ideal drop

[yip]

  just wondering whats the ideal drop? i building a rifle and it ends up the drop at the heal is 4" it don't seem to bad, planning on a Bucks County
'
'

'

[heinz]

Yip, folks are not ignoring you, it is just there is no "ideal drop"  The drop is going to depend on your size, how you shoot, offhand or from a rest, whether you like to creep up the stock a bit, how much cast-off is there in the gun, and a dozen other little things.  Also the style of rifle you are copying goes into this mix.  I like a 4-inch drop.  I think most folks go for 3 or 3 1/2.

[Lucky R A]

        I would have to disagree there is an ideal drop, just as there is perfectly fitting clothing.  Each and every one of us is different.  Most factory guns are made to fit the largest segment of people, and they seemingly do a pretty good job unless you differ radically from the "average."
        There is a lot more involved than just the drop at the heel.  There is also the drop at the point of the comb, as well as the LOP.   I have handled and built quite a number of Bucks co guns, and have tracings of the outlines of their stocks.
The following is what I found. Drop at the point of comb first then drop at the heel.
Andrew Verner 1-7/16"    2-5/8"
John Shuler      1-1/4"      2-7/8"
John Shuler       1-1/8"      2-7/8"
Unsigned Bucks  1-1/4       2-3/4"
Unsigned Bucks  1-3/8        2-7/8"
The LOP on these guns ranged from 13-1/8"  to 13-3/4"   

So you can see if you are striving for authentic measurements a 4" drop would be well beyond the norm.   Despite the architecture that  some pre-carved stocks exhibit, Bucks Co. stocks rarely had a "Roman nose" comb line as is sometimes seen on Lehigh's and some Bucks Co. stocks.    I hope this helps at bit.

Ron

[FALout]

For me, I like a drop between 2-7/8 to 3-1/4 with a 13-1/2 trigger pull , but that may not work with all styles of rifles.  As for the bucks county, I’ve never built one so someone with more knowledge on them will have to speak up. 
Bob

[flehto]

Just measured the drops on my latest BC.....3" at the heel and 1-1/2" at the comb point. The LOP is 13-3/4", The comb is slightly curved. The rifle aims well w/ hardly any adjustments req'd to bring the sights in. The BC shown below {top 2 photos} is the LR that was measured. The bottom photo is a BC built a number of years ago.  My favorite grouse shotgun is a plain Rem, 870 and has not been altered.....most factory guns fit me well.

I've never built a BC w/ a straight combline.......much prefer the looks of a BC w/ a slightly curved combline. Many years ago I made a tracing of a Shuler BC  in RCA1 and then enlarged it to a given buttplate dim. This template has been used for all my BC builds.

[yip]

  FELLAS; i guess i screwed the pooch, but i'm going ahead and try to build this. i intend to take some pics of this and post em so don't laugh to much. i don't know what happened to this all the rest of my builds have a 2/1/2" to 3" drop guess i'm getting to old!

[Lucky R A]

         I guess you could restyle your gun into a Bedford Co. rifle where a 4" drop would not be out of the norm.....;>{

[yip]

  Lucky RA;   to late to change it now i got the profile, i hope for a B/C, it don't look to bad but i'm a little disturbed at the way it turned out. but onward and up and finish this up. i'll try to take some pics on the progress.        YIP

[Eric Krewson]

I always use a try stock to determine a drop that fits me then transfer those measurements to my build.

The difference between a rifle that fits you exactly and a generic stock to fit John Q public is like night and day.

A simple try stock;

[heinz]

Lucky RA.  Are you measuring drop from the line of sight or from a line drawn along the top barrel plane?
My four inch measured along the plane of a swamped barrel is probably a higher than the line of sight.  I will check when I get the sights on it.

[gunmaker]

No such thing.  We are all built differently.  Your cheek bone is part of the sites on your gun. VERY important on smoothbores with no rear site.
 Go mount as many guns modern or repro's as you want.  Cheek touches wood same place Every Time, you must be looking straight down barrel. If you can see or not see a part of bbl then that is a no fit.   USMC standard training.    Cast off another time.  old dog, still whittling....78 in Oct.
 

[Lucky R A]

      Heinz,   Drop at point of comb and at heel are measured by laying a straight edge along the length of the barrel (not sights) and extending it to the rear of the gun.  The drop measurements are then taken at the prescribed locations by measures straight down to the stock.
      Perfect measurements are achieved when you can fix  a target point in your mind, then close your eyes and mount the gun.  Open your eyes and your sights are nearly aligned.  When you achieve this you will shoot better because of less muscle strain to keep the sights aligned. 
      P.S. Gunmaker looking at "78" in the rearview mirror, and still building and taking care of a wife with Parkinson's. 

[Bob Roller]

To me,the ideal stock patterns are MOST of the English sporting and long range rifles.The Southern Mountain Rifle Len Meadows made for me in 1965 fit me fine and I had it paired with a Whitworth long range rifle.The two were not anything
alike but I could go from one to the other with no effort.Some of these old guns were,as my grandfather said"As crooked as dog's back leg" and probably didn't really fit anyone but were used anyway.
Bob Roller

[yip]

  fellas; the only reason i asked this question is after inletting the barrel and making and installing the trigger and fitting the butt plate i measured the drop and it purnear  4" and was wondering if i should need on working with this rifle or toss it in the fire place.  (:

[Bob Roller]

If you are skeptical of the 4 inch drop,get the job to the point where some one else can finish and sell it and the restart with something that might be better for you.Ill fitting guns are like ill fitting shoes,a constant source of irritation.
Bob Roller

[yip]

  Bob i plan on finishing this and maybe start again.  this is the first time this happened to me but i shall endeaver to procede.

[elkhorne]

Lucky,
You mentioned taking your drop measurements down from a straight edge placed along the actual top flat of the barrel. Have you ever heard of using a line representing the centerline of the Bore or a straight edge placed along the tops of the rear and front sights. I think I saw that in volume 2  of RCA. Your technique see,s most likely because in sighting, you don’t look on the top of the sights but sort of through them closer to the barrel. Thanks and interested in hear more.
ellhorne

[Long John]

I think the most important factor is recoil.  The higher the drop the greater the perceived recoil.  The rifle will recoil along the axis of the barrel.  The opposing force exerted by your body is centered on the butt plate.  When the barrel axis gets too far above the axis of the but/wrist the rifle will rise up into the face when shot.  In a 36 caliber rifle this is a minor issue but in a 54 loaded with 80 or 90 gr of FFFG it will let you know you pulled the trigger.  A lower drop will lessen this effect.

JMC