Your Height vs Preferred L.O.P.

[R.J.Bruce]

How tall are you, and what length of pull do you prefer for a smoothbore fowler?

I started out in life as an adult at 5' 8 3/4" tall.

At 66 I am now 5' 8 3/8" tall.

[mushka]

At my tallest I was 5-71/2".   I'm now 5-6" and prefer a 13 or 13-1/2" length of pull.

[Brokennock]

I'm about 5'6" and prefer a l.o.p. between 13.5" and 13.75" depending on how I am dressed. I can go a bit shorter for rifles.

[littlefat]

I'm 5'10" and I like 13.5 to 13.75

[Frank]

5 Ft 8 Inches. 13.5 LOP.

[Standing Bear]

6’5” then/6’4” now/still like 14-14.5” lop.

[Mike payne]

5'8" I am most comfortable with 13 1/4 to 13 1/2

[Pukka Bundook]

Was 5' 10 " and lost near an inch somewhere.

Used to like 14" for a shotgun, but a shade less now seems better.
For a rifle, I am happy with a good bit less, say 13 1/2" or so these days.

[WadePatton]

I made mine to match my try stock, having no "old type" guns to compare to.  Can't recall it just now. But:

As someone who learned to fit riders to bicycles for best optimization of muscle recruitment, comfort, and handling, I must say here that folks of the same height often have limbs of varying lengths and proportions (femur vs. tibia/fibula).

I'm an example of such, where my legs are proportioned differently than most men of my height and thereby I cannot be positioned properly on a factory-made bicycle, not without radically modifying some things, but if you build the frame, a simple shift of the seat tube makes it all good.  Excess details: Hips must be a certain distance behind the bottom bracket, and this is driven by femur and foot lengths/cleat position (tibia/fibula have no bearing).

I'm only saying this because I expect arm lengths and proportions have much more to to with preferred pulls than leg/torso lengths (the only thing measured by height).  Perhaps wingspan (tip to tip) and cubit (tip to elbow) would be better base measures for these comparisons?   Yes we're all somewhat "square" in wingspan to height, but there's some play there.

[Hungry Horse]

 I’m was 6’1” in my prime, but I’m well past my prime now, and am about 6’ even. I prefer a LOP somewhere in the 13” to 13&1/2” range. I find it easier to adjust to a short pull than I do a long pull. I killed a bunch of pheasants with an old 30” barreled trade gun with a 13” pull.

  Hungry Horse

[Dennis Glazener]

Was a little over 6 ft now a little over 5ft 11 wear 34 inch sleeves I have a couple of 14" lo's that are ok but 13.5 is much better even have a 13" lOP that is fine.
Dennis

[MuskratMike]

The "Muskrat" comes in at 6' 1" and I to like 14 inch length of pull. With long arms I like the feel of 14.

[Daryl]

6'1 or so, 34" sleeve and 13 1/2" to 14".
This one is 13 1/2" and fits perfectly, shotgun butt in the shoulder's pocket.

[Eric Kettenburg]

OMG we're all losing inches!!!!!!      My wife says....  oh never mind.

I've lost about 3/4" too since I was 18, spinal compression I assume.  I'm 5'10 plus maybe a 1/4, and my preferred trigger reach is about 13" with a t shirt or flannel shirt.  Shooting a lot of guns that I dare not mention has really altered my sense of what I'm "supposed" to like.  I like to get my nose up right onto my thumb practically.

[Frank]

It appears that a lot of companies offering muzzle loader kits need to reduce the length of pull on their kits by at least a half inch. Would make their guns a lot more comfortable to shoot.

[R.J.Bruce]

And, I have noticed that tall builders tend to build guns with lengths of pulls that suit themselves, not the average client base. The average length of pull for a smooth rifle, or a fowler selling here is almost always 14" or more.

Mike Brooks's last couple of small bore smooth rifles have been exceptions to the 14",  and over avg.

[Bob McBride]

My Al Martin is 14.25" or so at the top end and my Jack Brooks Trade Gun is 13" as my shortest LOP. I shoot them all equally comfortably. The only thing that changes is how I approach the hold at the wrist. 12.5" is harder. I'm a sort of long armed 6'.

[Daryl]

Where you place the butt on your shoulder or arm, and where you hold THAT shoulder makes a world of difference, thus I can quite easily shoot 13" to about 14 1/4"- the .50 Beck I shot in the
postal match today. It's a bit long, but with it's flat butt, it still fits in the pocket.
Next, I'll shoot my .36 SMR(I guess) with a 13 1/2" length of pull with a mildly hooked butt plate and the English gun which fits the pocket perfectly and points like a fine shotgun, also has a 13 1/2"
length of pull.
I find no difficulty in moving the shoulder fore or aft a bit to fit the gun, whichever one I am shooting.

[Bob Roller]

Was 5' 10 " and lost near an inch somewhere.

Used to like 14" for a shotgun, but a shade less now seems better.
For a rifle, I am happy with a good bit less, say 13 1/2" or so these days.

I'm like you and was 5 feet and 10 inches and now at 84 am. 5 feet and 9 inches
and like the 14 inch pull found on an English style long range rifle I made
in 2001.
Bob Roller

[bob in the woods]

I was 6 ft 4 inches tall, but now the tape measure reads 6 ft 3 in .    67 years wears you down I guess .
My Chambers smoothbores are a hair under 14 inches, and they fit pretty good, but my rifles are between 13 1/2 and 13 3/4 and they work well.

[alacran]

A good friend and great ML gun builder once told me. Often  some one would ask him to build a rifle with a 14 inch trigger pull. Usually it would be some one that wanted to upgrade from a TC. Charlie would size him up. Unless the fellow was 6' 4" or so, He would ignore the fellow's request and build it with a 13 1/2" trigger pull. When he delivered it the guy would shoot it an would claim he never shot a rifle that fit him so well.

[Daniel Coats]

I usually lie about my hight and weight so that my BMI sounds better for health insurance! Truth is both of these also affect pull length and the amount of drop that works depending on how old and fat I am. Pull and drop also changes the appearance of the gun to the point that it might fit you but not the type of rifle that caught your eye to begin with.

For me but don't tell my health care provider it's 5' 11" and 13 1/2".

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Creating a rifle that fits one well has so much more than LOP to deal with.  Far more important is drop at the comb/wrist transition, and less important, drop at the heel.  The pitch of the butt plays a crucial role in how well a rifle or gun shoulders and recoils.  It seems to me that the hooked butt plates of the late flint and percussion eras were a remedy for pitch.
But to answer the op's question, I am 6 1/2" (worn down from 6"2") not by age, but by mileage.  I have 35" sleeves.  I prefer a rifle in the 13 1/2" - 13 3/4" range of lop, and a shotgun/fowler at 14".  But I shoot my Pennsylvania fowler far more with patched roundball than with shot, so I put up with the 14" lop, and it suits me fine.  What I cannot shoot well with is anything longer than 14" lop.

[Christiansbrunn]

I am now 5' 8.5".  I used to be 5' 9.5", so down an inch.  My preferred LOP is 13-14 with a less curved butt preferred.  That has not changed, as my arms did not get shorter (good thing since the fish that got away are still the same size).   

However, I do find I much prefer barrels less than 42", with 37-40" my sweet spot.  I have a Miroku Charleville musket and the 44" barrel is a bit difficult to load, especially with a heavy steel rod, due to the length.

[R.J.Bruce]

The recent Chuck Edwards, North Carolina style rifle offered for sale by Mr. Martin had a vaguely English buttstock design that, had I been able to afford it, looked like it would work for me. I don't know what the drops at the comb and heel were, they were not stated, but AIRC the L.O.P. was sub-14".