TargetTalk

For PRONE ONLY, are there any advantages or disadvantages with a sloped wood stock like the 1907 wood stock? My son has shot that style for the past year, but we are looking to upgrade rifles and making this selection is proving difficult. I hear teh aluminum stocks with the straight shallow forarms have an advantage keeping the hand close to the barrel? What then is the use for the design of the sloped wooded stocks?

The 1907 is a 3-position rifle. The stock is deeper close to the trigger guard for off-hand. Excellent prone scores can be, and have been, shot with a 1907; however, a rifle with a shallow, straight forestock is a better choice.

Personally I believe that there isn't that big of an advantage to a stock with a straight forestock. What matters most when deciding what kind of stock to buy is what feels best to you. If the sloped forestock feels best to you in position that is the stock that you should use.

Lots of prone shooters use the straight forestock with a lot of success but I do not believe this is the secret to success. What really makes a good prone shooter is position, hold, and technique.

When I began shooting 4 years ago my parents bought me a 1907 with the sloped forestock. I have been using it ever since then and have never once seen the need to get a different stock. I went from having no experience to now holding my master card in NRA prone and setting several open national records this past summer in prone and 3-Position. I have found focusing on the fundamentals and refining shot technique to lead to the great improvements in my abilities as a shooter.

Brian

The question is what is the advantage to the sloped forearm? At one time there were rules for women's rifles that prohibited changes to the stock during the competition. The sloped forearm allowed a one size fits all stock. What are the advantages now? They are cheaper. That is the only advantage. the thin forearm gives you more options. Thin is available to you with a thin forearm. Thick is too with the addtion of a spacer. What was said is true people do shoot well with them if it fits. If you need thin then get out the band saw. I spend a lot of time trying to get young kids into nice looking prone positions. We have several ans. 64's in the club, some with straight forearms (older) and some with tapered forearms. The tapered forearms I find to be a real pain to get the kids into a good prone position. I also had a 1907 for a while. Once I switched to a wood stocked free rifle I found it much easier to optimize the stock for each position and my scores took a jump.