I wear glasses and find it hard to get a comfortable shooting position with my rifle. When I put my cheek firmly against the stock I end up looking through the very edge of my glasses and over the bridge of my nose. Would a Monte Carlo stock help turn my head to the left (I'm a right handed shooter) and give me a more natural point of aim?

A Monte Carlo comb may help. However, there are still restrictions on the Monte Carlo if your rifle is a bolt action.

I have the same issues...as I wear glasses also. My problem was solved when I discarded the severely straight stocks.

Mounted correctly at your shoulder, the straight comb stock forces you to lower your head to make contact with your cheek to the comb. This forces the head at an angle, and your line of sight through the extreme top of your glasses.

Where this line of sight is, right or left, is a function of the thickness of the comb and the cast off of the butt stock. Cast off is a function of how wide your shoulders are.......or how far your shoulder is from your sighting eye. In your case right shoulder and right eye.

GV

Just another thought.....

I think your issues are with your stock.....as it sounds like you're "laying over" the comb to get a sight picture. That forces you to look through the portion of your glasses so near your nose.

But another little thing I did to get a better sight picture on my rifles was to start wearing my trap shooting glasses while hunting. The normal everyday glasses extend to the eyebrows.......trap-shooting glasses provide lense way above the eyebrow.....so rising birds are always within the lense.

For what it's worth....

GV

I find for myself that most modern stocks are to straight to shoot comfortably. I like a stock with a little lower comb or drop at the heel. I compensate by using higher scope mounts on straight stocked guns.

The Sako stocks are nice because they have a monte carlo and some cast off to the butt of the stock. Makes it easier to line up with glasses on.

lawndart

This is a related question for Grandview (or others). I am working with a stock now that was profiled before I bought it. Nice wood but it is of the Mel Smart design with the nose of the comb lower than the rear, the stock is straight and has a substantial cheek piece. I have it inletted and mounted the scoped action last night and consistantly come up looking through the left side of the scope (I'm right handed.)

Are cheek pieces only proper on stocks with cast off (this seems logical to avoid having to roll your head over the comb to aling the eye with the scope)? I am seriously considering planing off the cheek piece.

Second, I read a recent discussion regarding the Serenghetti/Mel Smart designed stocks similar to the one I have. It is not pleasing to the eye but I was hoping that it would point well and reduce cheek slap, I am really doubting both of these "virtues" now. Any advise as to how such a stock could be modified to fix what I am starting to believe are it design flaws? The drop at the comb nose is 1/2 inch below the height of the comb at the butt. The bolt just clears the nose, could I plane the comb level without compromising stock geometry? I know this is difficult without pictures but if you were familiar with the design you might have an opinion.

Thanks-

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Originally posted by snowcat:

Are cheek pieces only proper on stocks with cast off (this seems logical to avoid having to roll your head over the comb to aling the eye with the scope)? I am seriously considering planing off the cheek piece.

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Cheek pieces can be useful on stocks with or without cast off. How thick the cheek piece should be is a matter of your own facial structure. First....the comb where your cheek rests should be of sufficient thickness to be comfortable, and align your eye with the sights. The cheekpiece comes out and down from this point....at an angle that approximates the angle between your cheek and jaw. Typically that is not a very thick cheek piece.

If you are going to "grind" off the cheek piece....be careful to follow a straight line at the top of the comb....from butt to comb nose. That straight line is on all planes around the curvature of the top of the butt to the comb nose. You don't want to create a "dished-out" area for your cheek. Keep checking sight alignment while doing this.

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The drop at the comb nose is 1/2 inch below the height of the comb at the butt. The bolt just clears the nose, could I plane the comb level without compromising stock geometry?

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To bring the comb more "level", by planing it down.....you are in effect removing most of the wood from the heel of the butt. If I were to plane that stock to measurements I prefer, it would mean losing an inch of the butt pad. The 1/2 inch above the comb nose, and an additional 1/2 to accomplish the drop at heel I prefer. If there is sufficient butt "face" area to work with.....go ahead.

GV

Thanks for the input Grandview. I decided to plane off the cheekpiece last night. Although most customs have one, to my eye I prefer the looks of the stock without them and the rifle now mounts much better. Per your advice I left the cant from heel to nose as is--to plane it level would not allow the 5 1/8 pad height which is non-negotiable. Good lesson learned I guess. Appreciate the help.