What purpose/advantage is a palm swelled stock?

[southpaw68]

A little background so you know where I'm coming from. I have never really thought about a precesion rifle much until recently. I have always just used my hunting rifles to punch paper or shoot recreationally on occasion. I've always been a better than average shot out to about 300 yds, but never had the opportunity shoot beyond that with only a couple of exceptions. I recently purchased a Steyr SSG04 and I really like just about everything about it. I intend to stretch it out to at least 600 yds and possibly more if I can find a location to do so.

However, as we all find ourselves doing from time to time, I started making comparisons to other guns just out of curiosity. I picked up a Remington 700 (not sure which model) yesterday at the gun store and it had a VERY thick grip. To me it felt horrible...It made the trigger feel considerably heavier than the 3.5 pounds that we measured it to be.

Just for reference, I do not have small hands. I wear XL gloves and even those are tight sometimes.

What advantage does this hold for some? Is this what the majority of precision shooters want? The Steyr I bought is very similar to all my hunting rifles and is very comfortable to me. I am very curious as to what I might be missing.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Zanshin]

Re: What purpose/advantage is a palm swelled stock?

I'd be curious to know what kind of 700 you held at the fun store. The Rem classic stock has a very thin handle with no palm swell. The Rem varmint stock ditto. For comarison, I have a MCS-T that has a palm swell, and the handle is considerably thicker than my factory Rem stocks.

I believe it comes down to preference. I am used to thin handled hunting stocks like you so that is what feels natural to me. I have medium sized hands though, not bear paws.

 

[SScott]

Re: What purpose/advantage is a palm swelled stock?

You may have picked up a Rem 700 5R as they have a large palm swell on them.
As I undersand it, a large palm swell is ment to get your trigger finger to a proper position, as in just using the pad of your finger to touch the blade of the the trigger.
SScott

 

[southpaw68]

Re: What purpose/advantage is a palm swelled stock?

I guess I'd have to sit down at a bench and try a few shots...It felt like I was holding a large potato. I know so very little about "precision" shooting beyond basic military marksmanship. I would imagine there is something to this that I am not familiar with and could potentially benefit from. I guess that's why I'm here asking questions. I'm always striving to improve.

 

[jlficken]

Re: What purpose/advantage is a palm swelled stock?

They actually feel good to me with my 2XL sized mitts with long skinny fingers.

 

[notquiteright]

Re: What purpose/advantage is a palm swelled stock?

It depends on the technique you use to support and fire the rifle. I tend to like a large palm swell and I dont wear XL gloves.

I don't grip with the firing hand, just apply a little pressure back on the grip. You could jerk the rifle out from under me as I don't use muscle to support the weapon. The wider grip allows a nice area to apply that slight pressure.

Might just be preference. I don't like thumbhole stocks.

One reason you might not like it is by your tag I'd say you are not a rightie like me. My palm swell is designed for a rightie to use. Much more swell on the right side of the stock. Fits my palm and gives alot of front face for my fingers.

If you don't like it, don't get it. Lots of excellent stocks out there with thinner pistol grips.

 

[Overflow10]

Re: What purpose/advantage is a palm swelled stock?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: southpaw68</div><div class="ubbcode-body">...felt like I was holding a large potato..</div></div>

LOL - that is what I thought when I first started using my 5R. The large palm swell was not for me nor was the AICS thumbhole design. Neither would get my hand to a naturally good trigger position. I had to "strain' on both. However it made me recognize how different some of my other rifle stocks are from one another. I then spent more time looking for that trigger hand fit which made a difference in comfort and consistency.

 

[LoneWolfUSMC]

Re: What purpose/advantage is a palm swelled stock?

It's pretty much personal preference.

I tend to like palm swells on positional rifles. They place my trigger finger in a better position while I firmly grip the rifle. When I am shooting prone or other supported positions, then it doesn't matter much to me since my trigger finger is all that matters.

 

[carbinero]

Re: What purpose/advantage is a palm swelled stock?

I have smaller hands, so I know what you mean. But palm swells are great, and there's no way I'd go back. The 700P's swell is just a little too big for me, so if I had one, I'd probably sand it down a little. With my ADL synthetic, I used cheap 2 part epoxy putty, drilled anchor holes into the grip area, then molded the putty in there with some saran wrap on my hand. Smoothed it out and let it set up. Then I overcoated it with MarineTex, and it's dang perfect...for me.

 

[bowstryder]

Re: What purpose/advantage is a palm swelled stock?

Interesting thoughts on palm swells. They are in fact designed for proper hand placement. It aids in getting the front pad of the trigger finger on the trigger without causing the shooter to put undo stress on the grip. Also it allows the shooter to use less hand muscles in order to avoid adverse effects from improper grip.
That being said. I love em. Didn't really think much of them till I got into the precision game and started shooting long distance. Btw, I have a medium sized hand and wouldn't go back to using anything but a palm swell except on my hunting rifles and even then I have considered "making" them.

 

[TallShot]

Re: What purpose/advantage is a palm swelled stock?

I hated the faux paus palm swell on the LTR I had to use. Not a fan...

 

[hondakilla98]

Re: What purpose/advantage is a palm swelled stock?

I have very large hands. XXL or XXXL depending on the gloves. I have a 700p with the HS stock and it has a pretty substantial palm swell, still a little small for me, but probably perfect for M-XL hands. I'm going to make it bigger with some epoxy to help my trigger finger placement.

 

[southpaw68]

Re: What purpose/advantage is a palm swelled stock?

Thanks for all the responses. This is food for thought. I think I can create a temporary palm swell on my Steyr without it being to lumpy. F-4 tape ought to work. Who knows...I might find I like shooting this way. Judging by my initial reaction it seems unlikely, but I'll give it the ol' college try. I am wondering if my affinity for a narrow grip stems from shooting a bow which tends toward a narrower grip for best accuracy...

 

[XTR]

Re: What purpose/advantage is a palm swelled stock?

Swells are good for me, I wear 2XL gloves, my hands don't look like hams they look proportional to me, but compared to most people my hands are large and my fingers are long even though I'm actually pretty thin at 6'4" and 210. Getting my hands on most firearms results in a distorted grip to get on the trigger properly. When I put the pad of my finger on the trigger the first joint is pointed somewhere it shouldn't be. Back in the late 80s when I was shooting IPSC I found that all those sweet looking flat mainspring housings on 1911s made them too thin for my hands.

In any case, it's a matter of personal ergos. Some people will get a more natural grip with them and others will want a narrow grip, to each his own.