Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Hi all, I know it may be a silky question but I mentioned on another thread that im having difficulty with getting a good feel for my 22 rifle. In the prone position with it braced I'm ok, its just standing that I run into problems. I'm fairly petite, 5'2 and I'm wondering if a smaller/shorter rifle might work better or if its just a matter of getting used to it. I would hate to sacrifice firepower but if I can't handle the weapon, its useless

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Depending on your .22 there may be youth stocks available. Also you could use a table saw to cut down the stock and then install and aftermarket recoil pad but that's a little bit tricky.

A small fellow relative of mine loved his Remington Viper 22.

feralmuse wrote:Hi all, I know it may be a silky question but I mentioned on another thread that im having difficulty with getting a good feel for my 22 rifle. In the prone position with it braced I'm ok, its just standing that I run into problems. I'm fairly petite, 5'2 and I'm wondering if a smaller/shorter rifle might work better or if its just a matter of getting used to it. I would hate to sacrifice firepower but if I can't handle the weapon, its useless

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Welcome to shooting...
Standing is the least stable of the usual shooting positions, that is why you have bigger groups standing than in the prone. Kneeling and sitting will probably be somewhere between the two for group size. Most .22s don't have excessively long stocks and so they shouldn't be to awful long, you didn't say which model rifle you had. I have two nieces a little shorter than you and they both do OK with Ruger 10-22s and Marlin 60s in the prone, but feel all kind if wobbly trying to shoot them standing. Without seeing you shoot, I am going to guess you need some practice, and maybe some coaching and then some more practice. I know some folks on here have mentioned the Appleseed shoots, participating in one of them would be a good way to improve your skills.

grumpyMSG wrote:

feralmuse wrote:Hi all, I know it may be a silky question but I mentioned on another thread that im having difficulty with getting a good feel for my 22 rifle. In the prone position with it braced I'm ok, its just standing that I run into problems. I'm fairly petite, 5'2 and I'm wondering if a smaller/shorter rifle might work better or if its just a matter of getting used to it. I would hate to sacrifice firepower but if I can't handle the weapon, its useless

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Welcome to shooting...
Standing is the least stable of the usual shooting positions, that is why you have bigger groups standing than in the prone. Kneeling and sitting will probably be somewhere between the two for group size. Most .22s don't have excessively long stocks and so they shouldn't be to awful long, you didn't say which model rifle you had. I have two nieces a little shorter than you and they both do OK with Ruger 10-22s and Marlin 60s in the prone, but feel all kind if wobbly trying to shoot them standing. Without seeing you shoot, I am going to guess you need some practice, and maybe some coaching and then some more practice. I know some folks on here have mentioned the Appleseed shoots, participating in one of them would be a good way to improve your skills.

+1 for Appleseed it's great fun and great history!Even experienced shooters should go just for fun!

i would suggest looking at what I believe they call an "archangel" conversion. It basically makes a 10-22 like an ar-15. While you don't need all the bells and whistles The adjustable stock on a modular frame can be quite nice. I know with my ar I adjust stock length depending on prone,bench,or standing positions as different lengths are better for me in the various positions. numerous mail order catalogs offer 22 add-ons and replacement parts. I would recommend trying a few different rifles at a range to see which of caliber, stock length, etc is the main factor. I am sure folk on this site would be happy to help out with a range session if only to show off their toys:). I believe they also have "meet and greets" periodically. I can't help as I'm in fl and just come here for the wisdom of the knowledgeable like grumpy.

I would second getting an AR-15 stock conversion of some sorts (or an AR-pattern rifle). Adjustable length of pull works wonders for even tall big dudes.

I appreciate all the input and advice. I'm definitely going to look into any local meet ups, cuz I would appreciate any help/advice/coaching I can get. The 22 rifle I have is a winchester 190 w/scope. It fires well and hasn't given my brother ainy problems.

I blame this whole gun addiction thing I now have on my brothers... Since my 40 cal is too big for me to carry in my purse. I'm already hinting that I want a small n PRETTY 22 caliber for Christmas!. I know....its a woman thing!! LOL

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My mom recently got herself a Savage Axis in .223. We're gonna cut the stock down for her so she can shoulder it more comfortably. She said at 75 yrs old she doesn't like sticking her neck out.

An the way she shoots it , it wouldn't stick my neck out either...

@ palliden. Hey... I resemble that comment.... rifle ability....not age!! )

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feralmuse wrote: I mentioned on another thread that im having difficulty with getting a good feel for my 22 rifle. In the prone position with it braced I'm ok, its just standing that I run into problems.

Can you give us examples of what doesn't feel good about the standing position?

Balance, accuracy etc.... ?

Also it might have something to do with the scope, and its mounting position/height that won't let you get your head/eye into a comfortable position.

When I'm holding the rifle and trying to sight down the scope I end up having to move my hand further down the barrel to keep the muzzle from drooping down and even then I can't get a level sight. Its almost as if I have to tilt it to get a comfortable fit and then the stock ends hurting my shoulder...if that makes sense?

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feralmuse wrote:When I'm holding the rifle and trying to sight down the scope I end up having to move my hand further down the barrel to keep the muzzle from drooping down

Is this because of the weight/balance of the rifle?

It almost sounds like the rifle isn't high enough on your shoulder and you're having to really crane your neck down to get to the scope.

might not be quite 100% accurate, but it will work for this discussion
take a look at this image:

Here the standing shooter is shown with the top of the rifle butt above their shoulder. We don't want to quite goto that extreme, but for a lower recoiling rifle you can afford some slight position compromise to get things to fit better.

I am 5'3" & female. Cutting down the stock sounds good, but I did that with my shot gun & it was out of balance. I cut off the stock, then had to get a shorter barrel. I use our Winchester 77. It is a 22cal youth model. The youth model in anything fits me much better than off the shelf long guns. Most rifles & shotguns have a 14" pull off the shelf. The youth models are closer to 12". Pull is the distance from the trigger to the rear of the stock. My husband prefers a 15"pull.

My analogy for guns. My guys in my house are 6'+. I do not drive the car behind them with out doing major adjustments to mirrors, seat, steering wheel, etc. Our truck just doesn't fit me, I'm too short. One size does not fit all.
Guns are the same. One size does not fit all. My husband has his, I have mine, the "kids" have theirs. No one is the same size, so we each have our own.

PS: The S&W .380 is a nice size pistol for carry.

I checked the length of the pull when I got home from work and from trigger to end its definitely 14 maybe even 15 inches so I'm guessing its just too long and maybe the scope isn't set right to me as suggested earlier. To even get a decent look down the scope I have to tilt it or cock my head completely sideways which makes it seriously uncomfortable.

@ justsumstuff thanks for the advice, I'm gonna definately look into a s & w 380. Do you know what's a decent price for one?

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I checked the length of the pull when I got home from work and from trigger to end its definitely 14 maybe even 15 inches so I'm guessing its just too long and maybe the scope isn't set right to me as suggested earlier. To even get a decent look down the scope I have to tilt it or cock my head completely sideways which makes it seriously uncomfortable.

@ justsumstuff thanks for the advice, I'm gonna definately look into a s & w 380. Do you know what's a decent price for one?

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if its a 14-15 LOP then it really is too long a stock for someone of your size, and yes, it will be hard, if not impossible to hold it so fits you right.

Sounds like you need a trip to one of the big gun shows so you can try out a few rifles in person.

Lol yeah, turn me loose at a gun show!!! I can see me running amok like a kid in a candy store!!

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I'm sure what you have could probably be adjusted to fit but what about a carbine?

My CX4 (when stock) weighs between 5 to 6 pounds and starts out with just over a 13" length of pull. If you don't mind the Buck Rogers/Battlestar Galactica styling it's extremely fun to shoot.

@ feralmuse - I know this is a late reply - the .380, don't purchase one that was manufactured before 2011. They had a lot of issues with the thingy that is used to break it down for field stripping, laser on/off switches and a couple more things. Most of the ones 1 year later that I've read about don't have as many issues a S&W fixed the issues. there is another forum http://smith-wessonforum.com/ search for .380 & you can read. I paid $350.00. The problem was locating one in stock. Upon retrospect, i like to boat, jetski, etc.. I would not purchase the integrated laser. The Diamond Back .380 felt the next best in my hand. I'm around the water too much. I went with S&W because my other handguns are that brand, field stripping & operation are similar so I don't have to remember all the differences. I just don't need the complications. I like to shoot, not have headaches!

A rough estimate for correct length of pull is: I hold my hand down by my side, bring my hand up & across my body & my waist, palm up, bending @ the elbow. I put the stock in the crook of my elbow to test the fit. I don't even bother to put it on my shoulder if is doesn't pass that test. The Marlin 60 that I bought yesterday feels great. I wanted the tube fed instead of the detachable magazine. Never owned one, but the idea of dropping 14 rounds in then pushing the rod home sounds wonderful. It hurts my fingers & I get very tired loading all the magazines we have for the hand guns & rifles, even though I use loader thingys to help.
My philosophy is that your gun is your gun. My guys are 6'-0". My car adjustments don't fit them them, why should their guns fit me? I have my guns, they have their guns! I have small hands & we have the exact same handguns, but my grips are much smaller. My guns are my guns.