TargetTalk

As I get older, I find I am less tolerant of discomfort. I have decided that I really don't like my older (70's) era Anschutz hand stop. As there arent' any other shooters close to me, I can't get their opinions on what would be a comfortable replacement. Is there anyone out there that has any advice as to what their preferences are? I have looked at a few online, but I would like to hear from a few people as to what they like and why.
Thank you.
John

My MEC hand stop is adjustable for cant and it comes with spacers for bigger hands, I've tried the ANS hand stop that came with my smallbore rifle, it was ok but it was not as adjustable as the MEC, but ANS does make a adjustable hand stop but it's not cheap over $100 I think (MEC hand stop goes for $80-85). I should add that the ANS hand stop that came with my smallbore rifle is vary and alot of people like them, Matt Emmons has used one.
Though I have found for me the hand stop is not as important as where you put your hand stop. I've eliminated some of the pain in prone just by moving my hand stop forward.

<>Brian<>

I've experimented with a few handstops over years, several of the Anschutz ones, the MEC, and currently, a System Gemini AKTIV Handstop
, I've found that I'm more comfortable with a narrower stop that can offset, so that the pressure between the thumb and stock is reduced.

[quote="jhawk"]As I get older, I find I am less tolerant of discomfort. I have decided that I really don't like my older (70's) era Anschutz hand stop. As there arent' any other shooters close to me, I can't get their opinions on what would be a comfortable replacement. Is there anyone out there that has any advice as to what their preferences are? I have looked at a few online, but I would like to hear from a few people as to what they like and why.
Thank you.
John[/quote

You may have a worn out shooting glove? When I was shooting rifle, I encountered the same problem as you. I switched to a Kurt Thune Glove that has the solid plastic pad in the palm. My discomfort went away. Maybe that may be a resolve for you.]

The System Gemini handstops are arguably the best there is, but definately the most expensive. Such is life.

The MEC stop is excellent, the Anschutz 4752 is also good and adjustable, I think a previous poster was refering to it.

The only other one worth mentioning is the Gehmann one, they are on ebay now and again, just search for Anschutz - make your search international, there is a guy in Canada who I'm sure sells the Gehmann one.

Ryan
Intershoot

After shooting for about two years with a Sinclair handstop:

I've gone back to a simpler, shorter handstop:


I've found that numbness in my hand sets in much later on if the bulk of the pressure on my hand is the sling over the back of it instead of the handstop bearing on the web.

I guess I am too used to shooting service rifles where the required lack of handstops forces you to use sling pressure against the forearm to keep the hand from slipping.

I have found the Anschutz 4752 (the small black one with the quick-release lever) to be comfortable. It can be off-set laterally to keep it against the web of the hand. It's also a bit cheaper than the MEC.

I have tried the MEC and found it very comfortable, it flares at the top and bottom and so doesn't pinch (spacers are added for larger hands), although it doesn't have as much off-set as the anschutz.

If you have large hands the older Anschutz 4751 could be right. This is a large horseshoe shaped plastic handstop, it can be offset and angled. However it is quite wide, so isn't great with smaller hands.

Tim S

Exeter

The 4751 Tim refers to is a great handstop, in the instructions for it you get photos (or at least you used to) of how you can make it smaller by shaping away the two sides. However you can't put it back obviously!

The 4752 has one flaw in my opinion. If you use the offset, which you probably should, your sling attaches at a non-central point, the attachment point moves with the handstop when you offset it.

You should really try and keep the sling attached dead centre under the rifle, even though you have the handstop offset.

The MEC handstop counteracted this problem by having 2 points that you can attach the sling to. So when you offset the handstop you use the alternative attachment point which is still central.

But you can only offset the handstop about 3mm on the MEC.

On the System Gemini the handstop moves independantly of the attachment point, and it still gives about 22mm of offset in either direction, but yet the attachment point stays dead centre. Thats why I like it so much and I think its the only one on the market that does it.

Ryan
Intershoot

My post seems to have disappeared but I wanted to thank the people that gave input into my question on hand stops. The glove suggestion was a good thought also. Time flies by so fast that I hadn't realized that my glove was actually over 25 years old and could be a part of the problem. I almost hate to go down that road as there are more glove choices out there than there are hand stops.... Thanks again,
John

Another option to try is to take your old handstop and turn it around backwards so that the knob is in front. You'd think this would be torture but what I have found is that the sling comes off so tight to the forearm rail it seems to put pressure on my hand and keep it in place such that I don't notice the handstop against my hand at all. Actually, mine is one of the newer black anschutz handstops with the plastic removed. For my Son's I used one of the older ones like yours but turned backwards. Not sure if yours is one of the ones with the ball type clip or not but to me this is another advantage of the Anschutz. I really like that setup very well since it is so easy to clip into and remove from handstop.