Gear Review – Fox Tactical Rifle Butt Stock Cheek Rest

I recently completed a review of the Fox Tactical Shotgun Butt Stock Cheek Rest. Having done that, it would only be fair to provide a review for the Fox Tactical Rifle Butt Stock Cheek Rest.

Since I am a left-handed long gun operator, the review is on the left hand version; however, the review would also be applicable to the right hand version.

General:
Made of rugged synthetic material No-Slip padded cheek rest Zippered utility pouch holds an extra 7 hidden rounds 2 strips with elastic loops for ammo storage and quick reloads with hook & loop attachment Holds a total of 14 extra rounds Zippered pouch has removable ammo pad so the pouch can be used for other gear. Measures 8 x 4 ¾

Cartridge Carrier Panels:
As stated, each panel consists of a hook & loop material that allow quick attachment to the cartridge carrier side of the cheek piece, which contains and abundance of mounting material. Each loop is well-stitched and can hold ammunition from .223/5.56×45 caliber and upward of rifle ammunition. For pistol caliber long guns, the pouch can accommodate from .38 special upward to 45-70. I have used these panels for 7.62x54R, 7.62×39, and .357 magnum ammunition with zero problems.

Cartridge Pouch Interior:

The interior of the unit contains a substantial amount of material to hold the second cartridge panel. The outside of the interior is lined with what seems to be a rubberized material to help prevent moisture from creeping in, although the entire interior is not water-proofed.

The interior is secured by a heavy zipper. To open the interior pouch, pull the zipper from the rear to the front. Personally, I prefer that the zipper was pulled from front to rear; this would expose the rounds that would be extracted from the carrier for use. If loose ammunition was being stored, opening from the rear of the pouch may cause loose rounds (or other stored items) to fall from the pouch. However, the zipper does not extend to the very bottom of the pouch; loosing items may not be a concern.

The zipper pull is substantial and opening and closing the pouch is easy even when wearing gloves.

Mounting Straps:

There are four mounting straps; a rear strap for the butt of the rifle and three bottom straps for the stock of the rifle.

A nylon loop for each bottom strap provides a secure mount. Beneath each loop resides a double-looped section of material that prevents the nylon loop from contacting the stock of the rifle.

Each strap is 9.5-inches in length, which provides ample length to secure the pouch to even the largest of rifle stocks. Each strap contains a full-length of hook & loop material, which is fully-stitched to the strap.

Cheek piece:

The cheek piece is a nicely-padded vinyl material surrounded by a double-stitched border; it provides a nice cushion for your chubby cheeks or beard. The rise of the rifle stock’s comb is only affected by the thickness of the pouches material. Since the pouch is fully adjustable; however, additional material could be placed between the pouch and the stock to alter the rise of the comb, if desired.

The butt stock strap can be adjusted to accommodate slip-on or fixed recoil pads. The ‘butt strap’ is 10-inches long and has hook & loop material for attaching to the inside of the pouch.

Mounting:
Mounting the Fox Tactical Rifle Butt Stock Cheek Rest can be somewhat of a chore, but the results (in my opinion) are worth the effort.

Note:

I decided to show mounting the Fox Tactical Rifle Cheek Rest on a ‘Sporter’ Mosin-Nagant M19/30 that is fitted with an ATI stock (this ‘wood’ version is no longer available) that already incorporates a cheek rest. The integral cheek rest presented a challenge as the stock is set up for a right-handed shooter. This means that, for me being a left-jaded shooter, the cartridge panel would rest against the integrated cheek rest and present additional girth to contend with when mounting the Fox Tactical Rifle Cheek Rest.

Notes:

• If a slip-on recoil pad is normally mounted for operating the firearm, install the slip-on pad before attempting to mount the pad to the rifle stock.
• Have on hand wooden tongue depressors or other blunt tools; you can use this to tuck the end of the mounting straps into pouch. You can also use a finger.
• The pouch is best mounted with the rifle upside down. If you have a scoped-rifle, provide a means to protect the scope from damage; a rifle rest that allows the rifle to be mounted upside down is recommended but not required. Obviously, care should be taken to protect the sights or any optical device from damage. I used a simply Winchester Sight Vise that I found on the cheap at Wal-Mart.
• The pouch can be mounted with or without the cartridge panels installed. However, the zippered pouch should be closed. Better results are obtained with both panels removed from the cheek rest.
• I have found that adjusting one strap at a time is the most effective way to mount the Fox Tactical Rifle Butt Stock Cheek Rest.

Mounting Procedure (of Sorts)

1. Position the Fox Tactical Rifle Butt Stock Cheek Rest so that the rearmost mounting strap (not the butt strap) is position just behind the rear sling mount.
2. Center the pouch on the rifle stock as closely as possible.
3. Adjust the mounting front-most strap to provide the best fit. Push the strap through the nylon loop, fold it back on itself, and press the hook & loop material to secure the strap to the stock. I like to position the end of the strap just so there is just enough material at the end of the strap to tuck into the bottom of the pouch, which negates loose strap ends. If the strap is too long, or too short, lift the strap from the inside hook & loop fastener of the pouch and reposition, as necessary, to provide the desired tension.
4. Once the desired tension is achieved with the front-most strap, undo the strap and repeat with the middle strap. The middle strap should be located just in front of the rear sling mount. You will have some excess strap, but I simply leave the excess, as it is inside of the pouch and bothers nothing.
5. When the middle strap is adjusted to the desired tension, undo the strap and repeat the mounting procedure with the rear-most strap. As before, there will be an excess of strap.
6. Tighten all straps and adjust, as necessary, to achieve the desired fit.
7. When satisfied, undo all straps until you can separate the end of the unit from the rifle stock. Note: If you are not going to use the butt stock strap, you can eliminate this step and steps 8 through 12.
8. Center the butt stock strap against the butt of the rifle. Note that one end of the butt stock strap has two pieces of hook & loop material; this end should be placed on the ammunition pouch side, as it is used to secure the rearmost mounting strap should excess strap exist.
9. If there is excess rear mounting strap length, simple lift the excess from the butt stock mounting hook & loop material (it is still firmly held in place by the cheek piece hook & loop material).
10. Fasten the cartridge side butt strap first. Fasten any rear mounting strap excess to the butt strap hook & loop mounting material.
11. Push the butt strap forward and press the cheek piece into the butt strap; this secures the butt strap.
12. Push the rearmost mounting strap through the loop, fold it back onto itself, and secure the strap.
13. Using a tongue depressor or other tool, push the excess mounting strap material into the bottom of the unit (about ½-inch material is more than adequate to secure the end of the straps under the pouch). Repeat this step for the remaining two straps.
14. The Fox Tactical Rifle Butt Stock Cheek Rest should now be fully mounted and secured to the rifle stock. You can make minor adjustments, if need be, by loosening the mounting straps, sliding the unit rearward off of the rifle, and then adjusting each strap, as necessary, to provide the final fit.

Perform a bolt function check (obviously, for bolt guns only). Place the bolt in the fully rearward position. The cheek piece should not interfere with bolt operation.

There you go! Add your favorite ammunition to the ammunition panels, zip the pouch, and the unit is ready for action.

Note: I was able to add seven loose round of 7.62x54R to the inside pouch; albeit, it was a tight fit. I finally opted for five rounds so as to not stress the zipper. That gave me nineteen rounds of 7.62x54R at my disposal.

Note: The right-handed cheek rest on the ATI stock for the Mosin-Nagant proved to be beneficial for this left-handed shooter; it provided a slight angle to the ammunition carrier that made it easier to reach my spare ammunition over the top of the stock.

To remove the pouch while the rifle is stored, simply loosen the three bottom mounting straps enough to slide the unit from the stock. When you need to reattach the pouch for use, simply slide the pouch onto the rifle stock and adjust the straps.

I usually keep the pouch in a ‘possible bag’ while the rifle is stored. If need be, I can simply grab the rifle, the possible bag, and mount the pouch as needed.

The Fox Tactical Rifle Butt Stock Cheek Rest is intended for use on full-stock hunting and tactical rifles. It can be mounted; however, on an adjustable stock as long is its mounting does not interfere with the stocks operation (the stock release lever). The Fox Tactical Rifle Butt Stock Cheek Rest also fits nicely on an AR or M16-style ‘A2 stock.

Note that the Fox Tactical Rifle Butt Stock Cheek Rest may not fit exactly on smaller stocked rifles, as it may be too large. However, spacer material can be used in between the unit and the stock to achieve a good fit. Ensure that the ‘spacer’ material will not harm your stock. Note; however, that adding spacer material will affect the rise of the stock. On one occasion, I had some silicon-treated gun socks that were not being used anymore (I had replaced the gun socks with Bore Stores). A little cutting with a pair of scissors resulted in a “saddle blanket’ of sorts for the pouch and it mounted just fine.

I use the Fox Tactical Rifle Butt Stock Cheek Rest for the SKS and Mosin-Nagant rifles and they are very handy for hunting rifles that allow ‘top-feeding.’ With a little ingenuity and some hook & loop fastening material, you can also devise a magazine holder to attach to the ammunition panel side.

Fox Tactical Rifle Cheek Rests are available through Amazon.com and other fine on-line retailers.