Gun fit is just one of many variables that contribute to whether you do (or will ever) shoot to your potential.
Sure, you can shoot "pretty well" with a gun that doesn't fit perfectly, with cheap promo shells and a cylinder choke.
But just how good a shot you can ever become is certainly influenced by gun fit. For me, perfect gun fit is table stakes. I make a pattern stock, shoot the pattern board, tweak the stock, shoot a couple hundred targets & tweak the stock, etc., etc. Usually within a couple thousand targets I will have decided that the gun fits as perfectly as it ever will. For sure, I will be able to mount it with my eyes closed, open my master eye, focus on the rib and bead and see exactly what I expect to see. And shooting it will have proven that it shoots exactly where I expect it to without having to be conscious of the muzzle, unless I choose to. This applies as much to a trap gun that will be shot pre-mounted as a 6lb SxS. The gun is an extension of my eyes and once the gun touches my cheek not the slightest adjustment should ever be necessary, even from a hurry-up, low gun start. Then I duplicate the pattern with some pretty English walnut.
Now the whole issue of gun fit has been laid to rest, I'll go out and proceed to find a myriad of ways to miss. But with supreme confidence in gun fit I can give them the attention they deserve.
