I was hoping someone with some experience making stocks could help me out. The stock on my 375 is whacking the heck out of my cheek every time I fire it. Now, I assume it has something to do with the comb, but I'm unsure of how to fix and/or correct it. How do you reshape (raise combe, lower comb, etc.) to stop your cheek from being punished each time you pull the trigger?

Thanks in advance!

Sometimes a slip-on (eg. butt buddy/cartridge carrier) works. With stronger kickers the cheek-weld and LOP make far more difference than your 7 mag, for example. I have used leather lace-on butt pads and moleskin built up under slip-ons to achieve the effect for me without costly stock "tailoring"/fitting approaches.

Cheek-weld means your face at the cheek is kept on the stock throughout the entire recoiling event. Of course, this means the scope or iron sights must be lined up with your face in exactly that same position.

I learned this from missing a kudu at 50 yards out a "hide" window despite good rest, etc. with a .416 Rigby CZ 550 Safari Magnum stock...

Your problem is the reason that they adapted the Monte Carlo comb for rifles in addition to the shotguns for which it was originally developed (grin).

A slight adjustment in the angle of the buttplate's pitch can often make a noticable difference in percieved recoil. I suggest that you consult a qualified gun (shotgun, of course!) fitter to determine if this is something to consider.

Also, the comb nose can possibly be lowered along with the upper comb line, into more of a straight-line arrangement that would possibly be less punishing. A mercury recoil reducer or 2 can be installed in the forearm of the rifle.

I usually zero and accuracy-check my big-game rifles from a sitting-on-the-ground position with tight shooting sling, as much like a real field position as possible. This appears to minimize felt recoil as well as confirm that the final zero will be completely independent of the sometimes-different 'sandbag' zero.
Regards, Joe

I'll be out of town next week but you could come by some time after that. I could take a basic set of measurements and compare them to your rifle and see pretty close to what needs to be done.

I'm a practicing (Grin) apprentice stock fitter.

kcstott,

That would be awesome! I'll send you a PM.

There is obviously too much drop in the comb of your stock; that is why I build mine with minimum drop; it allows your stock to slide along your cheekbone instead of smacking it.

Not sure if it’s just me or applicable to others as well. The comb on the stock could be a touch too narrow for your facial construction.

Summer of 2010 I shot four M70 WSM length rifles in .416, .458, and .500 calibers – very nice AI walnut stocks on three of the rifles with one .458 having a factory synthetic stock. I loved shooting all of them – ‘bout 6.5# with the synthetic stock and 7.5# (+/- ¼# due to caliber) with the AI walnut stocks – except for the single AI stocked .458 caliber rifle. Unfortunately the AI stock maker had thinned the comb narrower than the comb on the .416 and 500 caliber AI stocked rifles with the end result being that the comb dug into my cheekbone with every shot…a couple of shots was all my cheekbone could take. I had no issues with the other two AI stocked rifles and I shot them as much as I was allowed. The synthetic stocked .458 caliber rifle’s comb was only slightly wider than the AI stocked .458 caliber rifle but that was enough to make it (even though being close to 1# lighter in weight) much more enjoyable to shoot than the walnut stocked .458 caliber rifle.

I might add that I used my leather slip-on pad on each rifle which lengthened the LOP for each by 1” – even then the LOP of each rifle was a good ¾” shorter than I need when shooting in a tee shirt and may have exacerbated the digging of the thin combed rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by J.D.Steele:
A slight adjustment in the angle of the buttplate's pitch can often make a noticable difference in percieved recoil. I suggest that you consult a qualified gun (shotgun, of course!) fitter to determine if this is something to consider.

Beating up the cheek under recoil can certainly be due to the wrong angle @ the buttplate.

I learned this 1st hand when I built a .50 cal muzzle loader for my brother in-law.

The "L" shaped brass castings for the cresent style butplates kinda locks you in as far as buttplate angle relative to the comb.

I always made a habit of shaping the stock down to a rough resemblance of the finished product & shooting the rifle before final shaping/sanding.

A .50 cal RB is not a big kicker, but W/90gr of ffg behind a 180gr RB, that sucker would rear up & beat you in the cheek bone so bad that after a few shots, my face would begin to swell.

I gave it to my brother in-law to try & when I asked him what he thought, he said wellll....
I replied. "It beats the $hit of your face doesn't it"

I heated the casting to change the angle to cast the toe reward & after re-fitting it to the stock, that cured the problem.

When I chose a steel Neidner style BP for my 7# 8X57 that would be pushing 2700 fps W/200 gr Partition loads, I paid particular attention to making sure the BP was angled back slightly @ the toe.

Having that angle caused the recoil to push straigh reaward insted of rotating upward into the cheek.

Too much drop can also cause the same problem.