I have asked this question before, and never really gotten an answer that made sense to me. I know a number of very knowlegable people who claim that Pitch is for comfort only, and has no bearing on point of impact...Michael Yardley's book seems to suggest this, and that is the only treatise on the subject I own. One person I know and respect says he just cuts his stocks off at 90 degrees to the comb.
However, I keep hearing people say that Pitch is an important factor in fit. The naysayers always drown them out, but I would like to hear from someone an explanation of how pitch is correctly determined, how it affects fit, and whether and how it affects the point of impact. I'm really only interested at this point in those who believe pitch IS an important element of fit beyond mere comfort, so if you don't think it is please bite your tongue until others have had a chance to weigh in. Anyone out there want to take a stab at this?
Thanks
Jack O'Connor, who was an acknowledged authority and respected shotgun expert when Michael Yardley was born, said this, on page 160, of The Shotgun Book: "Actually the function of pitch is to keep the gun comfortably at the shoulder. If the stock has zero pitch or even up pitch, the butt tends to slip down under the armpit and the gun tends to shoot high. If there's too much down pitch, the butt tends to slip up and throw the shot low". IMO, he could have stopped after the first sentence as the last two are suggesting extreme pitch conditions, I believe. The first sentence is the relevant one. My best shooting buddy, who is a much better shot than I ever was, or will be, claims an instance where adding the thickness of one piece of cardboard between the pad and the wood, at the heel, fixed a high-shooting gun. I don't believe that, for a minute, but if it worked for him, it's OK by me.
