Hello I am looking to shorten a CZ527 rifle stock to fit my 9 year old son for proper length of pull for cold weather deer hunting. I have searched some youtube videos and everyone seems to have a different recipe to get to an optimum length. I have restocked a few CZ's over the years and I have a few spares lying around, available for a project like this. While I would prefer to nail this the first time if I don't i will not loose any sleep over a mistake. Hoping for a few pointers to insure success in both measuring my sons length of pull and doing a proper job of shortening the stock to achieve a near perfect fit for him. Look forward to seeing what else we can learn here.

Thank you all in advance!

With the desired layers of clothing.

Measure from your son's index finger tip along the inside of the forearm to inside of the elbow w/ his arm bent in a 90 degree angle.

You now have his Length of Pull w/ the required layers of clothing in the equation.

If,you are indecisive,add 1 inch to the LOP measurement.

Measure from the trigger shoe face aft & stick a piece of painters tape for the LOP.

Wrap a piece of painters tape around the stock & cut the stock w/ a coping saw.

Sand the cut off stock on a flat surface to square up your cut.

If you forgot the include the butt plate thickness into the equation,you have another cut to make.

Measure twice.
Cut once

Old school measuring of finger to elbow.With clothing he wears, mount the rifle as he would shooting his nose should just clear his thumb.

For rifles, aimed shots, length of pull isn't critical so long as the rifle can be mounted without hanging up. For a 9 year old I'd err on the long side else guaranteed it'll be too short next year. Scope eye and nose not clearing his thumb.

Save the pieces. My first gun was a Stevens .22/.410 and Dd saved the cut off piece. Eventually I replaced the cut off piece with a leather spacer (for looks) and it's in the shotgun cabinet. It ain't leaving except to get shot.

The old school method of fitting isn't perfect, for shotguns anyway, but gets you in the ball park for people of average proportions.

One theory that works for adults is consider the standard 13.5" LOP is for a 5'10" adult. Then for every inch more or less in height add or subtract 1/8" LOP. Not sure if it works for very short individuals. I don't like to go much less than 12-12.5" and keep in mind the overall legal length. Compare this to the crook of the elbow measurement and go with whichever is longer.

The old school forearm length is useless for stock fit. With gun mounted the eye needs to be in the right place.

There is plenty of latitude in the elbow and wrist to accommodate a bunch of variables. You also have some latitude in scope mounting. If the thumb just clears the nose it will not in recoil and there will be blood if there is significant recoil. Obviously the CZ527 is not exactly a heavy kicker.

With the scope all the way forward in the rings I like about 4.5 inches between eye and ocular ring/lens. It should then be mountable at about 4" which is standard long eye relief for a scope.Just measure the distance and calculate subtractions to bring the face into the 4" area.

Adjustments may need to be made for the changes in mounting when the gun is shortened. Usually the form is quite a bit more relaxed and the head/eye will move back a bit.

"Obviously the CZ527 is not exactly a heavy kicker." Yea not a heavy kicker, yet you may be surprised at the recoil realized in the Grendel with 129 grain SP over a max charge Leverevolution loads. Know I was surprised after getting comfortable shooting the 17 HH free recoil:)

Recently realized we may have a very simple solution here with the Boyds adjustable At one stock. This stock goes down to 12". I am hopeful this will be short enough to get us where we we need to be.

Fit a 1/2" pad to start. You can fit a 1" pad later as he grows.

Sounds like a good practical solution.

As to recoil, too many kids are set up to fail with guns considered to be modest recoilers. They need very light guns and the addition of their often ill-fitting stocks and poor form can lead them to getting beat up. Lots of kids have sense enough to not come back for more...

A scope with a long eye relief helps quite a little. Allows them to use a LOP that's a little long and won't out grow it so fast.
Phil

IMHO I would buy a youth stock. LOP is important but so is grip distance, the distance from the grip to the trigger. The key to "felt" recoil is proper form and fit. If the grip distance is too great the smaller hand has to roll over to get to the trigger, this prevent the shooter from gripping the rifle correctly and pulling it to their shoulder. Thus under recoil the rifle moves back into the shoulder and increases "felt" recoil.

Some youth stocks (NEF) are straight and like saddle stocks the grip is not set like a pistol grip.

That's the best answer if you can do it. You see it best in shotguns, shorter the stock and everything else becomes out of proportion.

Another consideration is stock drop, the distance from the bore line to the comb of the stock. A shorter person has a shorter neck than a tall person. A full size stock has much more drop than a shorter person needs thus their jaw is against the stock and not their cheek. Too much drop is not conducive to comfortable accurate shooting because your head isn't stable and you get slapped in the jaw when you pull the trigger. Stock drop also effects sight acquisition, with too much drop your head jiggles and you'll nod up and down.

Teach them right the first time with a gun that fits and they will enjoy shooting more, be more accurate, receive less recoil, will be less likely to develop a flinch (hard to correct later) and be more confident and successful.

If you can't get a youth stock to fit that rifle, get a rifle that fits the kid.

JMHO

I made a kid's stock for a .410 single shot loaned to 4-H trap out of aspen board from Menard's. Was a fun project with aspen though not so great for strength. Actually doesn't look bad stained up and with a Limbsaver pad. But what counts is all the dimensions are right for an average 8 year old. We start 'em early here. And no, the .410 is just for the rank beginners. We move them to a 20 ga. semiauto as soon as they can handle one.

Experience is telling me that I agree. We went out last weekend with a CZ 527 in a Boyds at One adjustable stock and a H&R Handi youth model, both in 300 blk. Guess which one he favored.

Ok, I had a horrible experience with this H&R and while selecting a rifle is the least of my concerns at present It is fair to say that I have no time for The H&R going forward. Despite the fact that the root cause of the root cause having little if anything to do with the issue I experienced. Cant help but be confident the CZ or another bolt action would have had less disastrous results. The results I am waiting on till the swelling goes down in my eye enough to see if I still have sight or not in my right eye.

Be fore warned stick to published reduced loads.

I have seen to many reports for my liking of the H&R breach opening at the shot along with my experience will cause me to stray away from this design for the rest of my days.

Sorry to hear abut your problem, I hope you heal well and soon.

My sons and I have owned at least 6 of the NEFs and I still own one, a Handi Rifle with several barrels. I modified the youth stocks for them. It sounds like you hand load, a 94 Win with 135 gr bullets a shortened stock and recoil pad might not be a bad idea if you can't find a youth stock for the CZ. There are also reduced recoil loads in the manuals and available commercially. The Browning Lever Rifle with a saddle stock is another option. Chambered in 243 Win or 260 Remington would be a great rifle. Simply replace the butt stock after he gets too big to extend it as he grows. The only problem I have with a straight stock (saddle stock) is the recoil comes straight back and is not deflected by the drop of the pistol grip. More felt recoil.

Savage makes a compact youth rifle and Remington has a model Seven youth. A short action rifle with a synthetic stock will weigh less.