16ga.com ~ View topic

Looking for someone in the Southeast US to fit a shotgun for me. I need to know what my required specs are.

I have decided to stop the madness - trying to make myself fit to a shotgun rather than having it fit to me....

I live in southern Mississippi. Thanks in advance.

Member Joined: 30 May 2007 Posts: 216 Location: Tennessee

Country Gentleman Gunfitting Shop in Cherokee, Alabama (northwestern Alabama) has a great reputation for gun fitting. They also go to a lot of the major shoots.

BT16ga

Back,

Thanks for the info.

Trooper

Joined: 30 Oct 2009 Posts: 67 Location: Fox Valley, WI

http://www.wenig.com/

Trooper, these guys up here in Arkansas have fitted my guns for me and they do a good job!

www.graco-corp.com

Ask for Tracy or Gary and they will help you. Gary Phipps, BTW, is also well-known on the trap-shooting circuit, so you may already be acquainted with him if you shoot trap tournaments.

Gun fit is important and I have found over time, will really add to your shooting percentages. Whoever helps you, you are making a smart move! Good luck!

OSL

slemley and OSL,

Thanks for the tips. This is what is was hoping for - to get a few names and then check them out.

Trooper

Member Joined: 08 Jun 2009 Posts: 107 Location: Idaho

...And buy a copy of Bob Brister's book, "Shotgunning, The Art and Science". A lot can be done with some effort w/o a professional fitting.

Member Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 115 Location: Michigan

Another alternative would be to have an adjustable comb-kit put in the stock of your shotgun and then you can fit the gun yourself. Over the years, as your dimensions change, you can continue to fit the gun to yourself. If you have guns that you have bought as an investment, this would not be a good alternative, but if you have guns that you bought to shoot it might be the way to go. It's certainly a lot easier to shoot a gun that shoots where you are looking!

Keith Rich

GF1 - Have Brister's book on the way thanks to Amazon.

Keith - I have thought about doing this. The only thing for me is that by the time I spend money to get this done, I can put this money toward a professional fitting.

My ultimate goal is to get down to a handful of shotguns that are close to my personal dimensions and then tweak them to correctly fit me.

I seriously want to get down to just a few shotguns.....well maybe more than just a few... Wink

Member Joined: 08 Jun 2009 Posts: 107 Location: Idaho

Trooper, good start. My advice is to do this slowly, using only one gun.

I have found that dimensions don't tell the whole story. I have several guns that shoot where I look, very instinctively, and can't tell the difference in their effect on birds or targets. They hit the same. Their dimensions are different, but they feel the same. For example, a Browning A5 and a Winchester Model 12 both appear (from measurements only) to have much more drop than a couple doubles I have. They hit at the same point, when mounted and shot quickly.

Lots of ways to figure out where to begin. I like the quick "mount and shoot" method against a steel painted plate as a starting point. Do this several times, starting the gun from all directions on multiple shots. Do all of this at 16 yards. Then the comb should be moved 1/16" to move POI 1" at this range. Techniques for moving the comb are in many places. Just my thoughts...

Member Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 115 Location: Michigan

Joined: 21 Nov 2005 Posts: 11 Location: Michigan

Joined: 20 Mar 2009 Posts: 428

There is no sbstitute for a good gun-fitter, however there are good ones and there are bad ones just as in every other aspect of life. Also they are not cheap! And you need to know what you should see with a gun that does fit you. Nothing fits me from the factory, unless it is an adjustable comb gun that I can adjust myself. Here are a few tips:

1. Find a large mirror that you can point your gun at while fully mounted.
2. Keep your eyes (both of them) shut during and after mounting the gun.
3. Then open your eyes. If you can not see your iris (colored portion of the eye) sitting directly on top of the rib and lining up straight down the bbl, your gun does not fit you.
4. Your eye is the rear sight of any shotgun.
5. If you are looking at the back of the receiver, the comb height needs to be raised! If the bottom of your iris is way above the rib, your comb needs to be lowered!
6. If you do not line up straight down the bbl rib, then you may need more cast (right or left). For right handed shooters, moving the stock outward away from the face in order to line up, you need CAST OFF. Also for right handed shooters, moving the stock inward towards the face in order to line up, you need CAST ON.

Last but not least, once you have the gun where you believe it fits you, you should take it to the range and put it on a patterning board to see if the gun shoots a pattern that disperses the shot where you are looking.

Mole skin can be used to modify guns that are too low and those that may need cast on. Sand paper can be used to lower the comb and provide more cast off. However, BEWARE--- gunstock refinishing is an art that most people do not have the expertise to perform correctly.

Very Happy

Thanks for all of the tips.