Importance of length of pull for sr br

[Melvin Scott]

I’m curious if anyone frets over having the perfect length of pull on a bench gun, in so many other competitions you will see adjustable butt plates etc. i’m 6’8” and was struggling with consistency with my 30 major in a Robertson stock until i started playing with my lop. my agg with that rifle shrunk considerably after adding an inch to the stock. i took me a while to identify this as an issue for me and i wonder who else is overlooking it.

 

[rkittine]

I guess if you shoot Free Recoil, it does not make much difference and as a newbie, I can only say, for me, 6'1" with long arms and one who does not shoot freecoil, it makes a difference for me, especially as the magnification levels of my scopes are raised up. I want the gun to be comfortable when shouldered and the scope picture there without a lot of movement.

Bob

 

[Melvin Scott]

Free recoil with a PPC gave me no problem but I have to hold his rifle a little bit and I never could really get comfortable behind it until I adjusted LOP. Couldn’t believe how much it impacted Accuracy I figured it would just make the rifle more comfortable.

 

[Melvin Scott]

As I'm of average height and average arm length, I've not had a problem with "off the shelf" BR stocks. But, there are benches or ranges where I have to do more fussing to get that just right position. Steve Hamilton was an about average major league pitcher and got into short range BR. He had all kinds of problem getting his LOP right as he was about 6'7". He had a couple stocks built to suit his LOP and his game came alive.

My solution

 

[hayscott]

Change in accuracy?

Wonder if the spacer affected the guns harmonics or with your setup, the way it’s riding the bags as well as allowing your shooting from a more comfortable position?

Thanks
Scott

 

[Boyd Allen]

IMO when you are shooting a stock that is too short for you you compensate by sitting more square to the line of the barrel and tend to lean your head more sideways than forward to deal with eye relief. One thing that shooters may not be aware of is body contact with their rear bag, which may not be a problem is you stay in exactly the same position as you shoot, but can be a problem if you don't. A friend, who was very good about holding body and head position through a match tried shooting heads up, and at first he saw that his cross hairs had moved when he went down to the scope just to check. What he found was that he had been in contact with the bag in his normal position and when he sat up that he removed that pressure which shifted the rifle just a bit. His solution was move his bag forward on the stock about 2", which solved the problem. After making that change, he shot a screamer at 200 (shooting with his head up for each shot). One of the great things that has happened relatively recently is that most of us have the ability to shoot video of ourselves as we shoot so that we can spot any problems that we might not notice as we shoot. Of course being more comfortable probably translates into holding one's position better through the shot.

 

[Mike Bryant]

I think on a short range benchrest rifle it makes a difference what loading port, bolt handle side configuration the rifle has as to length of pull. For instance, if you are right handed and your loading port is on the right side of the action, you have to reach around the butt of the rifle to load the cartridges in the port. If the stock is too long then you can have trouble with moving the butt of the rifle when you load the cartridges in the port. If the port is on the left side, then you load with the left hand and length of pull becomes less critical. I’m 5’ 8” and my benchrest rifles have 13” length of pulls and the stock recoils no more than about a quarter of an inch into my shoulder. I’m sure Dave Coots would be very uncomfortable shooting my rifle at his about 6’ 8”. You can accommodate length of pull being a little short by where you mount the rear of the scope to prevent it from recoiling into your shooting glasses when it fires. I use a 13 5/8” length of pull on hunting rifles.