I'm looking to purchase a deer hunting rifle but need recommendations for a good brand. At 6' 10" I am a very tall guy and need to have a rifle with a long length of pull. I don't want it to look like I'm shooting a cap gun! Also, buying an American brand is important to me. Any ideas?
Deer rifle for tall guy
- Thread starter jgibbs
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All factory rifles have a length of pull that is reasonably close to the same. You are going to have to have a thicker recoil pad added at the very least. More expensive options include having a gunsmith add an extension to the stock or have a custom stock made with a much longer LOP.
Brass Coyote
Member
Any gunsmith should be able to add stock spacers--between the stock and buttplate--to add length. A slip-on recoil pad will do some of that too.
I'm a bit shorter than you and I hunt with military surplus rifles. Although my field rifle for deer is an Enfield Mk 1A in .308 Win with an ATI stock and no-gunsmithing scope mount and 6x Bushnell scope.
I'm a bit shorter than you and I hunt with military surplus rifles. Although my field rifle for deer is an Enfield Mk 1A in .308 Win with an ATI stock and no-gunsmithing scope mount and 6x Bushnell scope.
mossberg
Member
This requires no special mention. Everyone on the internet is at least 6'10".
lol welcome to THR
jester_s1
Member
The length is going to be too short no matter what you get, so having spacers and a new recoil pad installed is going to be just part of the process of getting your weapon. More difficult is going to be getting the cheekpiece right, since I'm sure you have a longer neck than most people. Depending on your build, you may need an offset recoil pad (drops it down) in order to raise the comb to your cheek and still keep the pad on your shoulder. At the very least, a monte carlo stock is in order.
bang_bang
Member
6'10" 
Custom fitting might be recommended here...well, either that or a 50 cal.
Custom fitting might be recommended here...well, either that or a 50 cal.
Thanks for the feedback guys. Do you know how much the cost of a custom stock would be?
My shotgun is definitely too small for me but the difference is that with a shotgun you don't have a scope... I don't want to get scoped because the gun doesn't fit me well.
My shotgun is definitely too small for me but the difference is that with a shotgun you don't have a scope... I don't want to get scoped because the gun doesn't fit me well.
Sunray
Member
You don't need a custom stock for either a shotgun or a rifle. It'd be slick, but also expensive. Stocks lengths can be adjusted for reasonable money without going to a smithy. Those of us with short arms have to do the same thing.
The regular LOP for a Rem 700 BDL, for example, is 13 3/8". 13.5" for a CDL. Most likely too short for you. No big deal. Add a recoil pad with spacers. Recoil pads alone add about an inch. A spacer(hard rubber. Relax. It's just a spacer. The recoil pad does the rest.) can be as much as a 1/2".
You do need to figure out what LOP you need though. No big deal either. Put a yard stick in your bent elbow and grasp it like you would a rifle. Where your trigger finger comes is very close to what LOP you need.
Brownell's sells recoil pads and stock spacers, for not a big pile of money, to adjust the LOP for you. No smithy required if you have a wee bit of skill with either a file or, better, a belt sander. Masking tape on the stock and sand the pad and spacers down.
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/catsearch.aspx?c=994&p=4804
"...don't want it to look like I'm shooting a cap gun!..." Nobody cares what you look like in a hunt camp. It's what you do that matters. Just like anywhere else.
The regular LOP for a Rem 700 BDL, for example, is 13 3/8". 13.5" for a CDL. Most likely too short for you. No big deal. Add a recoil pad with spacers. Recoil pads alone add about an inch. A spacer(hard rubber. Relax. It's just a spacer. The recoil pad does the rest.) can be as much as a 1/2".
You do need to figure out what LOP you need though. No big deal either. Put a yard stick in your bent elbow and grasp it like you would a rifle. Where your trigger finger comes is very close to what LOP you need.
Brownell's sells recoil pads and stock spacers, for not a big pile of money, to adjust the LOP for you. No smithy required if you have a wee bit of skill with either a file or, better, a belt sander. Masking tape on the stock and sand the pad and spacers down.
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/catsearch.aspx?c=994&p=4804
"...don't want it to look like I'm shooting a cap gun!..." Nobody cares what you look like in a hunt camp. It's what you do that matters. Just like anywhere else.
sarduy
Member
remington 700
35Rem
Member
The correct length of pull will be more important on a shotgun.
Adding spacers and a recoil pad is going to be the most cost effective answer. The recoil pad will make the rifle more fun to shoot.
What type of rifle are you looking for. That may help us, also. Action type? Stock material, etc..
Adding spacers and a recoil pad is going to be the most cost effective answer. The recoil pad will make the rifle more fun to shoot.
What type of rifle are you looking for. That may help us, also. Action type? Stock material, etc..
atblis
Member
FWIW the Steyr Prohunter series of rifles comes with spacers to adjust length of pull. Don't know how much you can add though.
It's important on both shotguns and rifles. A fellow who is 6'10" tall is going to have a proportionately longer neck, which means his cheek is going to be farther up on the stock, which means his head is too close to the scope.
I'm 6'6" and have split my forehead more than once on the scope during recoil.
To the OP. You can buy a rifle with a wood stock and add a recoil pad. The only thing is finding a rifle that doesn't already have a recoil pad. That fact alone narrows your search.
If you add a recoil pad to a wood stock it looks fine. And some pads are much thicker than others. But IMO, the addition of a recoil pad still isn't going to be long enough for you. So you also might need to add spacers. But spacers look kind of funky on a wood stock.
If I were you I'd buy a rifle with a black plastic stock, then add an inch or so of spacers plus an inch thich recoil pad. A gunsmith would charge little to put them on, and it will look much better than a do-it-yourself job.
BTW, all of my advice comes from experience.
35Rem, I seem to like the look of a good wooden stock better than black plastic. A bolt action for my deer rifle would be my first choice. (A lever action in .30-30 will probably be my second deer rifle.) I'll mount a decent 3-9x scope on it and hopefully get a lot of practice time with it at the range.
Thanks for the link about the spacers, Sunray.
I just found an article that said the adjustable lenght of pull on a Steyr Prohunting only goes up to 13 3/4". I haven't measured yet, but I assume that wouldn't be long enough for me.
Edited: I can see that a black stock would look better than a wood stock with spacers. That will definitely be part of my final decision. I don't want it to look like the rifle has a 2" or 3" recoil pad on it. It just wouldn't be as pleasing to the eye.
Thanks for the link about the spacers, Sunray.
I just found an article that said the adjustable lenght of pull on a Steyr Prohunting only goes up to 13 3/4". I haven't measured yet, but I assume that wouldn't be long enough for me.
Edited: I can see that a black stock would look better than a wood stock with spacers. That will definitely be part of my final decision. I don't want it to look like the rifle has a 2" or 3" recoil pad on it. It just wouldn't be as pleasing to the eye.
35Rem
Member
You can get a rough idea of length of pull by bending your arm 90 (make a "L") Measure your forearms from the crook of your arm to about the middle of your index finger. This method isn't perfect, but gives you a ballpark idea. If you are talking 16" adding 2-3" to a standard stock may be a reality as you have found most rifle stocks are around 13.5 inches. You may be able to talk to Boyd's or another maker about additional length stocks.
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