TrapperReady
Member
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2003
- Messages
- 2,732
We often talk about making sure that a shotgun fits properly… but what exactly does that mean? For those of us who don’t walk around with a Purdey’s employee and a try-gun in tow, how do we find out if a particular gun fits?
The following is a description of what I do, and particular things that I look for. Please note that I’m not trying to find a perfectly fitted gun (which would be like finding a needle in a haystack), but rather to weed out anything that’s not going to work right. Also, this method tends to work best for sporting and field guns… purpose-built trap guns are a little different, as are “defensive” guns which are more likely to be sighted and often sport a shorter LOP.
I should also point out that a pre-requisite for this is that you are capable of performing a proper and reproducible gun mount. Without a proper gun mount, the rest of it becomes rather meaningless.
Directions:
1) Check to make sure the gun is unloaded. Double check.
2) Pick a golf-ball sized (or smaller) spot on a wall at least 20’ away.
3) While looking intently at the spot, mount the gun (using your best form) several times. Just raise it up until the front bead is on the point you picked. DO NOT lower your head down onto the stock, just keep it upright as you raise the gun to your cheek. Make note if the stock seems noticeably too long or too short.
4) Without changing your position, close your eyes and execute another gun mount, trying to aim at the point you used above.
5) Open your eyes, but DO NOT MOVE THE GUN OR YOUR HEAD.
6) Carefully inspect where the bead is. Is it on target? Is it close? How much rib (or barrel) are you seeing? If there is a mid-bead, is it stacked up like a figure-eight below the front bead? Is it off to one side or the other? If there is no mid-bead, does the rib or barrel seem angled… even just a little bit?
7) Does the gun seem comfortable? Is there anything that doesn’t seem right? Compare the fit against your own “mental database”* of other guns you’ve tried. How does it seem?
8) Swing the gun through a full range of motion. Pretend you are tracking a target. Do this right to left, left to right, high, low, etc... Now, when you are doing this, particularly in a gun shop, pay careful attention to muzzle discipline and other people.
9) Work the action a few times, as well as operate the other controls. This is particularly important for pumps. For instance, I find that a Browning BPS fits me OK, but my arms seem a bit short for reaching the forearm. Model 12s and 870s are better for me in that regard.
10) Repeat steps 4 through 9 until you’ve made a decision about a particular gun. I almost never will look at just one gun at a time. I always want something else to compare it against, as I will find myself accommodating a particular gun’s fit after a number of times mounting it.
With a properly fitting gun, here’s what I’m looking for:
1) The length of pull allows me to cleanly mount the gun, pushing it slightly away from me, and then pulling it toward me as I raise it to my cheek.
2) I should be looking perfectly straight down the barrel, clearly seeing the front bead, and just a little bit of the rib (or top of the barrel). If there is a mid-bead, I want it stacked just below the front bead (like a Figure-8).
3) When pointed at the target, the gun should not be canted.
4) The recoil pad should be making full contact in the “shoulder pocket”. That contact should be even along it’s length, so that the toe isn’t digging in or pushed away.
5) I shouldn’t have to move my head at all to get the “sight picture” I want.
* I think it is invaluable to try as many guns as you can as often as you can. If you can shoot them, even better. However, even if you just spend a few minutes using the above procedure on a handful of guns on the used racks, you’ll start to get an idea of what fits and what doesn’t.
One final comment is that guns are built for an "average" person. Since almost no one is exactly "average", the fit of production guns is typically an approximation. For people who are close to average, minor tweaking may be needed. For people who are further from average (6'5" with a wingspan like a jumbo-jet), more extensive tweaking may be needed. In fact, with enough work, you could probably get any gun to fit any person... eventually. It's just easier (and cheaper) to get close from the beginning.
The following is a description of what I do, and particular things that I look for. Please note that I’m not trying to find a perfectly fitted gun (which would be like finding a needle in a haystack), but rather to weed out anything that’s not going to work right. Also, this method tends to work best for sporting and field guns… purpose-built trap guns are a little different, as are “defensive” guns which are more likely to be sighted and often sport a shorter LOP.
I should also point out that a pre-requisite for this is that you are capable of performing a proper and reproducible gun mount. Without a proper gun mount, the rest of it becomes rather meaningless.
Directions:
1) Check to make sure the gun is unloaded. Double check.
2) Pick a golf-ball sized (or smaller) spot on a wall at least 20’ away.
3) While looking intently at the spot, mount the gun (using your best form) several times. Just raise it up until the front bead is on the point you picked. DO NOT lower your head down onto the stock, just keep it upright as you raise the gun to your cheek. Make note if the stock seems noticeably too long or too short.
4) Without changing your position, close your eyes and execute another gun mount, trying to aim at the point you used above.
5) Open your eyes, but DO NOT MOVE THE GUN OR YOUR HEAD.
6) Carefully inspect where the bead is. Is it on target? Is it close? How much rib (or barrel) are you seeing? If there is a mid-bead, is it stacked up like a figure-eight below the front bead? Is it off to one side or the other? If there is no mid-bead, does the rib or barrel seem angled… even just a little bit?
7) Does the gun seem comfortable? Is there anything that doesn’t seem right? Compare the fit against your own “mental database”* of other guns you’ve tried. How does it seem?
8) Swing the gun through a full range of motion. Pretend you are tracking a target. Do this right to left, left to right, high, low, etc... Now, when you are doing this, particularly in a gun shop, pay careful attention to muzzle discipline and other people.
9) Work the action a few times, as well as operate the other controls. This is particularly important for pumps. For instance, I find that a Browning BPS fits me OK, but my arms seem a bit short for reaching the forearm. Model 12s and 870s are better for me in that regard.
10) Repeat steps 4 through 9 until you’ve made a decision about a particular gun. I almost never will look at just one gun at a time. I always want something else to compare it against, as I will find myself accommodating a particular gun’s fit after a number of times mounting it.
With a properly fitting gun, here’s what I’m looking for:
1) The length of pull allows me to cleanly mount the gun, pushing it slightly away from me, and then pulling it toward me as I raise it to my cheek.
2) I should be looking perfectly straight down the barrel, clearly seeing the front bead, and just a little bit of the rib (or top of the barrel). If there is a mid-bead, I want it stacked just below the front bead (like a Figure-8).
3) When pointed at the target, the gun should not be canted.
4) The recoil pad should be making full contact in the “shoulder pocket”. That contact should be even along it’s length, so that the toe isn’t digging in or pushed away.
5) I shouldn’t have to move my head at all to get the “sight picture” I want.
* I think it is invaluable to try as many guns as you can as often as you can. If you can shoot them, even better. However, even if you just spend a few minutes using the above procedure on a handful of guns on the used racks, you’ll start to get an idea of what fits and what doesn’t.
One final comment is that guns are built for an "average" person. Since almost no one is exactly "average", the fit of production guns is typically an approximation. For people who are close to average, minor tweaking may be needed. For people who are further from average (6'5" with a wingspan like a jumbo-jet), more extensive tweaking may be needed. In fact, with enough work, you could probably get any gun to fit any person... eventually. It's just easier (and cheaper) to get close from the beginning.
If someone wants to fit your gun by having you put the butt in the crook of your arm and see where your finger hits the trigger, politely get out of there. The only thing that tells you is that you can probably reach the trigger, but on a pistol grip shotgun, it doesn't tell you that very well. It doesn't hurt to do it, but if someone stops there and says, "It fits!", go find another "expert."
