Hawke Scopes, I have 7 now and they are all reliable, clear, easy to adjust and most importantly hold a zero.
So after work yesterday I went out and shouldered a few more rifles. I tried the Savage Axis and 111, the Winchester 70, the Marlin offering and a few more.
The Ruger is in my price range and since I own a few Rugers i know I am getting a well made, backed up product. BUT, the rifle doesnt shoulder well on me.
So after some online research I have found that the rifle that shoulders the best on me, the Tika, has a 13.2" LOP. The Ruger American has a 13.75" LOP!
Most all offerings are in this range but I think sometimes even a insignificant difference is significant. I wear my hunting jacket when I try out a new rifle or shotgun. When I shoulder the Ruger it catches the jacket on the way up from my carrying position. The Tika doesnt. Part of that is the design of the Tika recoil pad, its rounded so it doesn't catch on clothing. The Ruger pad is a softer material and it has sharp edges that catch the clothing.
I talked the LGS into letting me remove the recoil pad on a Ruger American and then it felt right when shouldering.
So I thought I would look into Boyds and get a stock from them with the correct LOP for me but thats another $120 or so pushing my $350 rifle out to $500.
I don't think the plastic stock on the Ruger can be cut down much, the recoil pad is really thick on the Ruger so that could be changed. I don't know.
I want the Ruger but I have to fix the LOP issue in a way that doesn't cost too much