rifle and the eye is the rear sight, the gun must come up the same way consistently and repeatedly without any adjusting for sight picture.  With a rifle the shooter has time to adjust to stock vagarities but not with a shotgun--it must fit.

[Daryl]

Length of pull comfort and holding, depends a lot on the stock's architecture - drop, hooked butt held out in the shoulder/arm pocket or out near the bicep, or Penn-English-German flat butts and less drop held in the pectoral pocket.

That said, I can usually shoot just fine with stocks from 13" to 14 1/2". One simply holds the gun in the manner needed to align the sights properly - your fore or aft shoulder position dictates pretty much what stock length is suitable for you.  I've found the "better" rifle shooters are not restricted to a certain stock length - in I have to have a 13 3/4" pull, or 15" pull & will consider no others.

It is amazing how well you can shoot with a stock that a bit shorter than optimum.  Of course, shooting in mild weather without the parka, is easier with a longer pull than what is comfortable with the down garment bulked up in the shoulder pocket.

I personally prefer flat gun buts, tucked into the pec/pocket. I do have a hooked but beast and it feels right out in the shoulder/arm pocket. I am not a stock crawler and prefer to shoot "Head's Up", rather than scrunched down into the comb.