Stock Fit

How your rifle ‘fits’ you is crucial to getting good accuracy out of it. That’s essential to avoid parallax error – the apparent shift of the crosshairs in relation to the target due to looking through the scope off-centre.

The trigger, being the mechanism that actually releases the shot, is an equally important area when it comes to gunfit. You must have a comfortable length of pull – the distance between the butt pad and the trigger blade. The rule of thumb is to place the butt into the crook of your elbow and your trigger finger should fall perfectly on the blade. If the butt’s too long or short, alter it. And though it sounds obvious, it’s the pad of your finger, not its first joint, which should be the contact point with the trigger blade. If the trigger’s pull weight is a little heavy, and can’t safely be adjusted, consider adding a trigger shoe; the wider surface area helps spread the load (See trigger sox).

The trick with standing – the hardest stance of all – is to stand at 90 degrees to the target, feet apart, left hip towards the target, left elbow towards the hip as much as possible, left hand brought inwards to support the rifle and left forearm as vertical as possible. Your right arm should do little, other than reinforce the position and operate the trigger. The better the gunfit, the easier the tougher stances become.

This stock is modified to raise the cheek rest and lengthen the pull by the use of 1 inch pipe insulation cut to fit.

The cut pieces were then glued to the stock 1399 stock with contact cement and held in position with cable ties until dried and ready for use.

Shoot Smart. Shoot Safely.

Poorman Plinker