Shotgun Fitting

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whiteapino254
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Shotgun Fitting

Post by whiteapino254 » Thu Apr 21, 2016 11:13 am

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Last edited by whiteapino254 on Thu Apr 21, 2016 4:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

polmaise
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Re: Shotgun Fitting

Post by polmaise » Thu Apr 21, 2016 2:00 pm

Don't you guys get a gun fitted when you buy one?
It's pretty pointless otherwise.?
Gun set /eye dominance/weight/balance/shot pattern/load/bore ,all these to suit the quarry or is it just a blast you are after.

jetjockey
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Re: Shotgun Fitting

Post by jetjockey » Fri Apr 22, 2016 9:56 am

I've never had a gun fitted to me. But most guns fit me decently enough. However, the best fit in the world doesn't do any good if you don't have a good mount, and you have poor form. In the hunting world, fit isn't all that important as long as the gun is close.

reba
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Re: Shotgun Fitting

Post by reba » Fri Apr 22, 2016 3:26 pm

Do yourself a big favor and buy the book, The Orvis Guide to Gunfitting by Tom Deck. This book will quickly teach you how well your shotgun fits using the Churchill method.

As already stated your mount must the same each and every time to test the fit, because you point a shotgun you do not aim a shotgun.

I own a very nice round action SXS that didn't shoot because when I mounted it I was looking down the left side of the left barrel. I made an appointment with Dale Tate for a fitting. WOW! Doubles on quail are regular now.

Most modern auto loaders fit me; but I am 5'9" and weigh 160 pounds. Size makes a big difference. I shoot skeet with a guy that weighs in at over 260 pounds, we could never shoot the same shotgun well. Plus he is left handed :D

Fit is so important that most modern auto loaders come with shim packs to make adjustments.

I just re-read the original post. Heck yes you need to know if the shotgun fits. Spending good $,$$$ on a shotgun that does not fit is terrible.

Jetjockey, With your perfect mount, if you had a shotgun fitted by a pro you would be smiling for many many miles. :D

polmaise
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Re: Shotgun Fitting

Post by polmaise » Fri Apr 22, 2016 4:03 pm

reba wrote:
I just re-read the original post. Heck yes you need to know if the shotgun fits. Spending good $,$$$ on a shotgun that does not fit is terrible.
Reckon he is off to buy an 'o' ?
whiteapino254 wrote:o

Mountaineer
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Re: Shotgun Fitting

Post by Mountaineer » Fri Apr 22, 2016 4:29 pm

Fit CAN be important and not.
Fit truely requires a consistency in mount...at the fitting, on the range or in the field.
The field can be problematic re mount as conditions vary so much.
There can exist the sticker re a need or not, to be "fitted."
A fitted gun is simply not a guarantee and...a large point, we all change and guns do not always stay...fitted.

I was fitted by Bilinski up in Michigan...wonderful fella and a great experience.
My LOP was measured to be 16"...I shot that on an O/U on clays and in the field for years...it was tho, looong as to practacility in the real woods.
I am just as happy with the factory LOP on a Sweet 16 of about 14 1/4"...in the grouse woods or pheasant fields.
At clays, is where fitted can be of greatest benefit, imho.
Otherwise, fitted can be little more than mental and/or a need to fit in with the Joneses.

One suggestion, IF you wish to be fitted then do the fitter a favor and work on a consistent mount well before the fitting.
I had to stay overnight in TC as the fella before me, a guy two inches taller than my 6'3"+ had such a terrible mount, Bilinski had issues with getting any repeatable figures and dark came.
Again, I enjoyed the experience but see little need unless the scattergun is at some extreme of measure or one wnats a stab at a few more Xs on a score card.....each can happen and then fitting really applies to shootable.

jetjockey
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Re: Shotgun Fitting

Post by jetjockey » Sat Apr 23, 2016 5:34 am

reba wrote:Jetjockey, With your perfect mount, if you had a shotgun fitted by a pro you would be smiling for many many miles. :D
No I wouldn't, because birds never fly where their suppose to when I'm trying to shoot at them. They always seem to get me contorted some way or another so I'm just lucky to get a few bb's in them. ;-). With that said, If I shot trap, skeet, 5 stand, or sporting clays on a regular bases, then I could see having a gun fitted to me. But in a world where I'm often by bundled up with cloths in the morning, just to shed those clothes in the afternoon, gun fit isn't nearly as important to me. He gun does have to be close though. If your eye doesn't alone with the barrel fairly close, your going to miss birds. All the other measurements aren't nearly as important.

nevermind
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Re: Shotgun Fitting

Post by nevermind » Sat Apr 23, 2016 8:23 am

A gun fitted to you is a confidence builder...only downside is a miss can't be blamed on the gun. :D

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gonehuntin'
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Re: Shotgun Fitting

Post by gonehuntin' » Sat Apr 23, 2016 8:44 am

Most people don't need a gun fitted to them, they need a gun that fits them. It's easy to tell. Grab a shotgun you like at a well stocked outdoor store. Pick a point high on a wall and concentrate on that tiny point. Close your eyes. Snap the gun to your shoulder, aiming for that spot. Open your eyes. If the gun is pointing at that tiny spot, it fits you. If not, try another gun.

Where a gun actually patterns is an entirely different issue and can only be determined, unfortunately, on a range.

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Coveyrise64
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Re: Shotgun Fitting

Post by Coveyrise64 » Sat Apr 23, 2016 9:53 am

jetjockey wrote:....in a world where I'm often by bundled up with cloths in the morning, just to shed those clothes in the afternoon, gun fit isn't nearly as important to me. He gun does have to be close though. If your eye doesn't alone with the barrel fairly close, your going to miss birds. All the other measurements aren't nearly as important.
If you pattern your gun at 16yds, changes to the stock dimensions by 1/16 of an inch can effectively change your point of impact (POI) approx. 1 inch. Using that theory the layering of clothes will have an effect on the POI. By adding clothes you increase the length of pull (LOP) which will lower the point of POI. Shedding clothes will effectively shorten the LOP and raise the POI. What happens is your cheek will ride higher (closer to the comb) or lower (further from the comb) on the stock which causes the Drop at Comb (DOC) to vary depending on the thickness of your clothing.

To put that in perspective....if you add 1/8" to the comb height by shortening the LOP your POI will be 4" high at 40yds. Four inches high at 40 yards with an IC choke leaves a lot of holes in your pattern. Most upland shooters like their shotguns to pattern 60/40 POI. Then adding a few layers of clothing brings the POI back closer to say 50/50. It is important that you then pattern your shotgun at the distance at which you normally take your shot to determine if the pattern is lethal. I like my upland guns to shoot close to flat or 55/45 POI at about 25-30yds. A slight change in dimension either way still keeps my pattern effective for that distance.

There are a couple of other stock dimensions that can affect POI but I think the LOP is the most common for hunters. And don't forget the mechanics of a consistent gun mount.

cr

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