Making your own pattern plate...

[westley]

I can recall when ALL major English (and Scottish) Gunmakers used pattern plates for fitting shotguns to clients. I went to Westley Richards back in the 70's to have my gun fitted by them. They were then in the centre of Birmingham, having been there since 1812. We (the gunfitter and I) went out to the rear of the premises where the pattern plates were situated, along with the test benches for the double rifles they were famed for. To our left was a boundary brook, the other side of which aproximately 50 yards away, a full blown rugby match was taking place on the college playing field. I have never felt so uncomfortable shooting a gun in all of my life, even being assured that "they were used to it" by the gunfitter. He added, "you want to hear a .500 Express go off" !  2 shots with my gun and then 2 shots with the adjusted 'try' gun and that was it. Some 4 weeks later I should have gone to collect the completed gun but was unable to get off work, so it was sent by Securicor (that was before they took on the job of emptying the prisons !). The total cost, including transport was £39.00 (sorry £39-0s-0d) I have never shot so well with a gun in all of my 55 years of shooting, they got the fitting spot on, to such a degree that it suprised you if you missed a bird ! So do not dismiss the usefulness of a pattern plate in gunfitting, it is someone with the skill to translate those results into bending the wood that is in severe decline.  

 

[Oldblaster]

cardboard packaging, and a hedge plus a few bulldog clips!

 

[Parcours pete]

Westley

I think you make a very valid point the pattern plate is a usefull tool to determine gun fit

And can send you away with bags of confidence if things are as they should be

Also as Ed says they can also screw your mind

And a straight going away or incomer can tell a truer story

I think the problem with a plate is we / the shooter tries sometimes to get the perfect shot off

Ie ending up rifle ing or miss mounting on the way up and not getting a true shot off

As as in the field it's all more natural on a going away or incomer

A good tool to have Acces to as long as it doesn't fry your brain

 

[quiteman]

Pick yourself a men at work sign that you left after road works turn it round white undercoat our club has been using one for about six years, forgot to say comes with it's own stand

 

[Jimbob 2705]

Thanks all, appreciate all the advice regarding using it for gun fit. Interesting to see that some of you don't recommend it! Always thought they were the best thing for it, shows how wrong I am!

Still tempted to try one though, would still be useful I feel

Found a nice piece of Steel Sheet relatively close to me....and it's not major money I guess when you consider that it should be reusable!

Only issue is that it's 3m x 1.5m!! I'm hoping they can cut it down to 1.5m x 1.5m, and do half the price but I think I'm being a bit hopeful haha!

If worse comes to the worse I have a relative who has a plasma cutter, so should be able to get it cut

It is 8mm thick, which I assume in Mild Steel will be more than plenty? (I'd rather it be too thick then not thick enough)

 

[ips]

Trouble is with pattern plate or indeed any type of dry mounting is that from my experience the mount is not always the same as how you mount live.

 

[DavidJ]

This might do the job 

 

[jake.keeling]

I have an 8'x4' sheet screwed to a fence, then I pin 1mx1m brown paper to it. Only really use it if I change anything, just to check if it's still going where I think it is!


tiroVesti seamless performance clothing.

 

[chippy]

Trouble is with pattern plate or indeed any type of dry mounting is that from my experience the mount is not always the same as how you mount live.

To get round this problem i mount my pattern plate on the side of my transit van then get my wife to drive by at various speeds.Its best to find a quiet road though.

 

[ips]

To get round this problem i mount my pattern plate on the side of my transit van then get my wife to drive by at various speeds.Its best to find a quiet road though.

Pmsl