gun fit ?

[Lloyd]

I have been quite skeptical about gun fit. To my mind, close enough would be good enough, there being more to gain through experience and developing good technique. I think much of that still holds true, but I have to admit I was wrong to be skeptical.

Being quite a short chap, it was obvious for the outset a 14 ¾” LoP was too long. A bit of tinkering about and I was soon shooting 14 ¼” by removing the butt pad and taping a thin rubber strip to the butt in lieu of the butt pad.

From my youth, shooting rifles, I already knew I’d have comb height issues, but I just worked around it; having tried comb raisers and not getting on with them at all.

After one coaching session, it had been suggested that I need to turn my nose into the stock to center my eye over the rib. It helped, but felt a touch awkward. 

After a while, I decided to modify the stock. The comb was raised ¼”, the stock shortened ½” (original pad refitted) and an extra 1/8” of cast on at face and heel added. The grip was also altered as I had a little discomfort in my thumb and the palm swell made larger.

After observing Ed Solomons commented that he felt the stock still need another ¼” off the LoP, and another 1/8” cast on, with the comb about right.

I’d started to notice a bit of recoil/muzzle flip, confirmed in a slo-mo video and thought about increasing the pitch a little.

I decided to have a gun fitting. The results we’re uncanny. Ed’s guess was spot on and my ideas about pitch confirmed. But so what? I’m skeptical right? This is just going to be so marginal and just a comfort thing. It’s not like such small changes can made a difference to hitting clays is it? After all, I can hit clays with a gun with a standard stock. Even a right handed gun!

Well, this is where the skepticism was dispelled. Ok, some easy targets, probably no more than 30 yards maximum. Teal, going away, incomer and a moderate crosser. All hittable. All missable. Well, for me anyway. That was up until the gun fit. I couldn’t miss! I mean for me these targets can be missed for sure. During those moments when I’m not really trying, not concentrating, not respecting the target. I often miss with that mindset. Gun up or gun down or just out of the shoulder, these I would typically miss one in three or four until I start putting my mind to it.

After the gun fit, clays broke without effort. Where I looked, the gun went and the clays broke. That simple. I was astonished! With a bit of effort, nothing seemed able to escape the wrath of the lead. And all so comfortable too. Gun mount was effortless. No forethought or checking required. No recoil or muzzle flip.

I’m converted. Of course I now have an(other) enormous plate of humble pie to eat. Can someone please pass the salt?

 

[Will Hewland]

Lloyd it’s new gun syndrome effectively I fear. Any change comes with a renewed shooter focus that is hard to replicate. I do far less instruction than I would like (due to real work). But last time I had a chap with a major eye dominance issue. I moved his comb and proved that he now had no problem. My caveat was that he would need to keep an eye on it however..

And it must be said, when shooting long targets you’re not looking at the gun, so that’s another thing..

From my own shooting, over 15 years, certain hard rules have had to be be renewed and reviewed to the current status.  It’s why the journey remains interesting.

 

[Lloyd]

Lloyd it’s new gun syndrome effectively I fear. Any change comes with a renewed shooter focus that is hard to replicate. I do far less instruction than I would like (due to real work). But last time I had a chap with a major eye dominance issue. I moved his comb and proved that he now had no problem. My caveat was that he would need to keep an eye on it however..

And it must be said, when shooting long targets you’re not looking at the gun, so that’s another thing..

From my own shooting, over 15 years, certain hard rules have had to be be renewed and reviewed to the current status.  It’s why the journey remains interesting.

Thanks Will, it’s an interesting point and I can follow what you’re telling me, though have to admit I don’t have the breadth of experience to fully grasp that. My learning style is very much visual/experience based. I can know something I’m told or read, but I only truly understand when I’ve had the experience. I will certainly keep an eye on this too because I have learned to take what you say, seriously.

From my little experience, I could say this happened when I got the F16, but not the F3. That was just an itch I had to scratch. 
The initial stock changes didn’t have such a big impact either.
 

My time with Ed S always seems to be time well spent, but I can’t exactly put my finger on why. Ed doesn’t say an awful lot in his coaching. My son theorises that he’s just instilling confidence and concentration, but for sure he provides more than that. Overhead going away for example. I basically couldn’t hit any at all. Two hours with Ed and I was hitting more than I was missing. Other troublesome targets where I’d been hitting about half before the session, I’d come away hitting 9/10.

I did think it was remarkable that Ed’s comments on gun fit (he isn’t overly fussy about it to be fair) turned out to be spot on. Maybe I was subconsciously carrying that and ended up with the imagined dimensions working for me as some sort of placebo?

I’m 100% with you on the “journey” . For me shooting is very cathartic, very relaxing and I seem to be discovering things about myself I didn’t know before. It’s so multi faceted on the mental side and coupling that with the physical side, it’s truly fascinating.

 

[tiptop]

A few on here will poo poo any ideas about gun fit, and say its a myth, and all in the head. But I'll leave you with just a thought to ponder.

I wonder how many of the top shots, especially the sponsored/ brand ambassadors, have got factory custom made stocks on their guns?

 

[Wonko the Sane]

A few on here will poo poo any ideas about gun fit, and say its a myth, and all in the head. But I'll leave you with just a thought to ponder.

I wonder how many of the top shots, especially the sponsored/ brand ambassadors, have got factory custom made stocks on their guns?

That would likely be all of them.  And if you buy a new Perazzi the package includes a custom fitting of the stock for YOU.  For all the have-nots like me a TSK or EvoComp or similar stock solves all of those problems as well.  That is not to say that the regular stock cannot work, you just have to be prepared to accept the look of the mods.  That's what I did for years before the total adjusto's hit the market.

 

[ColinD]

Well if someones else is paying then I'd have a stock custom made who wouldn't. But they probably already got to the point of being sponsored before that anyway

 

[Lloyd]

A few on here will poo poo any ideas about gun fit, and say its a myth, and all in the head. But I'll leave you with just a thought to ponder.

I was definitely in the “poo poo” camp

 

[k80ben]

Gun fit and BALANCE is paramount to performance. There are fitters and makers u need 2 people to get it right. 
 

I got 30/40 guns per week most of them re fits 

 

[donna]

Gun fit and BALANCE is paramount to performance. There are fitters and makers u need 2 people to get it right. 
 

I got 30/40 guns per week most of them re fits 

You got mine bang on Ben, just started to shoot well, put in a few PB’s now back into lockdown!   Take care everyone 

 

[Santa2512]

Unfortunately , and in the nicest possible way 

Its a gun, its visual aesthetics mean nothing, if it fits its good to go,  whether it has a micron gap or a foot and a half,  if its set up for you  thats all that counts 

My stock is  all over the place  ,  but it's set up how i like it.  could i buy  new one off the shelf like it .... nope 

Most manufacturers start at a set point which covers  the 97th percentile,  so your average man or woman  has a reasonable fit out of the box so to speak . 

The remaining 3%,  thats where the big money is made 

custom stock, checkering,  engraving etc .. 

:santa:

 

[Veryoverworked]

It matters not. Your gun is a tool to break targets with, nothing more, nothing less. 

If raising a comb is necessary to shoot big scores, then so be it. Aesthetics come a long way behind performance.

Can't disagree with that. Too many look at the aesthetics rather than the scores.

 

[ColinD]

I come from a target shooting background and aesthetics have long gone it seems with air/smallbore rifles it's all about the fit and function now, scores are what counts.

Shotgun is still stuck in the game genre with the majority