Beretta whacking my cheek, whats the cure????!!

[farmer7]

My 692 Sporting with adjustable comb is whacking my cheek pretty badly and I cant figure out the problem. I have the comb set with about 1/4" cast off and I'm seeing a bit of rib which on the pattern plate has me shooting about 60/40 which I like. I'm shooting ok with it but it starts to get pretty uncomfortable after a while.

I have a few more spacers on the rear of the comb to make it a bit closer to parallel. I also made up a pitch spacer to try. It was a quarter inch thick tapering to zero with the thicker bit at the bottom.  It didnt help! (Would that be the right way round or should I have had even more pitch to try and cure it???)

If I knew of someone up in this area who does proper gunfitting I would definitely pay a visit but in the meantime I'm on my own. I'm not lifting my head either and this often seems to happen to me with Berettas. 

Any help or advice would be gratefully received!

 

[Will Hewland]

Sounds like you had the pitch spacer the wrong way around! Try it the other way, maybe with just some cardboard or spacers. Any bodge will do for a trial.

 

[Hamster]

One thing worth a try is to grab another gun that doesn't beat you up and place them carefully on top of one another being careful to match the trigger position, any major difference including pitch will be fairly obvious.

 

[farmer7]

Thanks for the replies. So do you think I need more pitch to stop it bashing my cheek? I only fired two shots with my homemade spacer and then took it out, cos it didn't help a bit! It had about halved the amount of pitch. So tomorrow I should make another spacer but put the thick bit at the top? 

Do Berettas generally have less pitch than other guns? 

 

[Skeet UK]

Definitely sounds like your pitch spacer made it worse.

Flip it the other way. If you know someone with an iPhone or similar, have them film the gun, and your shoulder from the side...in slow motion...you should see if the gun is pitching up.

 

[Skeet UK]

The gun will flip up to your cheek, if the heel of the stock is unsupported (doesn't meet your shoulder), so pitching the heel back, improves contact and stops the flipping

 

[farmer7]

Thanks for your helpful replies. I'll try making another spacer today but the other way round. 

I actually have a couple of clips taken in slow motion on Saturday but didn't know how to post a video on here! 

I'm assuming I'd notice 1/4" change enough to know if it's helping?

 

[Mark Jones]

always check length of stock before comb height, might be that simple

 

[farmer7]

Here's a couple of short clips in slo-mo if it tells anyone anything.

Recoil - cheek slap?: https://youtu.be/WAKQ8lk_HQQ

Recoil - cheek slap 2: https://youtu.be/X5Ob_-dvHj0

Regarding the stock length I bought an extra long pad from Beretta as I did feel it a touch short and it feels fine now and have a couple or three fingers between my thumb and nose. Not to say it's still to short though!

Does anyone know of any gun fitters in the north of Scotland with a good reputation? 

 

[Rosso]

Pick a wall / cabinet which is 90 degree to the floor. Stand gun on butt plate upright on floor gently slide the gun rib side to wards the wall / cabinet, when the tang, action, rib touch the wall measure the distance from the end of the barrels to the wall for a sporter it should be 1 1/2" TO 2" some go as low as 1".

If the distance is to great or not enough rock the gun on the butt plate to get correct measurement at barrels and observe the distance at either end of the stock to floor that will tell you where the pitch spacer is required and approximately how thick.

 

[Salopian]

Farmer , 

 I tried to message you but this will not let me do it.

Look at your own video ! It's obvious what the problem is.

 

[farmer7]

Farmer , 

 I tried to message you but this will not let me do it.

Look at your own video ! It's obvious what the problem is.

Please tell me! 

 

[Hamster]

I must say them shells are a bit lively. :huh:

 

[Will Hewland]

Please tell me! 

I feel your stance and hold could be better. You need to get your weight forward a bit; over your front foot. This will resist recoil.

Also, raise the right arm top a bit higher, getting the gun down a bit lower and into the shoulder pocket. At the moment, the wrong part of your face is touching the stock. You are placing your cheek bone on to the wood, whereas it should be more like your top gum line.

 

[farmer7]

I must say them shells are a bit lively. :huh:

Express Power Blue Fibre! Hopefully getting some White Gold Plastic next week, hopefully softer?! 

I feel your stance and hold could be better. You need to get your weight forward a bit; over your front foot. This will resist recoil.

Also, raise the right arm top a bit higher, getting the gun down a bit lower and into the shoulder pocket. At the moment, the wrong part of your face is touching the stock. You are placing your cheek bone on to the wood, whereas it should be more like your top gum line.

Someone else suggested via PM that I need to get more weight over my front foot also, I'll try and work on that! Old habits die hard. Thanks for the pointer.

I dont suffer from recoil in my shoulder ever only my cheek, and so far only ever with Berettas, my Browning was absolutely fine. 

Here's a video I took today.Recoil pad adjustment trial.: https://youtu.be/JLBOFdVnc2A

First shot standard.

2nd shot with 1/4" down spacer

3rd with 3/4" length spacer. (Just to try but too long at 16")

4th shot with 1/4" up spacer.

I'm not so sure any of them helped although the muzzle moves varying amounts. Still felt it on my cheek. Funnily I was shooting pigeons yesterday with Express Supreme Game 30g plastic with no issue. Surely it's not partly down to buying cheap shells??!! 

 

[DavidJ]

I'd like to see a video that's at normal speed. As Hamster says it does look lively but I'm not sure if it looks worse due to the slow motion. On the first two shots your whole upper body is pushed back to the edge of the frame. The 2nd and 3rd shots look the least muzzle flip to me! 

 

[Hamster]

I don't suffer from recoil in my shoulder ever only my cheek, and so far only ever with Beretta's, my Browning was absolutely fine. 

I'd say the fact that this seems to affect you with one make and not the other points more towards a fit/pitch/comb/cast issue than stance/hold etc, I've known a few people get cut and bleed with some guns and yet have zero issues with another. 

Personally have almost never experienced undue cheek slap with any make, almost regardless of fit but have had to dial in a more comfortable recoil phase where possible using adjustable combs. The odd left hander I've had a few shots with has made me notice cheek pressure which suggest that pitch alone isn't always responsible. 

Can you get hold of a familiar Browning and try the "lay on top trick" ?

 

[Wonko the Sane]

The "lay on top trick" is mostly pretty worthless IMO.  Even comparing similar guns, in my case Perazzis, no info of consequence was revealed by trying that.  And with non-similar guns there is the problem that not all guns have the same recoil characteristics.  Mirokus with any brand name on them do not like me and changing the stock dimensions accomplished nothing.  Same goes for the Belgie B-guns too.  Why they all kick the snot outta me is a mystery I've given up trying to solve.  K-guns are marginal and even my wife passed on one cuz a the way it slapped her around.

I guess I should qualify all that since it was some time in the past and I'm slightly better informed now and perhaps the results would be different.

My mantra is gun mount first and fit second when a proper mount has been settled on.  But that could just be me.  Bruce Buck and Michael Yardley have some excellent advice on both.  JMO of course as well.

 

[jwpzx9r]

So I watched the video and the thing I am struck by is the fact that the gun actually moves back quite some distance before it makes contact with your shoulder, or that is the way it looks to me. So my advice get your gunmount sorted out so that the gun is properly into the shoulder pocket it looks too high on your shoulder and also you do not have enough of your body mass resisting the recoil so get more of your body weight over the front foot.

edit

I have just watched your other video and it looks to me that you are not mounting your gun properly. You mount the gun just against the shoulder try getting a bit more pressure on the shoulder that video actually gives me the impression you are using your arms to hold the gun away from your shoulder not against it and your face is barely making contact with the stock, I am a head well down onto the stock mount type but I know there are more ways to skin a rabbit.