The most important aspect of gun fit

[9x19mm]

So, what is the most important aspect of gun fit in OU shotguns?. Is it Cast? Most seasoned shooters say that it is important to get it right the first time (ie when you buy the shotgun) because it is difficult -and expensive- to correct afterwards. Ideas?

Stay safe

 

[Dave McCracken]

It's hard to say whether ONE factor is more crucial than another. The eye still has to line up properly behind the bore.

LOP is the least crucial,we have some wiggle room in that placement of the forward hand can help us adjust to a different shotgun than our usual.

Drop and cast seem tied. One for height, one for left/right. Pitch has a hand in where it's shooting also.

Cast is a bit harder to tweak than drop. So, in that aspect, it's the most crucial.

 

[Traveler]

I'll have to stand by LOP as the most critical. When using a try gun the LOP is going to adjusted first, and then corrected as needed.

All of the other measurements are dependant on the LOP being correct. Cast, toe, camber, drop at the heel, and pitch all have to be measured at the correct distance away from the action. When making a stock even the angle of the grip will be dependant on the LOP. If the LOP is off all of the other measurements will be wrong.

Another way to look at it is this...

Buyers of high grade guns worry most about LOP because that is the hardest to fix using the original piece of wood (all other things being equal). I can bend a stock just about any way needed, I cannot stretch it. (I can add to it, but then I still have to do all the other work too.)

 

[PJR]

It's like asking what's a more important rear sight adjustment on a handgun between windage and elevation? They are both important.

I disagree that LOP is the most important however. I have shotguns with LOP ranging from 15" to 14-1/4" and can shoot them equally well because the drop and cast are consistent.

Drop seems to be the issue I care most about, cast a very close second with LOP third and pitch last.

Paul

 

[TrapperReady]

For me...

Drop seems the most important, followed by cast then LOP and pitch. At least, these are the most important when selecting a gun. However, when shooting some else's, LOP is the thing I notice above all else.

Dave - you are pretty tall, aren't you? Speaking from the other end of the spectrum, I can easily adjust to stocks which are too short, or a bit too long, but ones which are seriously long are unpleasant to shoot. That being said, it seems LOP is easy to alter since cutting down a stock or adding spacers is quite simple.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Cast, drop, pitch and LOP are all intertwined like Sicilian politics, changing one can change the others.

However, as was said, I can use stocks from 13" to 15" and do a fair country job of shooting them. I seem to do best wingshooting with a longer one. As Frankenstein is now set up, I've got 15" or so of pull. More importantly, it has 1" of drop at nose, very slightly more at cheek, and drop at heel of about 2 7/8" IIRC. Yup, big guy, long neck. And that's a Monte Carlo setup quite similar to my trap gun, just 1/4" longer. I probably oughta mount a spacer on the TB.

BUT, I can use a standard 870 stock, if I change the place where it hits my face. The M/C stock's comb fits into the notch my cheekbone makes. The field stock has a jaw weld.View of the barrel and rib is about the same. Field stocks run 13 7/8 to 14" usually. Both Rupe's Express, ca 1993 and my 1955 WM have 13 7/8" stocks with recoil pads, both original. If the drop veried greatly, I think I'd be in trouble.

For those that came in late, LOP is measured from the center of the trigger to the center of the butt. Drop is usually measured as the distance from the top line on a receiver to the top of the comb at nose, cheek or heel.Cast is measured as the distance to the right or left of the central axis of the bore. Most US made guns have neutral cast, many European guns have cast off, meaning the centerline of the stock fall to the right of the bore as viewed by the shooter. Many of us adjust to lack of cast by canting the head a bit, including me.

 

[sm]

Drop seems the most important, followed by cast then LOP and pitch

Ditto

 

[9x19mm]

Most US made guns have neutral cast, many European guns have cast off, meaning the centerline of the stock fall to the right of the bore as viewed by the shooter.

Exactly. That is why the Berettas fit *me* better out of the box than Brownings. Since gun fit is one of the most important aspects, that fact alone will probably affect my choice for a new OU and I will probably choose the Beretta 686E over the Citori, although the Browning is back-bored.

Russell Mark, the australian gold medalist writes:

"The cast of a stock is one area where you essentially have to get it right the first time. Cast can be altered after purchase, but this can become expensive and sometimes not practical. When right-hand shooters look down towards the barrels from behind the stock there should be about half as much twist or bend to the right at the top of the stock as there is at the bottom or toe of the stock (the opposite for left handers). Generally, more cast is needed at the bottom of the stock to position the pad better along the shooter’s breastbones and muscles. Some twist is needed at the top to position the eye directly down the middle of the barrel rib.
It is easy to work out if the cast is correct by simply mounting the gun and then checking if you are looking directly down the centre of the barrel. If you are unsure, then let a qualified gun fitter or experienced shooter look back down the barrel in the opposite direction (when of course the gun is unloaded) into your eye. If you are not down the centre, then seriously think about avoiding the purchase of the gun".

http://www.russellmark.com.au/detail.asp?1=article1
(articles ---> The Ten Commandments)

Stay safe

 

[Dave McCracken]

IMO, proper fit is way more crucial than backboring.

Mark says it in a complicated way. A simpler explanation is in the 101 threads.

Either the Beretta or the Browning would be a good choice. Get the one that FEELS best.

 

[Smoke]

The importance of each, Drop, cast , Lop is directly related to the individual.

For me the imporatnace is placed as follows:

1. Drop
2. Drop
3. Drop.
4. L.O.P.
5. Anyhting else.

I'm tall. Real tall. And I have a long neck. I beleive that is why I have always liked the old Browning humpbacks. The sight plane is a little higher.
To someone else on the less than 6ft side, this maybe a non-issue.

Fit is an individual thing and the order of importance is as varied as the individuals.

Smoke