Shotgun Fit

We've all heard about shotgun fit. Most of us have been told that you don't aim a shotgun, that its sights are our bodies and eyes. What we don't understand is how this all happens. Stock fit? Comb height? Cast off? What?

The good news is all this is more simple than it sounds. Anyone can understand shotgun fit merely by mounting a shotgun and looking.

When they say you aim a shotgun with your body and eye, they mean the gun should fit you so that when you shoulder it and point it toward a target, your eye should be looking right where the barrel is pointing. OK, that's simple enough. And because a scattergun does just thatscatters a fairly wide circle of pelletsyou don't have to aim precisely. Being off by a few inches isn't going to result in a miss. Just point and shoot. But you have to be consistent. The gun needs to nestle into your shoulder pocket the same every time and press against your cheek the same every time. And don't lift your head off the stock. That's a common no-no that'll result in a miss every time. Ideally, you should super-glue the butt to your shoulder and the comb to your face (just kidding).

So here's what you really do. Close your eyes. Imagine a pheasant is flying up in front of you. Keep your eyes closed, raise your gun to your shoulder until it feels right, and then open your eyes. Are you seeing right down the top of the barrel? Or is your view off to one side or the other? Or are you seeing the stock where it joins the action? Ideally you should see a bit of the top of the barrel, right down the middle. Having your eye slightly high so that you see some of the top of the barrel, not just the little bead up front, is OK because it means you'll shoot slightly high, which helps you intercept most game birds because they're usually rising slightly anyway.

You Should Naturally Look Down the Barrel

Now, those are the basics and they're just that simple. Your gun should fit you so that you naturally look down the barrel. If your head is too far over to one side or the other you need more or less cast, which is a slight bend in the butt stock that positions your head over the barrel rather than to the side of it. The thickness of your face and spread of your shoulders can impact this, but that doesn't matter. Regardless of how you're built, your shotgun has to be modified to conform to your needs. You can steam a wood stock and bend it or insert tapered shims between the stock and action to make the bend. Many modern guns with synthetic stocks come with several shims to do just this. Play around with them. It's easy, and you'll see quickly what a difference they make.

Now, if your head is too low on the stock and you see the back of the action instead of a bit of the top of the barrel, you need to raise the comb of the stock. This, too, can be done with shims at the butt/action joint, but it can also be done by adding material to the comb (top ridge) of the butt stock. Many shooters duct tape small layers of padding to do this. It's ugly, but effective. It's a good way to experiment until you get the height you need. Then you can seek a more permanent solution. You may need a gunsmith to add a piece of wood or you could try an aftermarket, strap on leather or nylon comb addition. Again, many modern guns such as the Remington Versamax come with rubber comb inserts of different sizes. It's easy to try them all.

Now, to check your stock adjustments, you should shoot a few targets or, more precisely, one target several times. The accumulation of pellets more clearly shows where the majority of your patterns are centering, i.e. high, low, right or left. Use a large sheet of paper or cardboard or even plywood. Put an aiming point in the center, stand back about 30 yards and shoot quickly, mounting the gun naturally, as you would if a bird rose. You don't want to take your time and adjust the gun until it's lined up perfectly. That cheats the system instead of accurately measuring where the gun hits when you hold it naturally.

If your shooting is off center, change the stock ever so slightly in the opposite direction to compensate. If you've done a thorough job of making your adjustments while mounting the gun with your eyes closed and merely seeing where you're looking, you should come pretty close to perfection before even firing your target test patterns. After that the key is to always mount the gun the same way and keep that cheek on the comb. Gun and body move as one. That way the barrel is always under your eye and aimed where you're looking. Simple.