My wife, adult daughter and I are preparing 3 new rifles (Marlin 795's with Nikon 3-9x40 EFR / AO scopes) for an upcoming AS in July. We are new to rifle shooting and have no clue on how to set up a rifle to fit us, to get a proper cheek weld or what to buy for the stock to prepare for the event, other than the slings and swivels. Can you folks share your wisdom on what I should do or bring with me to save set up time at the event?
Sorry if I posted this question to the wrong sub-forum. Mods, feel free to move this thread to the appropriate area as needed.
There are at least three ways to make non-permanent adjustments to comb height, at minimal cost. I advise you do nothing permanent until you have been to at least one Appleseed.
1. Buy a cheap strap-on cheek pad. MidwayUSA and other sources have decent ones.
2. Buy some cheap foam, as packing material sheets or even swimming pool noodles, and some vet wrap material or duct tape. It even comes in medium brown, so it doesn't look too gross on a wood stock.
3. Use folded newspaper and either type of wrap to hold it down.
This can be installed and modified at the shoot, after you have received instruction on positions.
Be aware that the amount of padding you will need to achieve a solid cheek weld on the rifle stock might be different for prone, sitting, and standing positions.
The Rifleman improvises, adapts, and overcomes. Hope you have a good time and great success at your upcoming 'seed!
Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
When mounting scopes get the shooter down in prone without the scope mounted have them extend their neck and mark in crayon where their glasses come to on the stock.
Check the scopes manual and find the "eye relief" Measure that distance forward from the crayon mark and make a new mark.
THIS is where the back of the scope goes.
Now buy mounts to fit the scope to the rife. Usually the lower the better.
Once you have it mounted see if you need cheek riser.
When raising the comb height, I usually try to do it in small steps. Sometimes I use pieces of leather, cause you don't want it to be too squishy, or it won't be as effective. The goal to keep in mind is that you should be able to make check weld with your eyes closed, open your eyes, and have your eyeball automatically aligned with the front and rear sight, or proper eye placement and eye relief if using a scope. Once you can hit that same sweet-spot repeatedly, that's what you want. As didactic mentioned, it's gonna change a little with different positions. I tend to focus mostly on prone, since that's the position we shoot from most and where the points on the AQT count the most, but it also has to work in the other positions. I usually take electrical tape, to hold it in place, since the glue doesn't generally mar a stock, and then wrap the "vet-wrap" around until it's secure. Vet-wrap also has a texture to it that will keep your cheek from slipping around and I often even go around the buttstock to keep it from slipping in the shoulder pocket. You don't want to wrap it so tightly it becomes smooth, just enough to hold things in place, but still leave some texture to it which also allows the wrap to cling better. It comes in all sorts of colors and patterns and can be found at places like tractor supply or places that sell stuff for horses at a cheaper price than a drugstore (in first aid supplies).
Advice about scope mounting is excellent. A frequent problem is scopes mounted too far back. Recoil is not an issue with .22s, but you still want proper "eye relief" (distance between the shooter's eye and the rear of the scope). With heavy-recoiling rifles, and the eye too close to the scope, the shooter will sometimes have the scope hit him on the eyebrow, causing a painful and distracting cut. Lots of shooters wear a (or several, in the case of slow learners) permanent crescent-shaped scar through their trigger-side eyebrow!
What you want is to have the whole field of view illuminated, with no shadow around the edge of the field of view. If this is gobbledegook to you, play with the scope before mounting it on the rifle and you'll see what if I'm talking about. Scope either too close or too far from the eye keeps the whole ocular (rear) lens from being illuminated.
Another option is EVA foam sheets available at any craft store, or craft section of Walmart, dollar store etc. It's available in adhesive-backed and in many thicknesses, or you can use double-sided tape. I use 1/4" with a low-comb stock for good cheek weld using Tech-sights. The thin self-adhesive stuff is good as a friction adding butt-pad if you have a plastic stock that tends to slip off your shoulder.
For the scope & cheek rest set-up, I recommend watching a video that Ryan Cleckner did. It's short, to the point, and very well explained.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COoXVpGfXQE
Take a peek at https://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=49820.msg338442#msg338442
post number 6 with pictures of two rifles with very comfortable cheekpiece. Very cheap too.
You will be so comfortable in prone with these cheekpieces you will be snoring like a wart hog.
Bob
There was a post on June 26, 2,0,16 entitled Stock Cheek Riser.
Another good solution is called an AccuRiser.
The foam and horse wrap works well. Be very reticent to use solutions that require drilling into your stock as it may disqualify your rifle from the sporter catagory.
I'm not a big fan of the foam/cheek pads.
I like the title of the post "Newbie cheek pads". Many times this is not required.
Prone is a great starting place for checking eye relief, but since you are 3 position shooting (Appleseed stuff), I would advise you check the eye relief in the seated position. I can get a crystal clear and immediate reticle in prone, but have grey in the optic in seated. Seated is where the final checks should be made.
Stock 10/22's are notoriously not the best of choice for optics mounting. I have a few posts on this in this area of the forum.
Your setup with that optic (Nikon 3x9 40MM) can absolutely be made to work, but you will need to adjust your position for it.
A cantilever extended mount will help with eye relief. For me eye relief is more important than the height (cheek weld). For example, my 1903A4 Springfield has a 2x optic on it. The stock is not made for a scoped rifle. I have to place my lower jaw bone on the stock for a proper cheek weld. Sometimes that is what needs to happen.
Eye relief however, that is difficult to nearly impossible to adjust for repeatedly.
My 3x9 Nikon 40MM is too LONG for my 10/22. I shoot with it well, but will be getting a shorter scope. Even in seated I get some grey with that optic setup.
My advice, read my posts in here on Rimfire Sporter, and Scope Mounting. Then buy once cry once and do it right from the get go. The posts I am referring to are in the sub forum "Rifle Knowledge Bank".
Good Luck!
Chris
An option is a new stock. The Magpul X-22 allows for both LOP adjustment and the installation of cheek risers.