Originally Posted by Drew Hause
Here you go
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c7UkkNyMTZ9NAztILpzjSLKvgIneAw5i7eqkZ3d3Eno/edit

Shooting styles varied. Some turn-of-the-century wing shooters shot with an erect neck, others crawled the stock.

[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]

Part of the confusion is that many old images showed the shooter in the 'ready' position, not as they were pulling the trigger

[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]

Clearly Live Bird and Inanimate Target guns had dimensions similar to those of today, except for the fact that shooters today are taller and much heavier than they were in 1900.
24 year old Union soldier in 1860 - 5’ 8” and 143.5#
22 year old American soldier in 1955 - 5' 8" and 150.2#
50th percentile for American 25 year old men in 2002 - 5’ 10” and 168#

In an August 2016 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, the average weight of men in the United States rose from 181 pounds 1988 - 1994 to 196 pounds 2011-2014. Their average height remained the same at about 5 feet, 9 inches.
The average woman expanded from 152 pounds to 169 pounds while her height remained steady at just under 5 feet, 4 inches.

Interesting numbers. Today, we may be taller than we were, but we are shorter than almost all other 1st world countries. This is something that has happened over my lifetime I think.

In any event, we must be a nation of very short necks because I certainly struggle to get behind a 2.5" drop. I tend to crawl the stock with my neck well forward, and a slightly short stock will leave me beating my cheek bone with my thumb. I'm routinely noted for holding the forearm too far back though I have reasonably long arms for a 6 ft person. Just the way it goes, but I prefer around 2.75" of drop and 3" does not scare me. Anything under 2" makes me think the gun was built for a scope. More cast off seems to help a bit. Yet, I have a very narrow face.

I'd be interested in being measured by a true pro, but one that is schooled for the hunting shooter, not the high-gun target shooter. I'm not sure where to find such a person, though they must be out there somewhere, just not local.

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BrentD, (Professor - just for Stan)
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[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]