Zetter Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Hi All Hoping from some advice on this one from those with more experience. Basically my daughter who is 12 has been coming to shoot clays with me for a while. So I arranged for her to have a taster lesson with Terry off Pigeon Watch which she got on well with. I thought then that it would be worth getting her a gun she could use when when comes out with me. After a lot of looking about I settled on a Hatsan Escort Junior in 20 bore which looked to tick the boxes. As it was new she tried it in the shop and it appeared to fit her (this was my mistake as I should have got her fitted properly and not relied on the shop advice). However fast forward to her first lesson today and the instructor at our local ground tried her with mount and a few shot but she kept pulling her head off the stock. After a bit of checking he found that basically she is finding that the length of pull from the pistol grip to the trigger is at the moment too long (I am not sure if is the correct terminology but have tried to describe it as best I can) and she is adjusting her grip when coming onto target to reach the trigger causing her to lift her head from the stock. Now as she is a growing girl this will probably resolve itself in the next 6-8 month as she will get bigger so I don't plan on getting rid of the gun as she will grow into it. However for the interim I was wondering if it was worth getting a cheap single barrel 20 bore for her to have a crack with and cutting it down to fit. I don't really want to shell out £400-£500 on another gun which I would have to chop anyway but don't mind spending up to £150 on something I can chop down as needed to fit. Recoil wise in the Hatsan she has shot about 30 24g cartridges without major issues so I was thinking if I got a single barrel 20 she could use 21g subs. I cant really mod the stock on the Hatsan as its synthetic but if I got a single 20 with a wood stock I do know a could of decent wood turners who could help with the stock. I know its only a single barrel so she is limited on what she can shoot on the course but she is keen and it would keep her interest up until the Hatsan come on line. Weight wasn't an issue for her with the Hatsan once she got her stance sorted but I cant do much about the length to the trigger I don't think. Thanks in advance Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Was terry the instructor this morning? Has the stock got the minimum spacers fitted? Another option would be a second stock cut to fit her which you can replace with the original once she has grown a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetter Posted March 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Hi HDVA No this morning was an instructor at our local ground, Terry did her introductory lesson and I booked a lesson at the local ground as it appeared initially when she used the gun that her stance needed working on so I booked to get some advice as I have only been shooting shotguns myself for 8 months. I didn't thing about a stock cut to fit her but that could be a possibility as its only the butt that's the issue. I must admit I have no idea when I would get such a thing from as I am fairly new to shotguns myself. Stock spacer wise I think it has the minimum fitted as the spares are still in the box. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Neil Is it the pistol grip is set to far back from the trigger for her small hands to hold the pistol grip and reach the trigger to pull it? Have I understood that right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetter Posted March 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Hi Welshwarrior that's correct if she holds the pistol grip correctly she cant reach the trigger properly if at all so when she goes to pull the trigger she is shifting her hand to be able to reach it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteri Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Second vote for just getting another stock and hacking it about We've done that on my wife's Silver Pigeon, means that when we sell it you don't have to sell it to someone similarly small - and also saves warranty issues P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 I'd get a second stock ideally wood and adjust it to suit her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetter Posted March 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 (edited) Thanks all I will have a chat with my local RFD and see if they can help. Unless anyone can recommend anyone in the Milton Keynes Area? Also Peteri if its not a rude question what sort of cost did the Silver Pigeon replacement end up? Just to confirm as I think my previous post was a bit ambiguous Terry (Baker Boy) just gave my Daughter her initial lesson to for me to see if it was something she would stick with and did a stand up job of making her feel at ease/ making her more determined to get into clay shooting. I don't want anyone to get the impression that the problems we are having with this gun are anything associated with him. We purchased the gun from a completely unrelated shop a couple of months after her "taster lesson" who said that the fit looked ok. I got one of the instructors who teaches at my local shoot to take a look as my daughter seemed to be struggling much more than she did with Terrys 28bore I wondered if it was a difference in gun weight but it was the above issue. Cheers Neil Edited March 30, 2014 by Zetter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Bear Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Hi Welshwarrior that's correct if she holds the pistol grip correctly she cant reach the trigger properly if at all so when she goes to pull the trigger she is shifting her hand to be able to reach it. Could the grip not be"thickened up" temporarily on the trigger side - say with some stiff foam and tape much like a comb raise? This should move the hand forwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Could the grip not be"thickened up" temporarily on the trigger side - say with some stiff foam and tape much like a comb raise? This should move the hand forwards. Small hands so my guess is the thumb won't reach the pistol grip if fingers reach the trigger the pistol needs thinning or thumb holing to suit or if possible the stock reheaded to shorten the gap, not sure if this is possible with the hatsan.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 I'd be looking to rehear it a touch shorter not looked at the Hatstand but certainly easy to do on a 300 series beretta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteri Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Hi Not a rude question at all. We bought a new Silver Pigeon from our local dealer, they had an unused spare stock in their bits drawer that we bought for (from memory) £100 - getting it cut down ( a lot to 12.75 LOP), new recoil pad and cast on the stock changed - that cost around £150 We were lucky that the dealer had a spare stock that he was looking to get rid of (it had a lot of cast on it so would be difficult to offload) Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 My grandson has an Hatsan Escort 20 gauge. I shortened the stock which is fairly easy - despite being plastic. I bought a stock for a Franchi auto - on E*ay for £5. It took about two minutes to get it fitted. I have a stock which fits him now and one for him to grow into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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