how to tell a gun fits you?

[fergie]

If I was to go into a shop to buy a shotgun, how would i tell it fitted me correctly. The reason I'm asking is that I am in the market for a shotgun and obviously need it to fit me correctly I have a friend who said he will help but he may not be able to make it when I go and I don't want to rely on the gun shop personel as a couple i have been too seem like they don't care they just want the sale

 

Thanks for your help

Steve

[Breastman]

If he knows what he's doing, wait until your friend can go with you!

 

Mark

[twitchynik]

Something I picked up when I was looking was ensuring you can see just a small bit of rib between the start of it and the bead once you're cheekbone is tight on the comb. Get the shop owner to look down from the barrel end to double check. However, that can always be sorted with a comb raiser if you don't see enough.

 

I made sure that I was comfortable with my mount and had a number of lessons to get that right before I ventured into a shop.

 

I picked up and played with loads of guns and eliminated those that I didn't feel comfortable with - things like balance, weight, trigger position and how cramped/strethed I felt.

 

Ultimately it's about feel and for me it was Beretta over Miruko, Browning, Lanber and Winchester.

[malkiserow]

If I was to go into a shop to buy a shotgun, how would i tell it fitted me correctly. The reason I'm asking is that I am in the market for a shotgun and obviously need it to fit me correctly I have a friend who said he will help but he may not be able to make it when I go and I don't want to rely on the gun shop personel as a couple i have been too seem like they don't care they just want the sale

 

Thanks for your help

Steve

 

 

[u]Try before you buy[/u]............. that will tell you so much about it

 

And .... take your time

[manxman2]

Something I picked up when I was looking was ensuring you can see just a small bit of rib between the start of it and the bead once you're cheekbone is tight on the comb. Get the shop owner to look down from the barrel end to double check. However, that can always be sorted with a comb raiser if you don't see enough.

 

I made sure that I was comfortable with my mount and had a number of lessons to get that right before I ventured into a shop.

 

I picked up and played with loads of guns and eliminated those that I didn't feel comfortable with - things like balance, weight, trigger position and how cramped/strethed I felt.

 

Ultimately it's about feel and for me it was Beretta over Miruko, Browning, Lanber and Winchester.

 

Good post and good sense, a shotgun isnt just an investment of money, its an investment of many hours using it as well.

 

A shotgun has to come upto the eye correctlly and handle nicely, otherwise it will bring with it mainly frustration.

[Guest cookoff013]

actually, it comes with years of practice.

 

the best and almost only way to get a gun that fits is to try shooting targets, often the low flat away target can tell you there is a poi or a poa issue.

this is different from patterning.

if you had a fun fitted, and had the mesurements written down and emilated on a new gunstock then it should be as good as.

[manxman2]

Costly that tho, or it was in my day, otherwise working men like me, especially left-handers, just had to persevere with straight stocks and as you say usage, i always found english skeet to be a good way of trying as i could always see the shot for a split second, and could tell where i was missing.

[dunganick]

My recommendation would be to either go to a shop with staff that can shoot. Chris potters have some staff that can actually see if the gun fits you (and some that claim to be able to). Alternatively go to a shop on a clay shooting ground and try the guns out.

 

Personally i knew what 'sight picture' i was looking for with a gun. I know i like a flat shooting gun (so i see very little rib) and obviously want a gun that mounts straight (so on a natural mount i dont look down the left or right of the rib). Length of pull is easy enough to work out, wanting roughly an inch between your nose and index finger (although some choose longer/shorter guns).

 

I tryed lots and lots of guns before i found one that fitted.

[COACH]

There`s fit and there`s fit.

You can get a rough fit straight of the shelf but what people don`t realise is if you can`t mount properly from out of the shoulder as if you are rough shooting, then it`s almost impossible to get a gun fitting correct. Mounting is a big part of fit.

If you can mount perfectly about 95% of the time then that`s just about good enough.

You can then start looking for a good fit but there`s a lot more to it than meets the eye. (pun unintended)

The problem is there are very few people out there that can actually help you properly.

Your best bet is to go to a local club and ask a qualified coach if he would accompany you to a shop for a small fee.

Most will be happy to do that.

If there`s a local club with a shop and a qualified coach that`s even better.

[Bigweed]

Your best bet is to go to a local club and ask a qualified coach if he would accompany you to a shop for a small fee.

 

 

Or even a gunsmith

Edited October 6, 2010 by Bigweed

[HDAV]

A proper gunsmith will know how and if the gun can be adjusted to fit you, you could just buy a gun and have it fitted. The best person to tell you if it fits is someone who has no interest in whether you buy it or not. Cant recommend anyone locally but i am sure others can, using a laser like the arrow laser shot in the shop can help but if your mount is variable this may not help much. Easy option is buy the gun you learn on

[Beardo]

my Silver Pigeon is in for a stock reworking at the moment - added more length and drop (total cost £150). It's worth knowing you can have it done easily if you find a good gun at a good price.

[twitchynik]

my Silver Pigeon is in for a stock reworking at the moment - added more length and drop (total cost £150). It's worth knowing you can have it done easily if you find a good gun at a good price.

 

Out of interest, where/who have you gone to for that work?

[Beardo]

Ladbrook and Langton just outside Radlett, really good gunsmiths.

Went in there and had a proper gun fitting, took about 20 mins in total - well worth it.

Can't wait to get it back, they did my old 20 bore and it was like shooting a new gun.

 

Ladbrook & Langton Gunsmiths

Hill Farm

Radlett

Hertfordshire WD7 7HR

Tel: (01923) 854639

[Vince Green]

If you want a simple rule of thumb. Stand in the ready position looking at something straight in front of you out of the window, then close your eyes, mount the gun as if to shoot the object and open your eyes again. What you see will tell you if the gun fits. After you have tried it with a few guns a few times you will start to get the hang of it. You want a gun that comes to the eye naturally. Theres more but that will get you started.

[twitchynik]

Ladbrook and Langton just outside Radlett, really good gunsmiths.

Went in there and had a proper gun fitting, took about 20 mins in total - well worth it.

Can't wait to get it back, they did my old 20 bore and it was like shooting a new gun.

 

Ladbrook & Langton Gunsmiths

Hill Farm

Radlett

Hertfordshire WD7 7HR

Tel: (01923) 854639

 

Ahh ha! That's good to hear. He's a mate of my mum from school. Laddy did some work on my brothers Browning and has his BSA sbs in for a stock lengthening. My 686 is due in soon.

[Vince Green]

Ladbrook and Langton just outside Radlett, really good gunsmiths.

Went in there and had a proper gun fitting, took about 20 mins in total - well worth it.

Can't wait to get it back, they did my old 20 bore and it was like shooting a new gun.

 

Ladbrook & Langton Gunsmiths

Hill Farm

Radlett

Hertfordshire WD7 7HR

Tel: (01923) 854639

I remember that place but not the name, what did they used to be called?

[clayman]

What "Coach" says is entirely right - too many people worry about the fit when the real problem is the mount.

 

In a shop the sales person, if experienced, will move your feet, place the gun in the shoulder correctly, tip your elbow, straighten your nose line out of cant, raise the butt plate on the shoulder, get you nose over toes - and achieve a remarkably good gun fit, maybe with a bit of tweeking in stock length and comb height.

 

You then take a correctly fitted gun home and then go to the next shoot and stand sideways with the butt low on the shoulder blade, leaning backwards, and head canted over - ie the way you have always held a gun.

 

Result, gun no longer fits and you still shoot rubbish.

 

There is absolutely no point what-so-ever in sorting out and worrying about the fit if you cannot mount the gun correctly.

 

It is essential to combine having the gun fitted with a quality lesson on stance and mount - a process I call dynamic gun fit.

 

If you take your gun as it is to a competent coach and have a lesson like this you will learn all you need to know and be able to evaluate your existing gun as well as the recommendations of any sales person flogging you a gun ( suits you sir, thank you very much ££££ - gun salesperson want to shift guns, not all their advice is un-bais).

Edited October 6, 2010 by clayman

[manxman2]

I always shot better with a o/u or auto than side by side, even tho i learned to shoot with side by sides, the along the top guns come up better.

Edited October 6, 2010 by manxman2

[hillmouse]

I agree with a lot of the above posts.

 

If your stance and mount are not consistent gunfit cannot be sorted out properly. In my experience the majority of gun shop staff cannot do this.

 

One thing to remember is that the gun comes to you, you do not go to it. If you are lowering your head, craning your neck, pushing a shoulder forwards, rolling your head across to reach the stock etc., then the gun does not fit.

 

An unbiased companion, preferably qualified, is a very good idea.

 

For many gunshop staff a gun that fits is the one that a)you can afford b)has been on the shelf a while

[The Essex Hunter]

If I was to go into a shop to buy a shotgun, how would i tell it fitted me correctly. The reason I'm asking is that I am in the market for a shotgun and obviously need it to fit me correctly I have a friend who said he will help but he may not be able to make it when I go and I don't want to rely on the gun shop personel as a couple i have been too seem like they don't care they just want the sale

 

Thanks for your help

Steve

 

You didn’t say what you are going to shoot, as a warm day in a skeet vest and a tee shirt is a lot different from a wet and windy day, where you have gone back to the car to grab a bit more clothing to keep warm, on top of what you all ready have on!

Most people do not go in to a gun shop with what they wear in the field; it is relevant as you add layers to keep warm you are less mobile.

Therefore, if you go, at least ask to put a coat on, and let us see if the man who is selling you the gun is on the ball or the pdq machine....................................

 

TEH