It was my understanding, maybe falsely, that on very hard recoiling rifles, a little "cast-off" could be a good thing. It took forever to find out what cast-off is (The definition I found on the American Custom Gunsmithing site is totally vague).

After asking many and reading everything I could get my hands on, I came to believe it is as shown in the following drawing:

I came into a set of blueprints for a stock, that was drawn in 1928. On the blueprints, it shows quite clearly what I have drawn to the right side in the above. "Cast-off" to the person drawing the blueprint, is moving the butt away, to the right, from the bore centerline. They also included a little toe-in, which I drew in. Note the MS Paint program doesn't allow me to tilt the "butt" so I had to tilt the lines.
So my question is: which depiction is correct? "Cast-off" is moving the butt to the left of the bore centerline or to the right? And which direction is appropriate for the heavy hitters?
Thanks.

From every definition I have seen, you have drawn Cast On for a right handed person.

See Cast off definition which I can copy below as well.

"Cast Off - An offset of a gun stock to the right, so that the line of sight aligns comfortably with the right eye while the butt of the stock rests comfortably on the right shoulder. Almost all right-handed shooters benefit from a little castoff and most custom built guns are made this way. The only question is how much. The castoff of a gun is about right when, with the gun comfortably mounted, the front bead lines up with the center of the standing breech. A stock offset to the left, for shooting from the left shoulder is said to be Cast On. "

I have heard that cast-on is good for a right hander in heavy recoil because the stock angles away from one's face as the gun goes backwards. I totally disagree for several reasons, not least of which includes that a gun must fit to be worth a damn.

But additionally, if you have cast on as a rightee, you have to lay your face OVER the comb to get behind the stock. Since a rifle also comes up as well as back as part of the recoil process, you will get a very sore cheek.

Cast off is the norm on many higher quality factory shotties such as Merkel and Berretta - I don't think they make their normal - off the shelf versions for lefties.

Brent

Cast off is angled away from the shooter's face (cast away?). Your illustration is cast on. Cast off may or may not be beneficial. A person who has a broad faceand is wide in the shoulders will like some cast off. I have a narrow face and shoulders like a trout so cast off has me looking down the off side of the barrel. For the same reason I like a little thicker comb than would a more robust individual.
When it comes to toe in etc. I find it is informative to shoulder the rifle with your eyes closed and position it so that it is comfortable on your shoulder. When you open your eyes you can get an idea of how much the butt could be angled to fit perfectly. Most are comfortable with some toe out.
The truth is, most stocks are built more or less straight and we adapt ourselves to them because in many cases a stock that fit would look grotesque. Regards, Bill.

Assuming that your first drawing is looking down from the top, it's cast on.

Cast off moves the butt away from a right handed shooters face, cast on moves it away from a left handed shooters face.

This from Hallowells excellent glossary of gun terms...

"Cast Off - An offset of a gun stock to the right, so that the line of sight aligns comfortably with the right eye while the butt of the stock rests comfortably on the right shoulder. Almost all right-handed shooters benefit from a little castoff and most custom built guns are made this way. The only question is how much. The castoff of a gun is about right when, with the gun comfortably mounted, the front bead lines up with the center of the standing breech. A stock offset to the left, for shooting from the left shoulder is said to be Cast On."

Rob

Gentlemen,

Thank you, I now know I was wrong for some time. At least I did not get too far with it.