What does a gun "shooting flat" mean?

[Tanguero]

A couple of people have mentioned in passing after trying it that my new gun "shoots flat". I didn't think to ask them to elaborate at the time, so what does this mean and is it a good thing? 

 

[Will Hewland]

Have they just shouldered the gun or actually shot it. The term really just means that the gun shoots where you look and not higher, but it's all a fuzzy terminology as experienced shooters will shoot 'flat' with various shapes of gun, due to their perception of where the barrels are pointing. Usually, a gun is referred to as flat if the rib is not presented as rising in front of the eye. This is affected by the shooters hold and shape of course! As I say, it's not a precise term. Basically, the comb of your gun may be a bit lower than most?

 

[Sian]

Doesn't it mean the distribution of the pattern is low.  My gun is apparently 60 above and 40 below or thereabouts so if the gun is shooting flat most of the pattern is below.  

Waiver -  I could be talking a lot of twaddle and no doubt someone will correct me.

 

[Will Hewland]

Doesn't it mean the distribution of the pattern is low.  My gun is apparently 60 above and 40 below or thereabouts so if the gun is shooting flat most of the pattern is below.  

Waiver -  I could be talking a lot of twaddle and no doubt someone will correct me.

It's not twaddle Sian, but in reality, shooters know where their gun shoots (if aimed like a rifle) and compensate accordingly, usually without realising. If you look at the amount of rib angle Ed Solomons uses, he ought to miss everything miles over the top. But he doesn't..

 

[Tanguero]

Have they just shouldered the gun or actually shot it. The term really just means that the gun shoots where you look and not higher, but it's all a fuzzy terminology as experienced shooters will shoot 'flat' with various shapes of gun, due to their perception of where the barrels are pointing. Usually, a gun is referred to as flat if the rib is not presented as rising in front of the eye. This is affected by the shooters hold and shape of course! As I say, it's not a precise term. Basically, the comb of your gun may be a bit lower than most?

Thanks, both people who mentioned this shot half a dozen clays with it.  It just occurred to me afterwards that it was something they both mentioned in passing. The gun has an adjustable comb which I haven't changed from its lowest position as yet. I don't see a lot of rib with the gun mounted, but I suspect I am quite a long way off having a sufficiently consistent mount to  be able to make any meaningful adjustment as yet.

 

[Will Hewland]

Just make sure you can see SOME rib. It's hopeless if you can see none as you just won't see where the barrels are pointing. The old "rule of thumb" is to press your face into the stock well, place a pound coin flat on the rib near you and you should be able to see the bead at the far end of the barrel.

 

[Tanguero]

I do see some rib, so I suspect that will be about right, but I will give that a try! Thank you.

 

[Hamster]

Will is spot on, flat usually means that you pretty much lose sight of a going away if you want smokes, it shoots exactly central to the lie of the barrel and that's not a good thing for 99% of us.

The trouble with this set up is that it makes target pick up more fussy and gives less peripheral control and very often leads to head lifting because as Will says you learn how the gun throws on a subconscious level and so can't control yourself from keeping the barrels where they ought to be (in line with the flight) but lift your head to see what the hell is going on, which of course disturbs the sequence just enough to send unwarranted signals to the brain to stop, affecting the flow of the swing.

 

[ips]

What they should have said is that "it shoots flat for them" 

 

[Shaun Hopkins]

Mine shoots as flat as a witches tit but its how i like it although i do see rib just not ramped up .