Thanks Mike, great article, it supports my own theory.
Hi BenPitch most definitely has a impact on the poi
Agreed....One obviously for Ben but as I understand it from reading Oswold's book.
If there is insufficient pitch (the butt pad is angled in to the receiver too much at the heel) the gun tends ride up the shoulder (both on mount and when fired) resulting in an increase in comb height (assuming all other things remain equal). When fired there is mussel flip and as it rides up it kicks the face.
If there is too much pitch (the butt pad is angled away too much at the heal) the heel will dig into the shoulder - it might then get mounted very low into the shoulder/armpit for comfort resulting in an increase in apparent comb height.
In short, pitch needs to be sorted before comb height.
Having said all of that when sorting my daughter's gun the cast at the butt pad was just as important as the pitch to ensure consistent contact with the shoulder throughout the butt pad. An adjustable comb was then required to bring the cast at the face back a little.
A young lad I’m friendly with did just that!! He was finding he had to shoot above some targets to kill them, by adding a wedge, made by him he’s found that he’s not getting bruised and he now shoots where he’s looking.Agree with Freddypip,
In my view, the pitch of your stock should ensure that the full contact area of the butt pad is in contact with your shoulder pocket when the gun is properly mounted and your eye/rib relationship is correct - and when fired.
If it is not, then there will obviously be a gap somewhere between your shoulder and the top or bottom of the butt pad, (which will vary in amount due to the amount of pitch error).
This “gap” will attempt to closed by the gun butt on recoil, which may be imperceptible to you due to the overall effect of the recoil, but will mean there is likely to be a variation on the elevation of the rib at the point of firing.
You can simulate the effects of this yourself, by getting something like a door wedge and taping it to your gun butt, first one way up then the other. See what happens!
You will likely have a sore shoulder the next day if your pitch is way out in addition.
What mike knows about gun fitting and clay shooting you could write on a postage stamp and not touch the queens face
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