LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

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Robbw
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LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by Robbw » Mon Mar 20, 2017 10:00 am

I have a Beretta A400 Xplor Action in 12 gauge. It is a nice gun and I've only put about 100 rounds through it so it is in almost mint condition. But I bought it new through a dealer on that gunbroker website without ever trying it out in person for fit. It doesn't fit and is too long for my comfortable shooting. My gunsmith suggested cutting the stock about an inch and a half and I'm sure it would fit fine. But I'm considering selling it instead or trading it, and getting a different semiautomatic that fits better. The Benelli SBE3 fits me better for example. I think cutting the stock is going to hurt the gun's resale value. So I thought I'd throw it out there. What would you do?

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by Dakotazeb » Mon Mar 20, 2017 12:09 pm

It all depends on how long you intend to keep the gun. If you plan to keep it as a shooter for the long haul I'd cut the stock to fit you. But make sure gunsmith knows how to fit a gun and cuts it to the proper length. Or another option would be to buy a 2nd stock and have that one cut down and save the original stock. But if you don't think this is a gun you will have for the long haul I'd sell/trade it for one that fits you properly.
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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by Mountaineer » Mon Mar 20, 2017 12:40 pm

An inch and a half would appear rather drastic off of a factory stock...I assume the stock is factory. :?:

Perhaps you are young or of a smaller stature but I would consider having the stock fit re-evaluated by more than a gunsmith looking for work....before any sale or sawdust happens.
Sometimes we can find that what appears uncomfortable at first try can often be more a case of our own misunderstanding.
100 shots....is hardly enough to smooth out the fiddly bits.

All that said, I find it odd that you are considering re-sale value.....perhaps there is some buyer remorse kicking in and the gun is in the way.
Regardless, pads and spacers can be a fix to a short stock and while they may affect value down the road, you might find that any stock 1 1/2" shorter than is the normal factory length......may well do the same.

Something here appears a bit odd.
Perhaps much has been unsaid.

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by polmaise » Mon Mar 20, 2017 1:32 pm

Gun Fit ' Is EVERYTHING !!
Just like a suit :wink:

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by Robbw » Mon Mar 20, 2017 2:25 pm

Factory Stock. Nice gun but it doesn't fit. If I take off the recoil pad it fits (which to me is more like 3/4 of an inch to an inch). I agree that 1.5 inches seems too drastic. No I'm not young or slight of stature but the gun stock is just too "bleep" long for me. But there aren't any shims or other such easy adjustments for this nice wood stock.

If I were to do it again, I'd find a gun that fit before paying the cash, rather than buy because I like a brand and it seems to have the features I want. I did that with my over and under, which has a really nice fit. It is a Browning Citori 725 Field 12 gauge and is listed as having a 14.25 inch lop. As stated earlier, I picked up the SBE 3 and it fit, and it holds one more round in the magazine tube.

You know when a gun fits and when it doesn't. And a gun that fits when you are in a short sleeve t shirt at the range is of little help when I'm upland hunting at the end of November and wearing a heavy coat.

So nothing spooky or suspicious, just curious what others would do.

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by Mountaineer » Mon Mar 20, 2017 3:28 pm

Sounds like you already made the decision....good.
Only you can.

Personally, I find LOP one of the least important of the components of gun fit or shooting success....in the field.

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by nikegundog » Mon Mar 20, 2017 4:31 pm

Robbw wrote:Factory Stock. Nice gun but it doesn't fit. If I take off the recoil pad it fits (which to me is more like 3/4 of an inch to an inch). I agree that 1.5 inches seems too drastic. No I'm not young or slight of stature but the gun stock is just too "bleep" long for me. But there aren't any shims or other such easy adjustments for this nice wood stock.

If I were to do it again, I'd find a gun that fit before paying the cash, rather than buy because I like a brand and it seems to have the features I want. I did that with my over and under, which has a really nice fit. It is a Browning Citori 725 Field 12 gauge and is listed as having a 14.25 inch lop. As stated earlier, I picked up the SBE 3 and it fit, and it holds one more round in the magazine tube.

You know when a gun fits and when it doesn't. And a gun that fits when you are in a short sleeve t shirt at the range is of little help when I'm upland hunting at the end of November and wearing a heavy coat.

So nothing spooky or suspicious, just curious what others would do.
LOP: Browning 725 field: 14 1/4
400a without kickoff: 14 1/2
SBE 3: 14 3/8 (can be reduced by 1/2)

Generally I would suggest Ebay for a used stock, but they just aren't out there for the 400a.

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by Robbw » Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:02 am

thanks for all the input. Appreciated.

When I pull the A400 up to my shoulder in the field when a bird busts out of cover and the stock gets stuck on my coat or vest but the Browning goes up to the shoulder perfectly then the A400 doesn't fit. One way to get it to fit is to cut the inch or so off. Despite what the specs seem to say, the problem is more than a quarter inch. So maybe the title should have been, gun doesn't fit right, sell it or get it custom fit? I think its easier just to find a gun that fit then have this one worked on. I personally screwed up by not trying out the gun in a store before ordering it online. One way or the other, it's gonna cost me a little. Lesson learned.

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by Mountaineer » Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:55 am

Not to belabor the issue but there is a move or two besides sawdust.
That would be to learn a better or correct mount....or, said another way, for us as shooters to improve rather than believing the gun is always the issue that needs correction.
A push out & pull back mount can be done quite quickly once ingrained....it was how I shot a 16"-ish LOP.

However, I well understand how a proper mount at the end of a long day in shortgrass can problematic as can a proper mount when bent over in the alders up nort.
Reality renders proper ...difficult at times.
But short, can yield problems just like length.
So, over 50+ years, I have found that a bit of work on my part can make shooting many scatterguns sufficently well enough for guvmunt work to be less of an issue than first reckoned.

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by P&PGunsmith » Tue Mar 21, 2017 9:58 am

Have you owned other shotguns that fit. The LOP on that gun is pretty normal. 1.5" would be really short for most people but i dont know what size you are. 1/4" would make very little difference except maybe with different clothing. if you are thinking of a different gun because it is a little shorter it doesnt sound like you are happy with the gun. if you are happy with the gun then you should have it sized. most that buy guns dont think of the resale value as much as getting the best out of the shotgun. I would size but i dont sell any of my personal guns. if you size go to a good gun fitter. you may just need to take a little and change the pitch. I think it will be hard to find a used gun that is already cut and fits you exactly anyway so you will end up at the gun fitter anyhow.
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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by jetjockey » Tue Mar 21, 2017 4:24 pm

Very few gunsmiths know anything about stock fitting. If you really like the gun, don't worry about resale and have it fit. If your not sold on the gun, sell it and move on to something that feels better in the standard configurations.

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by Robbw » Tue Mar 21, 2017 7:08 pm

Maybe some guns just fit better, and its more than LOP? If the Browning is only a 1/4 inch shorter but feels pretty perfect, Maybe its some of the other stuff you guys have mentioned. It's a pretty sweet shooting but just doesn't come up to the shoulder in the field. I'll see if I can trade it. If I can get a good trade, I'll do that. Otherwise, I'll look for a fitter in Massachusetts and get it to fit.

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by setterpoint » Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:12 pm

have you a new stock made for the gun you can be measurd and get one that fits you perfect

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by jstevens » Wed Mar 22, 2017 1:20 pm

If it's just mounting the gun, a dremel to round the corner off the top side of the pad might change everything. That said, it wouldn't take me thirty seconds to decide to cut a bit off the stock. Whoever said to take 1.5 inches off is an idiot. If it was that much too long, you couldn't even shoot it. 1/4 to 1/2 inch is a bunch, and I'll bet Beretta has a thin pad you can buy that will knock that off. Lot cheaper than trading! Otherwise, some masking tape, and a miter box saw fixes it.

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by nikegundog » Wed Mar 22, 2017 3:40 pm

Robbw wrote:Maybe some guns just fit better, and its more than LOP? If the Browning is only a 1/4 inch shorter but feels pretty perfect, Maybe its some of the other stuff you guys have mentioned. It's a pretty sweet shooting but just doesn't come up to the shoulder in the field. I'll see if I can trade it. If I can get a good trade, I'll do that. Otherwise, I'll look for a fitter in Massachusetts and get it to fit.
Rob, you do know about the shims that are included (cast and comb height), don't you?

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by tnbndr » Sat Mar 25, 2017 9:37 am

The A400 is a better gun, have the thinnest recoil pad that Kick Eez makes installed and remove wood if necessary. Very few guns will fit you out of the box.
I just sanded down the comb on an A400 Parralel target. Will it affect resale, probably but who cares I intend to use it and you can't shoot well if the gun doesn't fit.

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by Tooling » Sat Mar 25, 2017 11:08 am

Doe's anybody spend any time to simply learn how to shoot a particular shotgun anymore?

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by Mountaineer » Sat Mar 25, 2017 11:15 am

Tooling wrote:Doe's anybody spend any time to simply learn how to shoot a particular shotgun anymore?

Evidently, very few.

While there can be extremes that would require some equivalent of sawdust, the message board toot of fit = IT has been very successful in shaping minds.
And, folks do love to spend money or follow the Jones clan.
As with the extremes tho, clays and Xs can require every mental and physical edge.....while birdhunting carries so many variables to success that scattergun fit is far less than IT.
There...IT is between the ears of man and dog, imho.

But, one man's opinion....seldom fits everyone.

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by Robbw » Sun Mar 26, 2017 4:51 pm

While I have been successful hunting with this gun, it gets caught mounting and slows me down which equals missed birds. So I think what I take out of this thread is to keep working on your shooting. And Since the gun is a beauty, and has some adjustability, I'm going to look for a gun fitter to maybe tweak it to improve the fit. It can't hurt.

Any recommendation for a gun fitter in New England?

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by birddogger2 » Tue May 30, 2017 11:49 am

Robbw wrote:While I have been successful hunting with this gun, it gets caught mounting and slows me down which equals missed birds. So I think what I take out of this thread is to keep working on your shooting. And Since the gun is a beauty, and has some adjustability, I'm going to look for a gun fitter to maybe tweak it to improve the fit. It can't hurt.

Any recommendation for a gun fitter in New England?

Two things:

First, as far as the gun getting caught, I put a thin, sporting clays pad(Decelerator??) on my O/U and the well rounded upper edge of the pad slips past clothing that the standard, straight edged pad would hang up on.

Second, I do not know any gunfitters in NE, but if you are in the mood for a short road trip, there is Griffin & Howe in Northern NJ. They were, and I believe still are, a world class operation.

I have not been to their new store at Hudson farms, but their old store In Bedminster, NJ had literally dozens of used shotguns on display. there was everything from a Parker Trojan that had almost no blueing left on it, to a Purdey... and pretty much everything in between.

They used to include a gun fit with every purchase. probably still do. Bring your gun, check out the cost to get it tweaked and see if there is something else there that works better for you.

RayG

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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by DonF » Wed Jul 12, 2017 8:53 am

He could go out and buy a new gun and probably end up with the same thing.
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Re: LOP too long. Cut stock or sell gun?

Post by Robbw » Wed Jul 12, 2017 8:56 am

I traded it for a Benelli Super Black Eagle III that fit better, whether real or imagined. All ended well.

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