I posted a topic last week regarding spacers for my rifle. I have a Browning A-Bolt Composite Stalker with a Zeiss Conquest 3-12x56mm (which has a shorter eye relief than most scopes) so I need to legthen my stock. I was thinking about spacers, but I had an idea for a temporary solution. I was wondering......has anyone bought a slip-on Limbsaver pad and put it over the existing recoil pad to lengthen the stock? Is there any reason this wouldn't work? I know it might not be the prettiest solution, but I think it would work. I already have a pre-fit Limbsaver on the gun and it works great, but I just need the gun to be longer. Any info/opinions?? Thanks....

Well what you end up with is a squishy feeling thing against your shoulder that moves when you are trying to shoot.
Plus the fact that pull on pads look like,,, well,, pull on pads...
Like I told you before , Brownells has the spacers that you need to do the job right.
BUT, heck everyone needs to experiment, you might even like the extra padding the pull on gives you.

bucko......yeah thanks for the Brownells suggestion. I didn't mean for it to sound like I was ignoring you. I intend to get a spacer eventually, but I need a temporary solution because I'm going on a hunt in 2.5 weeks and I would like to have something to make it more comfy by then. The way it is now, the scope pops me in the forehead almost every shot, not hard, but it's just irritating.

just a thought but when you mention that the scope is bopping you could it possibly be that you just need either a longer eye relief or just setting it farther forward?
The reason I ask is that it is common for people to get boinked by their scope even though their LOP is correct just because they are crowding the scope.
I know that this is probably not the case but I just thought I would ask..

I wish that was all it was. The scope is as far forward as it can go. My dad has the exact same gun and scope and he's got the exact same problem.....except he usually gets a nice little cut when it pops him. I'm not sure why......but the A-Bolt is not built for a normal size person. It seems like it's built for a smaller than average person. I'm not that big......only 5'10" 165 lbs. but I have the arms of someone that's probably 6'2".

It likely ain't that your stock is too short, it's that your scope is too tall. With that 56mm objective, the scope must be mounted so high that you have to pull your cheek off of the comb in order to acquire the sight picture. When you do this, your head is bobbing around in the air. In this condition, when the gun goes off your head moves uncontrollably forward like one of those bobblehead dolls on a car's dashboard.

On the other hand, if the configuration of the scope simply forces its mounting position too far rearward, the proper fix is offset rings rather than a longer stock pull. The stock pull should fit your trigger reach properly, not be used to adjust the distance of the eye from the scope.

I have used a slip-on pad to increase LOP. It was a leather contraption, and, as you surmised, was not going to win you any prices for "best looking gun" .... Still, other than looks, it did the job.

I tried to find pictures of the model I used, thus far without luck. On the other hand, most of these things seem to work the same way, and as long as they stay put, I can't really see any disadvantages if an increased LOP is what you need. It seems a cheap enough fix to try, if it does not work, no big deal...

This site has a whole bunch of them:

http://www.nextag.com/slip-on-recoil-pad/search-html

-mike

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
It likely ain't that your stock is too short, it's that your scope is too tall. With that 56mm objective, the scope must be mounted so high that you have to pull your cheek off of the comb in order to acquire the sight picture. When you do this, your head is bobbing around in the air. In this condition, when the gun goes off your head moves uncontrollably forward like one of those bobblehead dolls on a car's dashboard.

On the other hand, if the configuration of the scope simply forces its mounting position too far rearward, the proper fix is offset rings rather than a longer stock pull. The stock pull should fit your trigger reach properly, not be used to adjust the distance of the eye from the scope.

It's not that the scope is too tall. My cheek is on the stock just like it should be. Before buying the Zeiss scopes, we were used to Leupold scopes and that's still what I have on every scoped rifle I own except my A-Bolt. The eye relief of the Zeiss is significantly shorter than the Leupold.

I have one and an old Johns one that I use from time to time with Marlin lever actions. It is ok, since these are loaner guns and I don't want to lengthen them permanently. I also use it sometimes for range work with my Ruger 338. It seems to make the gun fit better on the bags, especially if I am just wearing a tee shirt.

quote:

Originally posted by bucko:
... you end up with is a squishy feeling thing against your shoulder that moves when you are trying to shoot....

Hey ES, I agree with that basic thought. It would be quite rare to find a Slip-On Pad that would match your current Pad well enough that it does not do what Bucko described, because I've tried doing it myself.

The only real problem is that it tended to "Open the Groups" a bit. Can't place a definite % of Increase or amout of Inches Increase though because it varies.

But if your shots will be inside 300yds and your rifle currently shoots right at 1" or so, it should do fine on Big Game.

What are you Hunting and how far have you practiced shooting?

I'm going to be hunting hogs and sheep. I doubt I'll make any shots past 200 yards.

And for the redneck method, here ya go from good ol Georgia. 2x6 cut and sanded to shape, and painted with Krylon flat black! This was on a stainless stalker with the flat black stock, so it looked ok actually. Took about an hour, and just used a belt sander and palm sander to shape it up.

As Stonecreek said, make sure it is l.o.p. you need though.

quote:

Originally posted by Eland Slayer:
I'm going to be hunting hogs and sheep. I doubt I'll make any shots past 200 yards.

Hey ES, That should work fine, but I'd encourage you to practice with the Slip-On Pad on the rifle at 200yds.

The "squishy" for me seems to be the Buttstock can move "sideways" easier than normal. That caused the groups to have a bit of Horizontal Dispersion for me.

I now carry the Slip-On Pad to the Range just in case someone else needs one or wants to try one of my heavier recoil rifles. To help with the slipping it on and off the stock, I eventually cut a short lengthwise slit along the bottom edge of the Mouth of the Pad and then placed a Hole Punch at the end of the slit to keep it from lengthening. The slit is about half way to the Pad. But, it goes on-to and off-of more rifles than the typical Pad.

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

quote:

It's not that the scope is too tall. My cheek is on the stock just like it should be.

Eland, it's not that I don't believe you, but do the math. A 56mm scope typically has to mount almost a half-inch higher than a 40mm scope. This effectively lowers your stock comb by that amount. A half-inch difference in stock drop at the comb is enormous. If your cheek is still FIRMLY against the comb with a 56mm scope, then it would be virtually impossible for you to get your eye low enough to see through a low-mounted 40mm scope. If it's convenient, try swapping out the 56mm for a low-mounted scope and check the difference in your cheek position on the stock. I think you'll find that with the 56mm scope your cheek is just brushing the stock and is getting no real support from it. Just as stock fit is critically important in shotgunning, it is also a major contributor to rifle shooting accuracy, especially when you are shooting offhand or in various field positions.

quote:

Before buying the Zeiss scopes, we were used to Leupold scopes and that's still what I have on every scoped rifle I own except my A-Bolt. The eye relief of the Zeiss is significantly shorter than the Leupold.

No Duh, as my kids used to say. Its eye relief is not only shorter, but is also much more critical -- meaning that the eye relief distance which gives you the full sight picture has much less fore-aft latitude -- meaning in turn the the scope requires much more exact placement on the gun in order for you to acquire the sight picture. The shorter, more critical eye relief is one of the optical/mechanical trade offs you have to pay in order to get a variable ratio of 4/1 as opposed to the more typical 3/1.

Here's your ultimate problem, and you said it well when you said that "The eye relief of the Zeiss is significantly shorter": No amount of dicking with the stock pull or using trick offset mounts will make the eye relief any longer. You are saddled with whatever it is, and you have to place your eye both close and rather exact in order to use the brilliant optics of this large and expensive instrument. It's no doubt a marvelous telescope, though not as good a telescope as dozens of spotting scopes on the market. However as an optical GUN SIGHT, as you've discovered, it has its challenges.

Eland Slayer I have to say that I agree with this last post..
There is something else going on other than LOP, I also am about your size with freeking monkey arms and long arms really do not affect your stock length that much.
I truly believe that it is the sum of the distances between your shoulder and your eye that actually make more of a difference.
Long arms just means that you are going to have more bend in your elbows.
It does not mean that you are going to be any closer to the scope.
This fellow is dead on right about the Zeiss, and the large objective lens diameter.
I did not read before where it was that large of else the bells would have went off a lot sooner.
There are things that you can do however if you want to still use that combination, the most obvious to me would be to raise the comb of the stock.
You can order a 1/4 inch sorbathane pad that goes over the stock in the cheek area, and then they make a nice neoprene slip over shell holder that you can slide over the pad.
This will get you about 3/8ths more height and probably go a long way towards helping your problem.
I know that you are the guy behind the scope, and I hope you don't think I am argueing with your judgement,, but it sounds like this might be the case.