The basic fit dimensions for your shotgun are:
- Length of pull-the distance between center of buttpad and trigger face.
- Pitch-the angle of the buttstock versus that of the barrel's.
- Drop-the distance between the line of the barrel (or rib) to the various points on the stock (comb, heel, etc.).
- Cast-the angle or bend of the stock (right or left) of the rib or barrels.
Full Answer
How to tighten a shotgun stock?
take a ratchet or bar 1 foot long and pull 6 lbs on it. Or some combination of lbs times length that equals 6 ft lbs. Probably would be best to do the lbs-ft thing on a practice bolt until you get a feel for how hard to pull and then just do the gun by feel.
How to achieve perfect shotgun fit?
Start here and improve your gun mount
- Break your gun and make sure it is unloaded. This is absolutely crucial.
- Close the curtains if you are doing the exercises in the house. You don’t want nosy neighbours calling the police.
- Do not do these exercises in the garden, unless you really are in the middle of nowhere and live on a farm or spacious estate. (See point above.)
How to properly fit your shotgun?
This guide is intended to help you in one or more of the following ways:
- Quickly check the fit of your own gun at home to help you identify the most obvious fit issues
- Help you decide whether a gun you’re looking to buy is likely to need major alterations in order for it to fit you correctly
- Improve your understanding of gun fit as a concept
How to refinish a gunstock?
Refinishing a Gun Stock
- Disassemble the Firearm. There are many ways to do this and way too many different makes and models of firearms to try to explain how to exactly disassemble ...
- Lets Get Stripping! That's right, you gotta strip that stock of its old finish before you do anything else. ...
- De-grease Your Stock. ...
- Fixing Cracks! ...
- Sanding! ...
- Staining. ...
- Sealing and Waxing
How does a shotgun feel when thrown up?
I’ve had several shotguns that felt really good but never delivered when it was time to hit the targets. Sometimes it’s the point of impact due to rib design but most often it comes down to the true fit of a shotgun where small errors are magnified as the distance increases to the target.
Where is the drop on a shotgun?
Drop. This is the distance that the top edge of the stock is below the line of the rib or barrel. The drop is typically measured at the comb and at the heel, but the drop where your face actually sits is what is truly important. Your eye is essentially functioning as the rear sight of the shotgun and it needs to be aligned vertically with ...
What is pitch in a shotgun?
Pitch. Pitch is the angle of the back of the recoil pad or butt plate. This measurement is important because it affects how recoil is transmitted to the shooter. For details on shotgun pitch adjustment check out this GunsAmerica article.
What are the final tests to ensure the gun is hitting where you’re looking?
The patterning board, clays courses, and birds falling from the skies are the final tests to ensure the gun is hitting where you’re looking. Once you own a shotgun that really fits, nothing else will ever do because you will see the difference, but you will also know just what to look and ask for when buying.
How far behind your hand is the recoil pad on a shotgun?
Typically you will want the stock length to be a length so that when mounted, your face is about 2 inches behind your hand grasping the grip of the shotgun.
What is cast in golf?
The cast is the amount a stock is bent to the left or right and acts like the windage adjustment to get your eye aligned in the left to right plane behind the rib.
Should you stretch your thumb when recoiling a gun?
You don’t want your thumb hitting your nose during recoil, but you don’t want it so long that you have to stretch to support the gun. Your other arm should be able to support the forearm with a generous bend at the elbow, not a straight arm making it hard to hold up the front of the gun.
What is shotgun fit?
Shotgun Fit: Understanding Stocks. There are many factors involved in shooting a shotgun accurately, but one of the most important and least understood is gun fit. Most manufacturers offer a standard stock dimension, something that fits the average shooter. Since shooters don’t have an opportunity to choose between different stock sizes ...
What is a cast off stock?
Cast allows a shooter to look straight down the rib, so a cast-off stock is meant for a right-handed person and a cast-on stock for a leftie. Mounting a cast-off stock left-handed results in the shooter looking down the right side of the rib, meaning their eye will not align naturally with the rib.
What does a small pad do to a gun?
A small pad, having little difference between drop at heel and drop at toe, will result in a gun that sends all its force through a smaller surface, resulting in more felt recoil .
How to find drop at comb?
To find drop at comb, a perpendicular line is drawn down from the rib line to the point of the comb and a measurement is taken (‘B’). This drop is one of the most critical of all the factors involving fit, allowing the cheek to rest at the right height, which in turn allows the eye to fall naturally in line with the rib. The proper drop allows the gun to be thrown up for a quick shot and not have to be adjusted before firing.
What happens if you shoot high with a comb?
If the comb is too high, the eye is forced high and we will tend to shoot high. To counteract this, shooters mash their cheek too hard against the stock, trying to lower the eye. This isn’t a comfortable, natural way to aim and will lead to more felt recoil from the gun.
Why is pitch important in shooting?
For those shooters, a stock with too little pitch will distribute recoil with only the toe section of the butt, creating an uncomfortable experience and many times bruising their shoulder.
How to fit a shotgun?
The only way to fit a shotgun is by shooting. Some say that inserting a flashlight into the muzzle then pointing it at a target is all there is to it: If the beam of light hits the target, the gun fits you.
What happens when you fire a double shotgun?
When a double shotgun is fired the barrels attempt to open, and since they are held tightly to the breech face, they flex downward. In a repeater with its magazine tube and forend this phenomena is not pronounced, and because the barrels of an over/under form an I-beam, they flex far less than those of a side-by-side.
What is the key to wingshooting?
The key to good wingshooting requires two things, a consistent gun mount and a shotgun that shoots where you look. Shotguns are pointed, not aimed. If we stood on the curb and I told you to point your finger at passing vehicles, and then to point at various distances ahead of them, it would be easy. But put a gun in your hands and you begin aiming, checking the distance between your gun and the car; the simple becomes difficult.
How does a gun work on a bird?
Following the leading hand, the trigger hand guides the gun to the cheek and lastly into the shoulder. During the entire process the eyes are locked onto the bird, and the gun, driven by the brain, is tracking the bird. As the gun comes into the shoulder the muzzles move ahead of the bird and the shot is taken.
How to determine the length of pull on a rifle?
This, however, only proves that you have a gun, an arm and a finger. Length of pull is determined by where the head meets the stock. As a rule, proper length of pull when the gun is mounted positions the shooter's nose an inch-and-a-half to two inches from the shooter's thumb as he grasps the wrist of the stock.
Is a side by side stock higher than an over under?
Therefore, in general, the stock dimensions for a side-by-side will be slightly higher to compensate for barrel flex, and therefore differ from those for an over/under. Fitting a gun requires a safe area with some means of mounting a target at or just above eye level.
Is stock fitting for everyone?
Stock fitting isn’t for everybody , I would rather not sell a stock if the customer is not up to the job or aware of the work involved. By the time you go through this, you should have a good idea if you want to try it.
Is a vise a critical tool?
Most any vise can be made to serve, it is a critical tool. The better the setup, the easier the job will be. If you don’t have one of these, or something similar, save your money and get one! This is a tool that I cannot work without, I consider this to be the most important tool for this project. This is the old standby Versa-Vise, no longer made, ...
