Cheek or No?

[ColColt]

I'm ordering a 1874 in 40-65 and can't decide if a cheek piece would be beneficial or not. On a scope sighted rifle their most beneficial. I have one BPCR with a cheek piece(45-70) and with iron sights(tang and globe) I don't know if it matters or not. Just looking for opinions.

[country gent]

Depends on the desighn of the cheek piece. I find them usefull as the range increases and the rear sight gets higher also. On some rifles they can interfere with cleaning or wiping. My sharps cheek piece holds the folded sight high enough I have to be very carefull when cleaning. Its what looks and feels right to you, How you are going to use the rifle what postions and ranges.

[ColColt]

Forgot to mention, it's a C. Sharps. Mostly the rifle will be shot from the bench. I can't get down prone anymore due to the leg. Most shooting will be 100-200 yards and if they allow BPCR's on the other range like the do muzzle loaders I can go out to 600 yards or more but that's up in the air right now.

[country gent]

Heres my "zeros on my 40-65 with the 400 grn Nasa bullet to give you an idea of sight rise at longer ranges and hieght of the rear sight / scope. These numbers are for my CPA with the MVA scope on it ( 17" ring spacing). 100 yds is 4 mins, 200 yds is 9 mins, 300yds is 13 mins, 400yds is 24 mins, 500 yds is 32 mins, and Im estimating here that 600 yds will end up around 41 or 42 mins. With my spacing 1 min is roughly .010 movement. The zeros up to 500 are what I use for shillouette matches. Which model is it and what is the delivery time on it? What length barrel did you get? Barrel maker?

[country gent]

I can get down prone or sitting on the ground its the getting back up thats almost imposible for me. I have a small bath tub stool seat ( moen made) that has adjustable legs for hieght and or angled surfaces. I use this and shoot from cross sticks. Makes getting up alot easier and saves going down to the ground all the way. Not as good as being right down on the ground but better than the alternatives.

[Gunlaker]

I'm a lefty and some of my rifles have no cheek pieces. My Shiloh #3 in .40-65 is very nice to shoot at silhouette distances with either an MVA tang, or 23" scope. My C. Sharps #3 in .45-110 also has no cheek piece and starts to get a little awkward at 800m due to the stock drop, but it's not a big deal. You always have the option of a strap on cheek piece which is hat I do with one of my.45-90's as it doesn't fit me all that well. If you use one of these you might find it easier if the buttstock has no cheek piece anyway.That's my $0.02. I hope it's of use to you.Chris.

[Gunlaker]

Gee, when I typed that post it had spaces and line breaks in it. Seems like the forum removed those. Sorry for the ugly bunched up text.Chris.

[ColColt]

I can get down prone or sitting on the ground its the getting back up thats almost imposible for me.

That's sort of the problem I have. Sitting cross legged is out of the question. Not only can't I get back up but can't get down.

The rifle is the Bridgeport with heavy octagon barrel and double set triggers. I opted for their Soule mid range sight and MVA #113 front sight. I got a 30 inch barrel. Delivery is the usual 60-90 days.

[country gent]

Should be a real beauty there. Is C Sharps still using green mountain blanks? The green mountain on my Hepburn is a real shooter. The 30" length makes for a nice handling rifle and a decent sight radious. The Mid range should have plenty of elevation for what you want to do.

[ColColt]

They still are as far as I know. I went with some fancy walnut over plain. I knew I'd be sorry down the road if I didn't. I'm considering having them drill/tap for a 23" MVA scope for down the road. The holes will be there when and if I need them.

[rfd]

awesome rifle yer gettin, cc - congrats!

personally, the cheek piece thing don't matter to me at all, i can sight down the vernier and globe just fine with or without.

i don't like doing prone, either - back issues. no problem sitting off a x-stick, though.

enjoy that c.sharps and report back on the loading and shootin progress, please!

[ColColt]

I'm sort of on the fence about the cheek piece My Browning 1885 has one and it's nice but I think I could live without it. If I didn't have to cross my legs I think I may be ok with the sitting...just take a bit to get up. That's why I stopped changing my own brakes myself-getting up became difficult.

[Toymaker]

Same question/issue/situation I had a while back. For a rolling block 45-70 with a tang mounted ladder sight I finally decided on a cheek piece that was low enough to allow the use of a breech guide and clearance for the rod but high enough to be perfectly comfortable up to 100 yards. Then I invested in a top-of-the-line comb riser and cheek piece for use beyond 100 yards. It has worked well for me.

[EDK]

They still are as far as I know. I went with some fancy walnut over plain. I knew I'd be sorry down the road if I didn't. I'm considering having them drill/tap for a 23" MVA scope for down the road. The holes will be there when and if I need them.

Good idea to have the barrel drilled and tapped for the MVA of your choice while they're setting up the iron sight dovetails. I went one step further and had MVA blocks installed when they built my 50/90 SHILOH. You guarantee a competent installation and don't have to be without the gun for ? amount of time later.
Better grade of wood and cosmetics like pack hardened finish and pewter fore end tip are nice also.

[2Tite]

I've found that on my Browning and C Sharps that the bottom edge of the cheekpiece rides the top of the "ear" on the rear bag causing vertical dispersion. A shooting friend found the same thing with his. He took the cheekpiece off his rifle and no longer has the problem. I didn't and still have trouble when shooting off the bench. If I were to order another it would be without the cheekpiece.

[ColColt]

That's a good idea about the installation of the blocks. I didn't consider that but definitely a plus. The fore end is the Schnabel kind so, I don't think you could add the pewter fore end tip.