I'm thinking of biting the bullet and getting my gun fitted properly - I'm not sure how much of a problem I have, but a few comments recently have indicated that my gun could be a better fit for me. So - experts of ShootClay - a few questions for you: 1. Recommendations on where I should get that done? Preferably not too far from the Berkshire/Bucks border (Maidenhead), not TOO expensive - although I know I need to pay for good service.2. What should I expect - is it a long process? Will I need to be without my gun for too long?3. Anything else I should know? Thanks team!
Gun Fitting
- Thread starter ExSCA
- Start date
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Will Hewland
Well-known member
Hi Matt.Be careful. I have seen people pay a fortune to get a worse fit.. The first thing is to make sure you are standing / holding it correctly. If this is going to change (because you become more experienced / change shape / decide to) then the fit cannot be finalised now. From memory, you have a slightly exagerated `lean forward pose`. This may change as you progress; or you may be staying with it. If you stand differently, the gun fits differently. The classic case is stock length, which can be shorter if you stand squarer on for instance. I picked up my old K80 after not touching it for a year or so and could not believe that I had ever shot it, as my stance had developed. Personally, as long as the gun shoots where you look (check it on straight away birds or a pattern plate), you should shoot it long enough to ensure that your stance is finalised, before you start paying out possibly £400 for a fitting session and gunsmith charges.. And your gun will be gone some weeks usually, depending on the changes needed. Cheers,CSC3
I agree with Clever, most really good shooters end up with a gun that fundamentally fits them straight from the rack with one or two very tiny changes. There are four basic requirements:Length of stock - easy to check, are you comfortable mounting the gun without it dragging or is it so short you have to pull it back into your shoulder? Cast - not so easy at all, can cause misses and lead to smoking clays being a rarity. Really needs an experienced eye, basically when the gun is in the firing position you have to find that your eye is absolutely central along the rib/bead. Close enough is not good enough. The better guns have thicker combs that help consistency here. Comb height - easily checked and usually a personal thing. Too high is better than too low, as the latter can cause head lifting which'll make you miss a treat. Pitch - extremely hard to pin down even for the savvy. Possibly the most important in controlling undue recoil and the subtle reason for liking one gun over the other. Personally I think apart from correcting the bleeding obvious type of fault in a gun's set up, you're better off delaying the fitting session until you yourself are experienced enough to call the shots. There are a few out there whose opinion I would trust above my own but there are too many journeymen who just go by a few basics they've picked up along the way.
Will Hewland
Well-known member
Going back to the developing stance thing: I remember watching the British sporting (I think) on TV a couple of years ago. It was terrible TV, but it was interesting that as they showed each shooter, there was a gap of about 5 seconds before they announced their name and class. Almost every time, I could already tell the class of shooter, simply by looking at them mount the gun. CSC3
TobyM
Well-known member
I don't know anyone who's tried them, but I was considering the Holland & Holland fitting. Not particularly cheap at around £180-200 IIRC, but you buy a set of measurements to take to a gunsmith to have your own gun altered if required. http://www.hollandandholland.c.....itting.php
Interesting point - he has never mentioned gun fit, but has adjusted my mount a little bit... but others have made comments - including Henry on here from a photo. Personally - I think my biggest issues are about eyes rather than fit, but I am slowly getting myself fixed on those and my scores are reflecting that - but I also want to make sure I don't go on too long without getting changes made if they *really* need to be made...I'm not 100% decided on getting this done - but I'm prepared to spend the money if it helps. I note the above comments - it might be mount rather than fit I need to work on more.
I would develop my shooting stance & style along with a very good gun mount first before I ever contemplated having a fitting.Length of stock is obviously important, but easily checked by yourself. If it is drastically too short your nose will be very near or touching the base of your thumb. Too long and it will drag & snag on your clothing as you attempt to make a good mount, especially on a high driven bird. About 2-3 fingers between nose and thumb base is a rough check or if you want to measure 30mm-60mm. I would say personally 30mm is good.Mount the empty /unloaded gun in front of the mirror and you want to be seeing your eye aligned with the centre of the action/rib/bead looking straight down the rib (not off to one side looking down the side of the barrel).Once you feel confident that your gun mount is correct and can be repeated time after time without variation and fidgeting and adjusting, then and only then is the time to consider a professional fitting session.Remember, with all the best will in the world the fitter can only observe your gun mount and make recommendations, if this is not backed up by patterning your gun so that it shoots where YOU want it to you are both wasting each others time and your money.
EdSolomons
Well-known member
Unless its way out save the timeAnd money mate. You can spend months with no gun and when it comes back your worse off than when you darted. So long as the fundamentalsAre close enough, and it's neither way too long of low then give it a couple of years. Close enough really is good enough.
GavB
Well-known member
matt - am i correct in thinking you shoot gun up if so i would save the money mate - unless the gun is way off should be able to make it fit. and having the gun bent to your measurements doesnt mean it wont bend back again - it did on my 686e, a complete waste of money that was/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-frown.gif
Hey Matt, I was having similar thoughts and just want to get mine somewhere close. I have increased the LOP and added a Jones adjuster to get rid of a cant I had and am also practising my mount so I bring the gun to the cheek not the cheek to the gun. The one really big advantage of the auto is that the cast and drop can be changed with shims so no stock bending etc. is required so I'm focussing on technique and am going to have some coaching as well as practising my mount. Once I switch back to a OU that will be fitted but by that time I should have figured out what I need done. I have been shooting about the same length of time as you (2 14 years) and still learn new stuff on a dailyweekly basis. We both seem to be in the same camp of shooting more registered and getting better progressively rather that just going and shooting a really easy straw baler, I have nothing against them but at the moment my goal is to shoot for the County 
Cheers, Jon.
Cheers, Jon.
GavB
Well-known member
shootclay admin said:
with your scores going up and now shooting gun down i would say youve got a good fit - what was the name of your coach again/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif i may give him a ring
GavB
Well-known member
cheers /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-wink.gif
Outlaw
Well-known member
Jon, you can always buy my old fence post. Go on you know you want to .
One thing that I didn't mention in my last post was, the number of people who I know that have had their gun fitted, then the gun as sprouted either a moleskin or thin foam comb raiser /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-confused.gif.I feel sure this could possibly be due to not mounting the gun correctly during the fitting and patterning it at the plate.One thing is certain, you cannot fit a gun correctly in a shop or clubhouse. You can arrive at a workable compromise but not a perfect fit.
