doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com gun fit conundrum--HELP

I recently stocked my 16ga fox sterlingworth. As I have done a few times in the past, I made a pattern stock with bondo, etc until it patterned the way I wanted it...about 55/45. I sent the stocks off to be duplicated and comenced using my other bird gun, a light 20ga O/U.

....scene changes to january, bird season is over and my Fox has a scrumptious piece of black walnut on it, balances on the hinge pin and fits me perfectly--measurements are identical to the pattern stock. Except for one thing...I can't hit a thing with it. I shot skeet two weekends in a row with it and had the lowest scores of my life. Thinking I was out of practice, I kept shooting and kept missing. The next weekend I took out my 20ga O/U (also a light bird gun, not a target gun) and commenced crushing targets as well as I ever have. Now convinced that it was the gun not me, I got out the graph paper and traced the outlines of both stocks onto the paper...the SxS is about 1/4" longer LOP with the DT's but it is also 3/8 of an inch higher at heel--I figured it was shooting higher than I thought. To test this I put both guns on paper today. The O/U shoots perfect patterns right where I'm looking, and the SxS is hitting 6" LOW at 16 yards! Both patterns were 5 shots snap-shooting at paper at 16 yards, and both 5-shot patterns were quite consistent.

What the heck is going on??

Wow! I got something new to worry about! I have a stock with the correct dac and dah, but it is 1" too long. I was going to cut it, but was thinking I may need to changed the pitch too. I think I'll have to sell something to pay for a proper fitting now? Could the pitch have anything to do with it?

"Could the pitch have anything to do with it?"

Pitch is the most important part of a properly fitted gun .

Six inches low at 16 yards; I would look at the barrels first, they almost have to be bent down Sight at a door jamb at light outside, just looking through,. Rotate the barrels and it should tell you a lot. As much as they are off-shooting, I would just guess it will be obvious. Been there, done that.

Is the drop at the comb and heel the same as your pattern stock?
This will significantly alter your POI. You need to raise the comb so you see more rib. If your shot pattern is on left to right, it is either your pitch or drop that is off.

Another thing to remember is O/U tend to shoot high so they are set up with more down pitch than a side by side is so I would not compare the two for stock dimensions. Also pistol grip verse simi pistol grip will also alter length of pull slightly.

I would try adjusting the pitch first by adding some wedges made of cardboard or washers under the bottom half of the recoil pad first before I would start cutting. By changing the pitch of the pad you should be able to raise the pattern. Once you get the pattern on, you can shape a pad to the angled dimenssions.

Maybe I didn't explain well enough--the measurements of this stock are precisely the same as the pattern stock. the pattern stock was shooting right where I looked. The only thing I can think of is that since at the time I was shooting this gun almost exclusively I just learned to shoot it a certain way (which I have now forgotten). However, this gun is already stocked high--it's 1.5 x 2" drop at comb and heel, significantly higher than my other guns. I see plenty of rib, if anything too much...this gun SHOULD be patterning too high--that's what I don't understand. Pitch on this is pretty normal...if you do the doorjamb thing the muzzles are just under 2" from the wall (28" barrels)...you think the pitch would throw it off that much??

The barrels are regulated fine, they are straight, if I sight it like a rifle they hit dead center.

I know pitch will definatly change POI. My gun shot low and when I increased the pitch I was able to bring the POI up 4 inches. Do you still have the pattern stock, if so reinstall it and see how it shoots. Somthing sounds very wrong if you see a lot of rib and it shoots low but when you site it like a rifle it hits dead on. If thats the case you should be hitting very high. This is a very interesting and I can see frustraiting problem. I would definatly try and reinstall the pattern stock to see what happens.

It sounds like you are subconsciously expecting the gun to shoot high, so you are floating the target to compensate, but too much. All that rib is telling you instinctively to lower the gun. It is also very likely that while you were shooting skeet you overcompensated further because that was the direction you thought it should go, magnifying the problem. I would suggest going back to station 7 low and force yourself to put the bead on the clay. Eventually your instinctive shooting brain will be convinced.

Answer: The new stock weighs more than the bondo built try-stock.

Must be so, everything else being equal and you say it is.

More inertia means less gun movement before ejecta exit.

Sounds like one of two things. Both are the same problem with different cause, mounting error. This is especially true if they hit dead center if you aim it like a rifle like you said. Good news is that only requires a modified technique , not a modification to the stock.
One, is your head down on the comb?
Second, I would imagine that your stock is a standard rising comb. If you place your head at varying distances from the tip of the comb, it will change your point of impact. I put a piece of cheek-eez where my cheekbone should rest on the stock. This helps me keep a consistent gun mount. Try mounting your gun with your cheek closer to the tip of the comb and see if this helps.