bernie
Member
I hardly know where to start, but here goes. I am not a shotgunner, I am a rifleman. However, I have shot scatterguns since my early teens. I started using them to hunt squirrel so I probably developed more of an "aim" type technique than I really need. I moved on to duck and rabbit and also informal clays at the farm with my buddies (these guys are not really "classic wingshots" either), and I do okay.
I used my own 870 12 gauge with vent rib, but have shot lots of my friends shotguns as well, so I have experienced more than just one or two shotguns.
A few years ago, I got the hankering (yes, that is a word in the southland) for a self shucker and bought the 11-87 light contour, and I really like the reliability and how the gun carries. But this is where the trouble begins.
I suddenly could not hit squat! I put it off to the fact that I did not shoot as much as I used to because of kids, work, etc. And then one day it happened. I was shooting at a low passing duck out of my blind and made what I felt was a definite kill shot, only to see the pattern hit the water underneath the duck. I mean it totally shot underneath the duck, not even close.
This is where the questions start. Up to now, I shot a shotgun by sighting down the top of the barrel so that the vent rib looked like a totally flat line with a bead on top or I could just see a little bit of the top of the rib. This has worked for almost every shotgun that I have ever fired. My 11-87 requires me to look down at the rib and front bead, kind of like an aircraft trying to land on an aircraft carrier, to hit what I am shooting at. Which of these techniques is correct?
I also patterned my 11-87 with various loads and chokes, and they are all well below point of aim (correct my terminology if it is wrong) if I use the first sighting method described above. This does not sound like a shotgun "fit" problem to me. Am I correct? If it is not a "fit" problem, how can I get it resolved to shoot to point of aim? Can the barrel be "bent", etc. to shoot to point of aim?
If it is a fit problem, I do want to keep the 11-87 (I actually like this platform) how can I get this resolved in my area (Arkansas) and what will it cost me?
Also, any good books on shotgunning that could be recommended would be appreciated.
I used my own 870 12 gauge with vent rib, but have shot lots of my friends shotguns as well, so I have experienced more than just one or two shotguns.
A few years ago, I got the hankering (yes, that is a word in the southland) for a self shucker and bought the 11-87 light contour, and I really like the reliability and how the gun carries. But this is where the trouble begins.
I suddenly could not hit squat! I put it off to the fact that I did not shoot as much as I used to because of kids, work, etc. And then one day it happened. I was shooting at a low passing duck out of my blind and made what I felt was a definite kill shot, only to see the pattern hit the water underneath the duck. I mean it totally shot underneath the duck, not even close.
This is where the questions start. Up to now, I shot a shotgun by sighting down the top of the barrel so that the vent rib looked like a totally flat line with a bead on top or I could just see a little bit of the top of the rib. This has worked for almost every shotgun that I have ever fired. My 11-87 requires me to look down at the rib and front bead, kind of like an aircraft trying to land on an aircraft carrier, to hit what I am shooting at. Which of these techniques is correct?
I also patterned my 11-87 with various loads and chokes, and they are all well below point of aim (correct my terminology if it is wrong) if I use the first sighting method described above. This does not sound like a shotgun "fit" problem to me. Am I correct? If it is not a "fit" problem, how can I get it resolved to shoot to point of aim? Can the barrel be "bent", etc. to shoot to point of aim?
If it is a fit problem, I do want to keep the 11-87 (I actually like this platform) how can I get this resolved in my area (Arkansas) and what will it cost me?
Also, any good books on shotgunning that could be recommended would be appreciated.