Hello there,
I have just received my new Ruger RSM in 416 rigby and was impressed by most things except the recoil pad that may have come off a light truck tyre. A skinny one at that.

Liking roughly the way my right shoulder comes out of my body and not wanting to suddenly and greivously change this i had a chat to my gunsmith about installing a new pad. We decided on a 1 inch thick limbsaver. Then came the question about whether to just bolt it on or remove wood from stock to keep the same overall length. The RSM has a nominal 13.5 inch LOP, and with the thicker recoil pad it will come to a fraction over 14 inches.

Looking at the Westly Richards, Rigby's, Holland and Hollands etc on auction sites in heavy calibers, most would seem to be 14 inches or greater. With people being a fraction shorter on average 70-90 years ago it would seem that today the LOP has become shorter in a general sense.

My question is has any one else noticed a "shortness" in their heavy rifles and did you change the LOP longer and finally did this make any real differences to how the rifle performed.

To me, the RSM just felt short so i have elected to just bolt it on and try it like that. I can shorten the stock if required later. I am of average build and 6 ft tall.

Thanking you for your time.