[tonyv]

I lurk far more than I post since I spend much time reading and learning from Mr. McCracken and other gentlemen.

My problem is I'm 5'6" and have great difficulty finding a set of wooden stock and forearm for my M13 Defender. I've seen youth stocks for sale, but no wooden sets, and I think they're still too long for me. As of now, my supporting forearm is extended at around 15 degrees - give or take a couple - and I'd like to be around 25-30 degrees. Is there any manufacturer that makes a 11" LOP wooden stock and forearm set? I prefer not to cut down my existing stock. Thank you.

[Fred Fuller]

I think Hogue makes a synthetic set that is 12" LOP, but that's still longer than you specify. Your best bet will be to buy a spare wooden stock and have it cut down to fit you. It would be good to have a premium recoil pad installed at the same time (LimbSaver, Decelerator etc).

You'll want to get a full length or field length forearm also, to give you more to hold onto with your support side hand. IIRC there is more than one forearm tube length with the 1300, so you'll have to make sure you get one that fits the hardware you have.

Check on eBay, or at Numrich ( http://www.gunpartscorp.com/ ) and look around your local gunshops and gunsmiths' to see if anything turns up.

hth,

lpl/nc

[ArmedBear]

Definitely check on eBay, shotgunsports.com, etc. People often acquire a used gun with a cut-down stock, then have to replace it with a standard one. That leaves them selling the cut-down buttstock -- 99% of the time a wood one -- for a reasonable price.

I'm one of them. If you had a Remington, I'd sell you a stock for it, all ready to go. It's a little longer than 11", but at 5'6", I think 11" would be a good deal shorter than what you want (unless you like having your thumb smash your nose every time you pull the trigger). Have you ever TRIED an 11" LOP? I'm 5'10" on a good day, and a standard 14" stock is just barely long enough.

A pump can be tricky, of course, since you can't "choke up" like you can with a break-action or semiauto. Mossberg's youth guns have the forearm offset to the rear AFAIK. Simply shortening the LOP until your front arm sticks out away from the gun far enough can produce some pretty undesirable results.

[hoghunting]

tony,
Until you find the shorter stock, you might be able to use yours by changing your grip. Try gripping the fore-end with your hand closer to the receiver. This will make the stock seem shorter. You might be grabbing the fore-end too far out, and it is jamming the butt into your shoulder.

[ArmedBear]

BTW, also have you tried taking off the recoil pad?

Wear a shirt that gives a little padding, and shoot the gun that way. That will let you know how it would feel with about an inch taken off of it. You may find that to be a lot shorter than you think.:)

I did that for a while, ended up not cutting a stock down at all. Ultimately, it was the right length. It was my front hand that needed moving.

[TrapperReady]

I can't speak to the stock availability... but ArmedBear has some wise words about LOP. 11" is pretty darned short. I'm 5'7" and my wife is 5'3", so I cut our HD gun (a synthetic-stocked 1300 Defender) down to a 13" LOP. That seems to be just about the right compromise for both of us.

I shoot a number of bone-stock pumps while hunting, and I've just gotten into the habit of keeping my left hand on the rearmost portion of the fore-end. Frankly, the only one that takes any getting used to is my Model 42 (old Winchester .410), as its light weight requires that I grip it "long" to slow down my swing. Then, I feel like I'm pretty well stretched out.

If you do end up getting a stock and cutting it down, I'd recommend doing it in increments, starting at 13" or so and working shorter if necessary. 11" is shorter than any I've personally seen.

[tonyv]

Thank you, gentlemen, for all the advice. I've been practicing tonight and it seems better gripping the fore-end as far back as possible. It's still not the most comfortable for me, but maybe combined with a 12' stock it will be.

On a side note, I rather like the fore-end on the Benelli Novas. It really allows me to draw my suppoting arm much closer to my body.

Thank you all again.

[only1asterisk]

Tony,

Hogue sells a 12" LOP stock for your 1300. You can buy one for around $40.
You could also look at the Mossberg Super Bantam and Remington 870 Jr. for 12" LOP pump guns. I've met a couple of folks that needed stocks this short. One
guy is 5'6" but very thick in the chest with short arms and neck, his wife is 5 foot nothing but is just a slip of a girl. Same gun fits them both.

David

[the naked prophet]

My wife is 4'10" with disproportionately short arms, and the super-bantam stocks are waaay too long for her. She tried on a 12" LOP stock and it was ridiculously long on her. She couldn't reach the pump even with her left arm completely extended. We settled on a mossberg 500 with a 6-position collapsible stock. That may be your only option, if you're really that short.

[tonyv]

"if you're that short"

lol....the naked prophet: thank you for putting another nail in my self-esteem coffin.

i've checked out the hogue set, but i would really prefer to keep with a wooden set. i wish there was an aftermarket fore-end that is cut to slide over the lower part of the receiver. thanks agian for all the help.

[ArmedBear]

i wish there was an aftermarket fore-end that is cut to slide over the lower part of the receiver.

Remington and Mossberg do that standard.

With the Remington, it's a mixed bag, for hunting at least, when you can only load 3 and want to do it quickly and safely. If the slide is open so you can place a shell in it without any concern for AD, you can't load the magazine. You can slide it halfway, but that's neither as safe, nor as good as it sounds, at least with gloves.

However, it does give you a lot more flexibility for finding the right hand position. That's a worthwhile tradeoff, I think.

[the naked prophet]

tonyv, you're a full eight inches taller than my wife, and three whole inches shorter than me. I don't think you're particularly short. That said, I understand that arms can be different lengths for different people. I've got a brother with arms like an orangutan and a brother-in-law with arms like a t-rex.

Trying out different guns and different stocks is all you can do. Best of luck to you.