why no cheekpiece

[aorams]

As an admittedly novice shooter, I have made several modifications to my Tikka T3 since I bought it a few years ago.  Almost all have made a positive difference to my shooting and hunting, although the value added of each improvement has been questionable.  However, I recently added some height to my cheekpiece using 1/2" pipe insulation and some vet wrap, making my cheekweld perfect and improving my shooting by hundreds of percentage points(exaggeration added for effect).  It took several years of shooting and googling to learn this little trick, which brings me to my question.  Since most hunting rifles seem to be made to use scopes for aiming, why don't most of them come with higher or adjustable cheekpieces?  Is there a disadvantage?

Just curious...
Thanks!

[HntnFsh]

I don't know the answer to your question. But would love to hear about the mods you have done. I just bought a T3 light in 7 mag and am getting it set up.

[xXLojackXx]

With most "conventional" hunting scopes (1'' or 30mm tube, 40mm objective), a raised cheek weld isn't typically needed. It's when the scope market started going to 30mm, 34mm, and 35mm tubes with 50mm and 56mm objectives that your cheek weld needs to be higher. Picking the right ring height is important too. I see a lot of guys running rings that put their scope 1/2" off the barrel, further increasing the cheek weld height.

[b23]

I see a lot of guys running rings that put their scope 1/2" off the barrel, further increasing the cheek weld height.

   Couldn't agree more.  I'm going to assume most people that do this don't realize it's, likely, negatively affecting their shooting.  I had a buddy few years ago that had a Ruger 77/22mag that he put a pic rail on and some of the tallest dang rings I've ever seen, there must have been at least 3/4 of an inch of gap from the barrel to the objective on the scope.  IMO, it was the worst looking POS I'd ever seen.  When I asked him about why he mounted it so high up off the barrel, he just kept telling me how "perfect" it was and he thought it looked wicked cool like that.  When he shouldered that dang thing, he had to lift his head nearly all the way off the stock just to get full site picture but hey, he thought it looked cool and was "perfect" so who was I to argue.  LOL

[kentrek]

Depends on your needs...on a longer range rig with a giant scope then youl start to need a raise....but with a typical hunting rig it's just not necessary as long as you have a properly mounted scope

Im a fan of classic looking rifles....sleek...low profile...fast...

No cheek peice !

[BigGoonTuna]

depends on how you shoot, too.  in europe, the "hog back" stock is popular as a lot of guys there like to shoot with their head straight up, versus "crawled up" on the stock like a lot of us americans.  they tend to mount their scopes higher than us.

[Stein]

In reality, the average hunting rifle sits in the safe for 362 days a year during a busy hunting year.  The average hunter probably doesn't even know about them and certainly wouldn't take duct tape to their rifle.

I haven't shot a rifle that wouldn't benefit from them and I use 30 mm scopes that are almost touching the barrel.  I sit my cheek bone on the stock for consistent positioning, maybe others shoot differently.

I have one kind of like this minus the shell holders.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/3140880855/voodoo-tactical-adjustable-cheek-rest-with-ammo-carrier-nylon?cm_vc=ProductFinding

[MountainWalk]

I shoot a pre 64 m70, with peep sights. The original stock has plenty of drop, which I love for open sights.

[AWS]

Most of the Euro rifles with hog backed stocks will also have iron sights and if the stock had anything to do with high mounted scopes the iron sights would be impossible to use, that style of stock is just a style. examples in a minute.

Original scope mounted on hog back style scope, scope was meant to be removed(note claw mounts) and open sights or shotgun barrels used.  Much too high to use quickly.



Same rifle with low mounted scope that works well with this style stock.



The solution to your problem.  When I built the stock up high enough on this rifle to use the high mounted 50mm scope I couldn't get the bolt out without removing the stock, solution was an adjustable cheek piece from XLR industries.