doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Stock length

I have a TW Stake 16 gauge made by Neuman Freres that at some point in it's history had the stock crudely lengthened. I got the gun for a song and, being rather tall, the length worked for the way I was taught to shoulder a gun. I resigned my self to putting up with the unattractive spacer, writing it off as simply part of the history of the gun.



A friend of mine who was brought up in the british gun trade recently saw pictures of the stock and begged me to remove the spacer. I explained that the length of the stock with the spacer works for me and he said he wished we could get together so he could show me how to shoot with the 'proper' length of stock. He lives in England so this would be problematic.

It is certainly within my capability to remove the extension, and if it is simply a matter of shouldering the gun differently, well, I am not so old a dog that I cannot learn new tricks. Also it has been my impression that generally speaking that antique European guns tend to have shorter stocks than their modern American counterparts, though honestly I haven't paid close enough attention to say that this impression is accurate.

So, what do you gentlemen think? Shall I remove the spacer and retrain a little? Or leave the gun alone and enjoy it as-is?

Impossible to tell if you could shoot a shorter LOP well, or better, without seeing you mount the gun and shoot some ........ or at least knowing your sleeve length and the LOP on the gun as is, and how thick the spacer is (looks to be nearly an inch). Your friend either has much more knowledge of your physique and shooting style than we do, or he is being a bit presumptuous, IMO. I am 6' 2" and shoot guns with 15" LOP quite well. I was fitted with a try gun many years ago and the resulting dimensions were almost exactly what I had already determined through trial and error were right for me. My sporting clays gun, which I shoot premounted, is 15 1/2". Most people have shot off the shelf guns for so long that when they mount a gun that is actually the right LOP for them they think it is too long. In the newest issue of one of the clays magazines there is an article that is entitled something like "What are the Pro's Shooting?". Though that may not be the name of the article, the gist of it is that they interviewed ten of the top sporting clays shooters in the USA. I scanned over it quickly, and can't find it at the moment, but the thing I remember was that they asked all of them what the LOP is on their sporting clays and FITASC guns. I don't think there was a single man that shot less than 15", several going up to 15 1/2". Before anyone cries "Foul! they all shoot premounted", I say "Not in FITASC!". And I have met several of these guys and they aren't all over 6 feet tall, either. Some are considerably less than 6 feet.

The gun looks well used, by the looks of the checkering. If it were mine I would shoot it as is, if I were convinced I shot it well and it doesn't hang up on your vest or coat who mounting. If you want to make that extension invisible contact Mark Larson at marklarsongunart.com. He can put you on an extension and blend the grain with paints to the point that it is impossible to detect.

Good shooting, SRH

That photo reminds me of a gun i recently saw. an Ithaca 37 at a gun show that had a whiteline pad installed on it, then was ground flat with a second whiteline pad on top of it. A first for that.

Generally speaking, from what I've seen, shooters seem to end up with a longer LOP as a result of a fitting by a British fitter rather than a shorter one.

Your friend is probably talking about shooting the Churchill style where you're 90 degrees to the target. You can try standing more like a rifle shooter - the leading leg forward, then try both legs facing the target. I don't think you could make up the difference you've added with just a different shooting style. You might try adding a piece of wood to match the stock, or dying your spacer black. I've added spacers and air brushed in some grain so it doesn't look too bad. There are guys who specialize in adding spacers that look real good. If your happy with the length, keep it.

Were it me I would shoot it for a bit to ensure it fits by shooting well with it.

Once fit is confirmed then consider one of three courses.

1. Leave it alone as is and have the inset and extension recoloured by someone like Mark Larson to blend it seamlessly. (Mark Larson blended an extension for me on a gun which looked great and has held up for three seasons of regular field use.

2. Change out extension and pad for longer extension and thinner solid pad or or butt plate. Have the inset and extension recoloured by someone like Mark Larson to blend it seamlessly.

3. Send it to someone like Kody Kearcher and have a butt transplant which cuts the stock off at the pistol grip. Kody did one for me on a Prince of Wales grip which came out great. I know some on this board have had issue with Kody, though he was not fast my experiences on quality of work have been good,

Take a look here

http://www.marklarsongunart.com/#!extension-blending-portfolio

Thanks for your thoughts! I am 6'4", and the shotguns that mount most naturally for me have a 14" LOP; this seems to work very naturally with my physique. The TW Stake has this length of pull, but it has a higher comb than the other guns and always requires a bit of adjustment after I switch guns.

Oddly with rifles I prefer a longer pull with standard hunting rifles and a shorter pull with AR15s.

I think that I will remove the current spacer and try it, particularly in the 'Churchill' stance. If I cannot make it work I can always put in a new spacer, either in a contrasting Ebony or African Blackwood, or in plain walnut and have Mark blend it. Cost is something of a factor, as I am on partial Veteran's disability and work part-time.

Tinker,
As a fellow veteran, a heart felt Thank You for your service!
Karl

Asking people on the 'net what they think is not likely to provide you with any real solutions. Michael Yardley has an excellent book on gunfitting and his suggestions can provide paths to what you need.

At one time Bruce Buck also had a fine tract on gunfitting at shotgunreport.com but I've no idea if that is still available.


have another day
Dr.WtS