I'm really excited that my first Project Appleseed event is only a few weeks away! I've been putting together my 10/22 and doing some dry practice at home. I went with a Magpul X-22 stock, a TandemKross Advantage Charging Handle Rail, and a Primary Arms 1-6x24 LPVO.
I've been trying the standing, cross leg sitting, and prone positions, and I'm having some trouble getting comfortable in the sitting and prone positions. When I get my support arm to roughly 90 degrees, my hand directly covers the mag well.
I'm 5'8", but my arm span seems to be only about 5'5" (assuming I measured it correctly), so maybe the current X-22 setup is just a little long for me.
The tricky part is that if I shorten the stock, I'll probably need to move the scope as well to keep the right eye relief. That might mean a longer Picatinny rail or an extended scope mount.
For those of you with more Appleseed experience:
1. How do you figure out the right length of pull for the Appleseed positions?
2. Would you recommend a longer rail or an extended scope mount to move the optic forward?
I do need an optic because unfortunately my eyesight isn't great. Without one, I can barely see the target clearly anymore.
I'd also prefer not to remove the TandemKross rail if I can avoid it. Some of the receiver threads on my 10/22 aren't particularly consistent, so I used threadlocker when I installed it. I'd rather not disturb it unless I really have to.
Any advice would be appreciated!
It looks like you've got a couple more notches on the pic rail, so there's a little adjustment available there.
Length of pull quick & dirty measurement: trigger hand grips the rifle like you're preparing to fire (firm handshake, etc) face the butt of the stock toward your inner elbow, and bend the elbow 90 degrees. The butt plate should touch or nearly touch the arm just below the bicep.
If you can't bend the elbow 90 degrees because the stock is in the way, it's probably too long. If the butt plate is more than an inch from the crook of the elbow, LoP is probably too short.
That's the simple version for a fixed stock.
Great suggestions above I'd only add that purchasing an EGW extended rail is a great option to provide added flexibility. It's like $20 from amazon, it will give you like three extra slots out in front of the receiver and screws on to your receiver without issue. What you find (in my experience) is that sitting and standing I end up closer to the scope and those positions require my scope moved forward. This is where the rail makes a big difference.
QuoteWhen I get my support arm to roughly 90 degrees, my hand directly covers the mag well.
Not sure exactly what you mean by '90 degrees'... relative to what? We're just looking to get the support
elbow oriented directly under the rifle. Your support arm might be positioned at a multitude of angles relative to your elbow - it's totally dependent on your personal body geometry, and that's best sorted out on the range with instructors. If you're 'choking up' on your rifle stock to the point where your hand is covering the magwell, I'd suspect you're trying to compensate for major elevation corrections, which is better accomplished by shifting your lower body away from your support elbow.
In any case - don't overthink this stuff heading into your first Appleseed event. Fine-tuning these things on the range is part of the process. Your instructors should be helping you work through all of this on the line. Most of us have pipe wrap and other simple techniques to quickly adjust your cheek weld or extend your length of pull (although not much we can do to shorten LOP unless it's an adjustable stock like yours and we can pull out a couple of those plates on the butt end). It's rare that we need to remove an optic entirely and reposition it, but having a bit of extra rail to work with is advantageous in those scenarios.
I see you're running out of room on the rail to move forward, but is there any chance to get the turret out in front of the first ring? Bit of an unconventional approach, and it's work that I'd prefer not to be doing on a firing line, but it looks like you could maybe buy another inch there without having to invest in a new rail or scope mounts.
If you're really concerned that the stock isn't a good fit for you, then my suggestion is to reach out to your Shoot Boss in advance and ask if anyone in the local volunteer cadre has a loaner 10/22 rifle they could have on hand - it's relatively quick/easy to swap out the stocks. Depending on your event you may find several 10/22 stocks for you to try out.
TLDR: your setup looks fine and can be tweaked on the line by an instructor who is observing you.
I suspect that you will have a lack of needed eye relief with the scope mounted that far back.
A solution that works well, but looks unusual, is to put both rings behind the scope turrets so that the scope may be moved further forward on the rail.
Quote from: eaglescouter on August 19, 2026, 01:36:54 PMI suspect that you will have a lack of needed eye relief with the scope mounted that far back.
A solution that works well, but looks unusual, is to put both rings behind the scope turrets so that the scope may be moved further forward on the rail.
That's my thought - scope is mounted with the rear too far back and not much room for adjustment. We see that all the time.
I have actually had to do as you suggested once - put both rings behind the turret. I think that was like my second Appleseed. Looked strange but at least I had decent eye relief.
An extended (cantilever) rail is the only good solution. Botbob says he'd prefer not to replace the rail but an extended rail is the only good solution. Moving the rings behind the turrets will work too though.
So new rail or get a compact scope. I run Primary Arms Prisms myself. Short and sweet.
Quote from: Smallbore (Timothy_D) on August 19, 2026, 06:23:44 AMIt looks like you've got a couple more notches on the pic rail, so there's a little adjustment available there.
Length of pull quick & dirty measurement: trigger hand grips the rifle like you're preparing to fire (firm handshake, etc) face the butt of the stock toward your inner elbow, and bend the elbow 90 degrees. The butt plate should touch or nearly touch the arm just below the bicep.
If you can't bend the elbow 90 degrees because the stock is in the way, it's probably too long. If the butt plate is more than an inch from the crook of the elbow, LoP is probably too short.
That's the simple version for a fixed stock.
Thank you! I tried that measurement, and it does look like the LOP was a little too long for me. I removed the two spacers from the stock, and it feels a lot better now. Learnt something today! ;D
Quote from: T. WOLF on August 19, 2026, 12:25:03 PMQuoteWhen I get my support arm to roughly 90 degrees, my hand directly covers the mag well.
Not sure exactly what you mean by '90 degrees'... relative to what? We're just looking to get the support elbow oriented directly under the rifle. Your support arm might be positioned at a multitude of angles relative to your elbow - it's totally dependent on your personal body geometry, and that's best sorted out on the range with instructors. If you're 'choking up' on your rifle stock to the point where your hand is covering the magwell, I'd suspect you're trying to compensate for major elevation corrections, which is better accomplished by shifting your lower body away from your support elbow.
In any case - don't overthink this stuff heading into your first Appleseed event. Fine-tuning these things on the range is part of the process. Your instructors should be helping you work through all of this on the line. Most of us have pipe wrap and other simple techniques to quickly adjust your cheek weld or extend your length of pull (although not much we can do to shorten LOP unless it's an adjustable stock like yours and we can pull out a couple of those plates on the butt end). It's rare that we need to remove an optic entirely and reposition it, but having a bit of extra rail to work with is advantageous in those scenarios.
I see you're running out of room on the rail to move forward, but is there any chance to get the turret out in front of the first ring? Bit of an unconventional approach, and it's work that I'd prefer not to be doing on a firing line, but it looks like you could maybe buy another inch there without having to invest in a new rail or scope mounts.
If you're really concerned that the stock isn't a good fit for you, then my suggestion is to reach out to your Shoot Boss in advance and ask if anyone in the local volunteer cadre has a loaner 10/22 rifle they could have on hand - it's relatively quick/easy to swap out the stocks. Depending on your event you may find several 10/22 stocks for you to try out.
TLDR: your setup looks fine and can be tweaked on the line by an instructor who is observing you.
Thanks for the clarification! By "90 degrees," I meant my support elbow being bent roughly 90 degrees, with my forearm and upper arm forming about a right angle. I was probably overthinking that part haha.
I took some of the other comments' advice and tried the LOP measurement, and it does look like the stock was a little too long for me. I removed the two spacers, and it feels a lot better now.
As expected though, shortening the stock made the scope noticeably too far back and too low. I went ahead and ordered a Picatinny rail extender that mounts to the existing rail. It should give me about another 0.43" of height and some additional rail space to move the scope forward. I also plan to 3D print a few cheek risers at different heights. I'm going to try those first, but I'll remove the TandemKross rail if needed.
I'll definitely bring my tools and be prepared to make adjustments at the event. Thanks again for the advice!
Quote from: scuzzy on August 19, 2026, 04:43:17 PMQuote from: eaglescouter on August 19, 2026, 01:36:54 PMI suspect that you will have a lack of needed eye relief with the scope mounted that far back.
A solution that works well, but looks unusual, is to put both rings behind the scope turrets so that the scope may be moved further forward on the rail.
That's my thought - scope is mounted with the rear too far back and not much room for adjustment. We see that all the time.
I have actually had to do as you suggested once - put both rings behind the turret. I think that was like my second Appleseed. Looked strange but at least I had decent eye relief.
An extended (cantilever) rail is the only good solution. Botbob says he'd prefer not to replace the rail but an extended rail is the only good solution. Moving the rings behind the turrets will work too though.
So new rail or get a compact scope. I run Primary Arms Prisms myself. Short and sweet.
Thanks! it definitely seems like the scope is sitting too far back now that I've shortened the stock.
I'm going to try the rail extender first and see how that works. If I still can't get enough adjustment, I'll probably just replace the rail with an extended one.
I hadn't considered a compact prism before either. I'll keep that in mind if I end up reworking the whole setup.
Appreciate the advice!
This is an image of an AR Service Rifle with a scope that's used in CMP/NRA Highpower. See how forward the scope is? It's a picture from the U.S. Navy Marksmanship Team Guide and gives you an idea of how far forward you will want the scope for position shooting.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/320x240q70/923/OrXo9z.png)
The manufacturers put scope mounts and bases on them that will work for shooting from a bench or standing up because 99% of people will never shoot from position with a sling.
On several occasions I've moved the rings behind the turret and employed the EGW long rail. As suggested, they are both easy solutions.
Good luck!
Dennis
Below is one iteration of my Appleseed rifle.
(https://i.imgur.com/CUL2CJe.jpeg)
You can see the EGW extended rail that extends forward of the receiver and over the barrel. The forward ring is all the way out in front on the forwardmost slot of the rail. The eyepiece is close to even with the back end of the receiver. And you can see from the position of the turret, if I didn't have the extended rail, there would be no room forward of the turret to mount a ring on the rail, and I would have to either bring the scope back or mount both rings between the eyepiece and the turret.
I have the Magpul high .75" cheek riser installed on my stock, which puts my eye in almost perfect alignment with the scope when I bring the rifle to my face for a comfortable cheek weld.
The next picture is the same rifle with a much larger scope.
(https://i.imgur.com/qzIijsP.jpeg)
This is how I set it up for the 200-yard Rimfire Known Distance. The scope is so long that even with the extended rail, I would not be able to fit the forward ring on the rail in front of the turrets, and I also like to swap this scope onto the other rifle sometimes. So I have this scope on a cantilever mount. That adds some height, so you can see I have an improvised foam rest on top of the .75" cheek riser. On the other rifle, I have a Mathews Fabrication cheek rest, which is very nice. I might get one of these to mount on the 10/22 instead of using the foam riser.
I enjoy the process of tinkering with the setup and dialing in the ergonomics of my personal rifle. I'm sure I'm not done yet!
What works for me and may not work for any one else, is to mount the rear eye piece of the scope as close to the end of the receiver as possible. I usually get an extended pic rail from Amazon or Kidd.
This is the way.
Quote from: Fulcrum on August 20, 2026, 12:23:07 PMBelow is one iteration of my Appleseed rifle.
(https://i.imgur.com/CUL2CJe.jpeg)
You can see the EGW extended rail that extends forward of the receiver and over the barrel. The forward ring is all the way out in front on the forwardmost slot of the rail. The eyepiece is close to even with the back end of the receiver. And you can see from the position of the turret, if I didn't have the extended rail, there would be no room forward of the turret to mount a ring on the rail, and I would have to either bring the scope back or mount both rings between the eyepiece and the turret.
I have the Magpul high .75" cheek riser installed on my stock, which puts my eye in almost perfect alignment with the scope when I bring the rifle to my face for a comfortable cheek weld.
The next picture is the same rifle with a much larger scope.
(https://i.imgur.com/qzIijsP.jpeg)
This is how I set it up for the 200-yard Rimfire Known Distance. The scope is so long that even with the extended rail, I would not be able to fit the forward ring on the rail in front of the turrets, and I also like to swap this scope onto the other rifle sometimes. So I have this scope on a cantilever mount. That adds some height, so you can see I have an improvised foam rest on top of the .75" cheek riser. On the other rifle, I have a Mathews Fabrication cheek rest, which is very nice. I might get one of these to mount on the 10/22 instead of using the foam riser.
I enjoy the process of tinkering with the setup and dialing in the ergonomics of my personal rifle. I'm sure I'm not done yet!
UTGLeapers Inc., UTG SS Picatinny Riser Mount, 1", 13 Slots https://a.co/d/00U16K7v
You can mount this to your current pic rail and mount it forward enough to get the eye relief you will need and have to 20 MOA needed for the 200 yard rimfire KD!😎