Length of Pull Project

I'm not a tall guy. I stretch the tape at around 5'7" on a good day. My muzzleloader, a CVA Accura MR-X, has been a tad long for me, especially during hunting season when I have thicker clothes on. When I pull up the heel catches under my arm sometimes, so that I have to think about throwing it forward, which isn't helpful. I can miss plenty easily without having more to think about!The listed length of pull is 14.5".

I pulled off the recoil pad, hoping there was a way to cut the synthetic stock down, but that looked like a chore that I didn't want to tackle. If you search the internet, people get that done using radial arm saws and JB weld...which all seemed like too much. The factory recoil pad is great, but I couldn't grind that down due to a bunch of plastic that projects into it. I looked around and couldn't find a youth stock, which is often a go-to strategy for me (I'm pretty sure my 20 ga Mossberg 500, LOP of 12.75", is wearing a youth model stock).

I looked at a bunch of recoil pads and most were too thick or the hole spacing was too far off. The CVA holes for the recoil pad are right around 3.5" (or 89mm). I finally found a thin recoil pad under a half inch thick (11mm) that had hole spacing at 92mm. After a little research, I ordered the Cervellati pad from Midwest Gun Works and got a package of sanding belts of various grits for the belt sander and got to work.

I put the pad on the CVA to make sure the screws would work, which they did, though I didn't want to install/uninstall a bunch because there was a bit of an angle there. Traced around the stock onto the recoil pad and then sanded away on the bench sander (a bright light is helpful with this). Started with the 240 grit (could have done 120 for the big chunks) and as I approached the pencil line, went to 400 grit. Once into the pencil line I moved to 600 grit and then finished with 800. Pretty happy with how it turned out.

The length of pull is now down to 13.75". The finish on the pad is fine - I should have paid more attention the toe as I worked it down - the angle is off.  A jig (which you can buy for $100+ from Brownells) would be handy if I was doing a bunch of these, but not worth it for one. I expect a little more recoil, but I'll be fine with that. Might have to adjust the scope a little this summer - we'll see. Overall, a fairly easy project that I wouldn't hesitate to do again!