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Thread: 12-inch LOP too short?

  1. #1

    12-inch LOP too short?

    Recently received a Hogue stock for an 870 with a 12-inch lop. I get that shorter is better but man, this seems really short.

    Any opinions on this stock or 12 inch lop in general before I take a screwdriver to the original? I'm not that tall (5'11) and I seem to be able to reach the trigger comfortably when laying the oem stock along my forearm. I have no formal defensive shotgun training, so I'm sure I don't know what I don't know. Thanks for your input.

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by MK11 View Post
    Recently received a Hogue stock for an 870 with a 12-inch lop. I get that shorter is better but man, this seems really short.

    Any opinions on this stock or 12 inch lop in general before I take a screwdriver to the original? I'm not that tall (5'11) and I seem to be able to reach the trigger comfortably when laying the oem stock along my forearm. I have no formal defensive shotgun training, so I'm sure I don't know what I don't know. Thanks for your input.
    I used to use those short Hogue stocks on my 14 and 18 inch 870 shotguns. Shorter makes it easier to work a pump. However, I find felt recoil enough more to matter compared to the Magpul 870 stock. I would try to get a Magpul.
    Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.

  3. #3
    I had a 30-06 psuedo-Scout built once with a 12.5" LOP. I probably wouldn't do it again, but I got used to it.


    Okie John
    “The reliability of the 30-06 on most of the world’s non-dangerous game is so well established as to be beyond intelligent dispute.” Finn Aagaard
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  4. #4
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    12-inch LOP too short?

    For you at 5' 11"? Maybe.
    For me at 5' 5"? Maybe not so much.
    "It's surprising how often you start wondering just how featureless a desert some people's inner landscapes must be."
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  5. #5
    There's no universal answer to this because there's no universal shooter. Based on physique, shooting style and gear used/worn, 12" LOP will be perfect for some, too short for others, and occasionally too long.

    On average, most folk seem to do comfortably enough closer to 12.5 to 13" on modern shotguns using modern technique. If you feel awkward or bunched-up at 12", you probably are. If in a good shooting position your nose is closer than about an inch (or two) to your thumb, you probably need a little longer LOP. But these are rough approximates.

    I went to the Magpul set-up on my pump late in the game and wish I'd made the jump much earlier. The ability to adjust both LOP and cheek weld border upon game-changers for me, and I recommend you look into it.
    Hain’t we got all the fools in town on our side? And ain’t that a big enough majority in any town?

  6. #6
    Member gato naranja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MK11 View Post
    Recently received a Hogue stock for an 870 with a 12-inch lop. I get that shorter is better but man, this seems really short.

    Any opinions on this stock or 12 inch lop in general before I take a screwdriver to the original? I'm not that tall (5'11) and I seem to be able to reach the trigger comfortably when laying the oem stock along my forearm. I have no formal defensive shotgun training, so I'm sure I don't know what I don't know. Thanks for your input.
    Do you tend to shoot with the traditional "bladed' stance or the "squared-up" stance? That can make a huge difference.

    I use the Remington (R.I.P.) "factory" short synthetic LE stock - which was actually made for them by Speedfeed - with the excellent LE R3 recoil pad, which gives a combined overall LOP of 12.75"... which is a bit longer than the same gun with the short Hogue stock, IIRC. Like you mentioned, the Hogue just "felt" really, really short to me, and I was unimpressed by the Hogue's recoil pad. Sometimes swapping out for a longer or shorter pad can totally redeem a stock, but I just didn't have the desire to try other pads on the Hogue. The curve of the Hogue's pistol grip area on these stocks is also "different" enough from the factory rigs that I think a person probably either loves it or hates it.

    I am 5' 9" and of average proportions (albeit with an added spare tire), and I can JUST use the shorter stock if I revert to the bladed stance of my younger days, but with a squared-up stance the shorter stock shines while regular LOP stocks make me quite awkward and give me a tendency to not get the forearm all the way forward to lock the action reliably if I am not careful of where my hand is on it.

    For me, the 12.75" to 13" - pad inclusive - LOP is probably my "sweet spot" for use in any possible scenario.
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    Last edited by gato naranja; 01-24-2021 at 10:00 AM.
    gn

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  7. #7
    banana republican blues's Avatar
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    A Tactical-Life article from 2018 on shotgun setup refers to the following advice from Tom Givens:

    For most short-statuted people, he suggests that the LOP be shortened to 12 inches. For larger people it should be no more than 13 inches. Tom especially likes the Magpul SGA stock, which is already quite short.
    The Magpul stock on my 870 (without spacers) provides a LOP right around 12.5", right in the middle of Tom's recommendations.
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  8. #8
    If it isn't short enough, Hogue makes an 11" version.
    I had an ER nurse in a class. I noticed she kept taking all head shots. Her response when asked why, "'I've seen too many people who have been shot in the chest putting up a fight in the ER." Point taken.

  9. #9
    Site Supporter Rex G's Avatar
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    When the LOP gets too short, I have trouble with a consistent cheek weld, and, as a result of that, a consistent aim/point. When I started getting short-strokes, after 30+ years of never short-stroking a pump, one of my former rookies, who had ended up at the firearms training range, recommended a shorter stock, and let me try his 870 with a Magpul stock, which had none of the spacers installed.

    So, I bought and installed a Magpul stock, and installed it, with no spacers. Short-stroking was gone, but, to make a long story short, my long neck and long arms “demanded” a longer LOP. (I am 6’ tall, but would would probably be as tall as my 6-02 and 6-03 brothers, if my spine had not been blessed with extra curves.) So, I reckoned it was time to return to Benelli, as the Comfort-Tech stock promised to thrash me less than that the sharp-combed stock that had been on my HK/Benelli M1 Super 90.

    My pair of Benelli M2 shotguns have Comfort-Tech stocks, with the longest recoil pads. I would, however, like to experiment with a “Compact” Benelli M2 shotgun, which is delivered with a shorter version of the Comfort-Tech stock, and/or a Benelli M4, with the multi-position stock.

    Not saying that my way is the right way for any other individual.
    Last edited by Rex G; 01-24-2021 at 12:51 PM.
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  10. #10
    Member gato naranja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gato naranja View Post
    I am 5' 9" and of average proportions (albeit with an added spare tire), and I can JUST use the shorter stock if I revert to the bladed stance of my younger days, but with a squared-up stance the shorter stock shines while regular LOP stocks make me quite awkward and give me a tendency to not get the forearm all the way forward to lock the action reliably if I am not careful of where my hand is on it.
    I did not mention the thumb vs proboscis issue earlier, so I will mention it now.

    I do not shoot a shotgun with my thumb resting alongside the stock; my thumb goes over the grip (I need all the recoil management I can get).* At this point in the space/time continuum, I have not had a problem with my own setup described earlier, but I did bonk my beak using an 870 equipped with a stock that had an all-inclusive LOP of 12"... I was a bit careless and it bit me.

    *The only guns I habitually shoot with my dominant hand's thumb laying alongside the stock are single-shots or leverguns with tang sights.
    gn

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