Rifle Stock design

[Safarigent]

I am getting a stock made for my iof .30-06 and am unable to figure out a small issue. I want to get the stock fitted to me for the higher line of sight of a scope. Now, i am tempted to leave the iron sights on but what i am unable to figure out is if i shall be able to use them at all tomorrow with a stock made for an optical plane around an inch higher?
In the absence of an answer to the above, i am planning on going for a stock fitted for a scope and remove the iron sights altogether.
Would any members having experience with rifle stocks be kind enough to drop in a few words about this situation.
Thanks

[fantumfan2003]

You can look at a stock with adjustable cheek rest like so.....



Fully lowered it can be used with iron sights and raised when using a scope.

M.

I am getting a stock made for my iof .30-06 and am unable to figure out a small issue. I want to get the stock fitted to me for the higher line of sight of a scope. Now, i am tempted to leave the iron sights on but what i am unable to figure out is if i shall be able to use them at all tomorrow with a stock made for an optical plane around an inch higher?
In the absence of an answer to the above, i am planning on going for a stock fitted for a scope and remove the iron sights altogether.
Would any members having experience with rifle stocks be kind enough to drop in a few words about this situation.
Thanks

[Safarigent]

Thank you sir.
That is an option.
I want to go in for a fixed stock and was wondering what do others on this forum do when they are using the same stock for open sights and then for scopes or vice versa

[timmy]

My opinion is that this could somewhat depend what scope and mount/rings you use.

If you are going to use a scope like a 4x or even a 2.5x, the objective is small ( or the same size as the tube) and you can use a low mounting system that puts the scope very close to the action. Then, if you remove the scope, you may be able to scrunch your head close enough to the comb and get a good sight picture. A key thing will be the height of the base you use.

This may be not to your liking, since most folks today prefer a 3x to 9x variable scope. I like the old style 4x scope, or the 2x to 7x variable that has nearly the same profile. Both can be mounted quite low because they have small objectives. But this may not be in keeping with your objectives (pun intended! )

[Mack The Knife]

You can use removeable comb raisers. Spacers (plastic or high density foam) can be added or removed to raise or lower comb height.

The outer shell can be made from ballistic nylon, leather, khaki, what-have-you.

They can be made at home or bought.

[z375]

I am getting a stock made for my iof .30-06 and am unable to figure out a small issue. I want to get the stock fitted to me for the higher line of sight of a scope. Now, i am tempted to leave the iron sights on but what i am unable to figure out is if i shall be able to use them at all tomorrow with a stock made for an optical plane around an inch higher?
In the absence of an answer to the above, i am planning on going for a stock fitted for a scope and remove the iron sights altogether.
Would any members having experience with rifle stocks be kind enough to drop in a few words about this situation.
Thanks

Ab,

I would suggest that you get the glass and rings of your choice set up before getting the stock carved to your liking. It usually makes more sense than to end up with a stock that demands you skooch your head over the comb and pull off a shot allowing your scope to pummel your eyebrow, remember the IOF .30 does buck a bit and fast at that! Adjustable risers have their place on target/tactical rifles, they look fugly on a sporter, besides you need to install the hardware precisely, else it all comes to naught, but that is just my opinion. My rifle is set up with a 1.5-4.5x20 scope that sits in 1" Weaver Top-Mount rings that are super-low, I like my scopes to sit as low as possible and with good reason. It can be removed or reinstalled in seconds with a coin and then a fully-adjustable ghost ring rear sight can go on and be used, effectively! I have made no major changes to my rifle's stock nor have I got another one made to fit me right.

A surefire way of getting it right the first time would be to allow the stockmaker to do the forend to your liking and then sit down with him while he's carving out the buttstock and intermittently check for fit, LOP, pitch (provided he knows what it is!) thickness of the grip, cast-off/cast-on, how the scope starts to line up, etc. Good luck with your build! Let us know how it goes!!

[veeveeaar]

Mr .Abmehtha, as my experience shows , in our INDIAN situation and circumstances,using a high power rifle only for target practice is a RARITY. IMHO i suggest you get a see through mount and this will most probably take care of your height problem . It is advisable to have more space for the quick empty case ejection also. Please use TRIAL and ERROR method first with some hard wood blanks to make a new stock to your specifications and needs. Dis mantle the original stock . Please note down all measurements for fitting to frame / action and barrel and after correctly and snugly fitting them, start from the small of the butt and back wards till you are fully satisfied .Shoot a few rounds from a rested position and do fine adjustments using sand paper only . Once you are sure of your specs, repeat the same measurements on the wood blank you have finalized . Remember most old (aged) gunsmiths will do a nice job but they are not customer specification oriented.Their workmanship may be very good but will not fit your hold specs.My suggestion is based on my hard experience . The gunsmith in my case is a guy who is much sought after , but is so arrogant that he wants his customers to fit in their feet to any size shoe he makes. pl. update your project in minute detail so that all our friends can all can fine tune their skills.

[xl_target]

First of all, what are you going to use the rifle for?
Hunting or Target shooting?

If for hunting, where are you going to hunt? If in a warm climate where you will be wearing light clothing a certain length of pull may be desired. If hunting in cold climates where a bulky parka might be worn, another length of pull might be desirable. Are you going to be shooting standing up or from the prone position? A different LOP might be desirable for each position. Remember that when hunting, you will be taking just a few shots and raising your cheek to sight in with your scope is not that big a deal when you are just taking a few shots. Most people get by with the stock that came with the gun. If you are hunting, I would suggest that you keep you iron sights. Scopes can fail or mounts can fail (one reason why people spend so much on glass and quality mounts). It is not common but it has happened. It can be a real pain if you have to scrub a hunt or flub a shot because you have nothing to back up your scope when you are in the middle of Africa or in the South American jungle. You are rather unique, unlike a lot of Indians, in that you can access many exotic hunting locations almost at will, so you have additional consideration that other people would not.

If for target shooting, will you be doing three position or benchrest? To be absolutely comfortable in the different disciplines, people generally choose different stock profiles. During a target shoot or in competition, one would shoot a large number of rounds and fatigue of your neck and shoulder muscles gets to be a problem after a little while especially with an improperly configured stock. It can get really uncomfortable during a match if your stock doesn't fit correctly and it can affect the results of the match.

In most cases, when hunting, I can shoot a scoped rifle with no problem even with a stock set up for iron sights. Since I will not be taking many shots, I can extend my neck and tilt my head back to raise my sight plane and make the shot. Granted this messes up a good cheek weld but it can be done relatively easily.
During extended shooting sessions, especially when prone,this can get old in a real hurry. Some kind of adjustable cheek rest is a must at a time like this. As Mack stated above, many people use adjustable cheek rests like the one shown below. These have the advantage of being removable for when they are not needed.



I have used similar cheek rests and they are fine if you are not running around in the field too much. It can take a bit to get the height setup correctly but once they are set up for a particular rifle and shooting situation, they work fine. Obviously the best bet would be to get a stock that is fully adjustable for LOP and has an adjustable cheek piece but they can add a lot of weight to the gun and are not really practical in the field. As Tim stated above, the type of scope you use can make a difference too. Choosing a scope will depend on how the rifle will be used. Will a smaller objective fixed magnification scope work fine or do you want one with adjustable magnification too. The length of the scope and the size of the objective and eye piece will make a difference as far as eye (and therefore head) placement are concerned.

So I would suggest thinking of the possible uses that the rifle would be put to before deciding on your stock configuration. Since it is not going to be possible for you to have a dedicated rifle for each shooting discipline, consider how you plan on using the gun first before deciding on LOP, comb height, heel and toe configuration, etc.

[Safarigent]

Thank you all.
My main aim will be to have it for general plinking.
Thats all.
I like the idea of the laced cheek rests to accomodate the height difference between iron sights and scopes.