Shotgun Fit

elkhunter11 · #1 10-09-2017, 10:00 AM

Because we have an issue with one skeet machine, we shot trap yesterday, and I saw one of the best examples of the importance of shotgun fit ever. One of the fellows showed up with an older Browning A-5, and he averaged 5-6 targets for three rounds. He was quite frustrated, so I offered my Citori 725 Trap gun to him for the last round, and he shot 18 or 19. The only change was the shotgun, which obviously fit him much better than his own gun. I have heard many people scoff at the importance of shotgun fit, but this was a great example as to how much difference the fit of a shotgun can make.

Dewey Cox · #2 10-09-2017, 10:17 AM

I have heard this enough times to believe it to be true.
I'm just not sure exactly how to determine the best fit.
What should a person be looking for?

elkhunter11 · #3 10-09-2017, 10:41 AM

The method that I use to get an idea if a shotgun fits me, is to pick the gun up, close my eyes, shoulder the gun, and then open my eyes. If I am looking along the rib and not at it, and the rib is centered left to right, then the gun may not be a perfect fit, but I should at least be able to hit with it. If I am looking down at the rib, instead of along it, I will shoot high with the gun, If I only see the back of the rib, and I can't see the front bead, I will shoot low with the gun. If the rib is off left or right, I will shoot left or right. This is not an absolute way to guarantee fit, as combination of length of pull and drop at comb can make a gun uncomfortable to shoot even though the method above has me looking down the rib properly, but if you aren't looking down the rib properly, you do know that the gun does not fit you. And even though many guns now come with shims and spacers to fine tune the fit, some guns will still fit better after using the shims to adjust the fit. Ad even though the LOP and drop at comb is correct, the stock pitch can cause the gun to slap your cheek when recoiling. And of course a person has to at least have a basic understanding of how to shoulder a shotgun properly. I was with one guy that went through an entire rack of shotguns shouldering around a dozen shotguns, and his hold was so messed up, that according to him , none of the gins fit him.

bobinthesky · #4 10-09-2017, 11:06 AM

I never understood the love affair that many have with the old A-5's, I don't think they fit many shooters at all! Generally speaking, most guns fit me good enough to shoot reasonably well but I've never found one of those that did.

boomstick · #5 10-09-2017, 01:15 PM

gun fit is so important its crazy . never mind caliber/gauge , fit is where its at . having said that body dynamics plays a huge factor in this too. for example ,i went thru alot of shot guns before settling on a browning micromidsas silver hunter for the wife fits her like a glove lol. now come the discovery and heart of the problem . after much coaching and practice ive discovered she cant hit anything with it lol, always shoots just over the target . what we discovered was body shape was a factor in her problem .as i said she love this shotty fits awesome but shoulder shape is the factor . seems her horizontal kant is good but her vertical kant is off by a hair so i,m gunna try a 1/4 inch tappered spacer in the top half of the recoil pad to drop the barrel a hair and put her on target.

elkhunter11 · #6 10-09-2017, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boomstick

gun fit is so important its crazy . never mind caliber/gauge , fit is where its at . having said that body dynamics plays a huge factor in this too. for example ,i went thru alot of shot guns before settling on a browning micromidsas silver hunter for the wife fits her like a glove lol. now come the discovery and heart of the problem . after much coaching and practice ive discovered she cant hit anything with it lol, always shoots just over the target . what we discovered was body shape was a factor in her problem .as i said she love this shotty fits awesome but shoulder shape is the factor . seems her horizontal kant is good but her vertical kant is off by a hair so i,m gunna try a 1/4 inch tappered spacer in the top half of the recoil pad to drop the barrel a hair and put her on target.

My suspicion is that either she isn't getting her head down on the stock, she is crawling forward on the stock,or the gun doesn't have enough drop at comb.

Smokinyotes · #7 10-09-2017, 02:05 PM

That was my wifes problem she wasnt getting her cheek down enough and was looking at the rib not along the top. Since she corrected this it has made a huge difference in shooting clays.

boomstick · #8 10-09-2017, 03:10 PM

her head position is good seem to be the shape of her shoulder so gunna try a wedgey lol
she has no problem with her rifles tho ...shoot like a wiz lol

tikka250 · #9 10-09-2017, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boomstick

her head position is good seem to be the shape of her shoulder so gunna try a wedgey lol
she has no problem with her rifles tho ...shoot like a wiz lol

often women have much longer necks in relation to the rest of the body when compared to men. more often than not raising the cheek piece of the stock will get rid of the odd fit.

Dewey Cox · #10 10-09-2017, 09:47 PM

Thanks elk and everyone for sharing those tips.

elkhunter11 · #11 10-09-2017, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tikka250

often women have much longer necks in relation to the rest of the body when compared to men. more often than not raising the cheek piece of the stock will get rid of the odd fit.

A longer neck often requires more drop at comb, and raising the comb may make the shooting position more comfortable, but it will likely just result in the point of impact being even higher.

bobinthesky · #12 10-10-2017, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tikka250

often women have much longer necks in relation to the rest of the body when compared to men. more often than not raising the cheek piece of the stock will get rid of the odd fit.

A Graco adjustable recoil pad is often the answer for this problem. The pad can be adjusted down on the butt of the stock so the comb is raised without effectively making the pattern go high.

https://graco-corp.com/product-categ...ble-pad-plate/