rifle stocks - am i the only one p'd off?

[Ozzy Fudd]

ive had several coffee's and re-read this several times to try and eliminate spelling mistakes, so apologies for any i've missed

 

anyway, something thats been bugging me, bit of a whinge this i know. why do gun makers always make rifle stocks that are designed to be used with iron sights and not scopes? maybe im the only person who's thought of this, but heres my reasoning so bear with me. when i shoot, be it a shotgun or a rifle, i always have my cheekbone tight down on the stock. this is the most comfortable position to me, its also the steadiest ive ever found. we all know how important gun fit is and keeping your eye in the same position all the time improves accuracy, and my opinion always was that youve enough to worry about keeping the bead/crosshairs on the target, etc, without having to hold your head up "just so" in the correct position as well. i build up my stocks so that when i drop my head onto them my eye is in the perfect position for the bead/scope. at the start of the year i modified a stock for my 10/22, not the most professional job in the world but looks ok and does the trick, as soon as i drop my head onto the raised comb im looking straight through the scope, same head position all the time, and today ive started trying to fix my marlin stock to be the same.

 

but this is the thing thats bugging me. my marlin is the perfect fit for iron sights, yet it didnt come with any!! with the scope fitted my eye line needs to be raised up about 1" to see through it perfectly everytime, even just a bit low means i cant see anything so apart from trying to control my breathing, estimate holdover, wind, and all the rest, im also trying to balance the corner of my jawbone in the same position on the stock all the time! today with a bit of time (and some duct tape, rubber strips and a padded rifle bag) i had the comb raised up so that my eye was perfectly aligned with the scope. not the best of jobs but workable til i get something more permament done, and it only took 5 mins working out how far back to raise it so it doesnt interfere with removing the bolt, its just a pain in the *** that i have to do this to a gun thats designed to have a scope fitted!! please tell me im not going mental here, and that at least one other person in the world has noticed this too :lol:

Edited April 24, 2010 by Ozzy Fudd

[Ozzy Fudd]

heres two pics showing exactly what i mean

 

no scope

 

 

scope

 

 

even though its relating to shotguns mossberg explain it better than i can HERE so at least someone else in the world has thought of it

Edited April 24, 2010 by Ozzy Fudd

[Colster]

First time I really noticed this was the first time I picked up my S400 in the shop. It had no scope on it but the cheekpiece on that is built up for use with a scope and without it's very noticeable when you try to sight along the barrel, as you're looking down at it rather than along it.

[Dekers]

In the case of marlin it's quite simple...because many of their guns are designed for iron sights.

 

Many other manufacturer are slowly addressing this issue with stock design changes.

[bullet boy]

I agree Ozzy.You look at Air-rifle stocks and 99% of them are made with lovely cheekpieces which are designed for a scope.Then you look at Rimfire or Centrefire rifle stocks and there's no nice height of cheekpiece therefore eye level alignment for a scope is useless really!

[Ozzy Fudd]

dekers its not just marlin, its nearly every hunting rifle ive ever lifted, first springing to mind is my friends tikka 223, again no iron sights and a pain in the back side to get your head right :unsure:

 

on top of that most after market comb raisers are mostly a joke. the rubber ones for shotguns do a good job, but you have to glue them on or tape them down, doesnt look that great and only give you about 1/2" height. ive seen a bear tooth comb raiser, but come on, apart from the fact its not steady for the height you need to achieve (1"+) who in their right mind would pay £30 odd quid for something which amounts to a tube bandage and a couple of shaped foam inserts :hmm:

[Paddy Galore!]

hi ozzy, i had one made in the end, based on a sako trg stock. I can't understand why the manufacturers don't address this issue, rimmies would be so much nicer if they made them dedicated R/H & L/H, palm swell, cheek swell, cast off, adjustable comb etc.

[Dekers]

dekers its not just marlin, its nearly every hunting rifle ive ever lifted, first springing to mind is my friends tikka 223, again no iron sights and a pain in the back side to get your head right

 

on top of that most after market comb raisers are mostly a joke. the rubber ones for shotguns do a good job, but you have to glue them on or tape them down, doesnt look that great and only give you about 1/2" height. ive seen a bear tooth comb raiser, but come on, apart from the fact its not steady for the height you need to achieve (1"+) who in their right mind would pay £30 odd quid for something which amounts to a tube bandage and a couple of shaped foam inserts :hmm:

 

 

I'm not argueing, it is a slow painful process but manufactureres are slowly addressing this issue!! :unsure:

[njc110381]

I guess for as long as people are buying the guns, why spend money on changing them? Everything is down to money these days.

[Ozzy Fudd]

I'm not argueing, it is a slow painful process but manufactureres are slowly addressing this issue!! :unsure:

 

i know mate, but theyre not doing it quickly enough imo, im sick of running around with guns covered in duct tape and trying to work out how to attach flat rubber strips to the top of a curved stock :hmm:

[Paddy Galore!]

i know mate, but theyre not doing it quickly enough imo, im sick of running around with guns covered in duct tape and trying to work out how to attach flat rubber strips to the top of a curved stock :unsure: :hmm:

you could easily make an adjustable comb, all you need is a few tools.

[Ozzy Fudd]

yeah i know, i did a more permament job with the 10/22, ill probly have to shape a piece of wood for the marlin, still annoying having to do it, its like a company building an off road car then supplying it with wheels that you can only fit road tires to :unsure:

Edited April 24, 2010 by Ozzy Fudd

[bullet boy]

I don't understand why Rimfire or Centrefire rifle makers make proper Cheekpieces to their rifle stocks for eye alignment for scope use???

[Breastman]

1/ Most gun makers, especially makers of hunting rifles, stick to traditional design principles and this "new fangled trend" of putting optics on rifles has only been around for 30-40years . . . .

 

2/ Because there still is a large following for iron sight shooting the stocks are made this way because its easier/cheaper to clag something onto a stock, rather than having to get any raise cheek piece shaved off.

 

3/ If the stock is wooden how much stock elevation is required?? Some people might just be putting a slim 1-4x 28 scope on, others might want to whack on a whopping 56mm scope on . . .

 

4/ The wheels of the gun trade turn at an excruciatingly slow pace which also often frustrates me :unsure:

 

Mark

[Ozzy Fudd]

1/ Most gun makers, especially makers of hunting rifles, stick to traditional design principles and this "new fangled trend" of putting optics on rifles has only been around for 30-40years . . . .

 

true, some of them probably think its not "sporting" to use a scope :hmm:

 

2/ Because there still is a large following for iron sight shooting the stocks are made this way because its easier/cheaper to clag something onto a stock, rather than having to get any raise cheek piece shaved off.

 

even though the gun itself doesnt come with iron sights, and in fact has the option to be supplied with a factory fitted scope?

 

3/ If the stock is wooden how much stock elevation is required?? Some people might just be putting a slim 1-4x 28 scope on, others might want to whack on a whopping 56mm scope on . . .

 

i usually need slightly over an inch elevation

 

4/ The wheels of the gun trade turn at an excruciatingly slow pace which also often frustrates me :unsure:

 

me too, though it seems air rifle makers have caught onto this...

 

 

Mark