Gun fit

[Aitchkew]

Hi, I've been looking at a new gun today. It ticks all the boxes in everything. But putting it up to my shoulder the assistant said that looking down the rib from the other end he thought my eye was a little high.

Well from my point of view, yes i can see the top of the rib, but not a lot. I read somewhere that if you put a pound coin on the rib you should still be able to see the sight at the end of the rib. I'm sure the sight picture is about the same as other guns I've shot. This is a new gun and I don't know anyone in the clubs I use that shoot one I could try. It has an adjustable comb, and is set to the lowest position.

So the question is, If a gun shoots too low, it can be adjusted with an adjustable comb, or at worst packing the top of the comb with something. What if it shoots high to start with, can it be corrected without taking some materiel off the top of the comb.

The gun is for sporting clays, but I want to use it for Skeet and possibly DTL.

My previous shot guns, when put on a pattern plate have shot 50/50 or 60/40. I don't mind them shooting a little high but if it is going to shoot a couple of feet over everything this could be a very expensive mistake.

 

Thanks for any advice you can give,

 

Howard.

[Westley]

Unless you are 'picking up' the rib more than half way along it's length, I would suggest that you shoot the gun, if possible. If it is a used gun, ask if you can return it if it is not suitable. I picked up a new gun a few weeks ago which also has an adjustable comb. I would not normally entertain buying a gun with such an ugly contraption, BUT the amount of metalwork in the stock, aided the guns balance and handling and it shot very well. That comb is also at it's lowest and I too see more rib, than i did with my previous gun. The bottom line is, I am hitting most things with it, including springing teal targets, so I can live with the eye/rib situation. I have just left the allen key for the adjustable comb, in the gunshop safe.

[Aitchkew]

It's a brand new gun, so shooting it is not an option.

[welshwarrior]

Where are you? What's the gun

Edited November 26, 2016 by welshwarrior

[Aitchkew]

It's called a RA Competition. From Malmo guns Lancs.

[BrowningB525]

It's called a RA Competition. From Malmo guns Lancs.

 

Don't they have a clay trap for testingg guns?

[Aitchkew]

 

Don't they have a clay trap for testingg guns?

Yes. But they only have new guns in that model, so wont let me try one.

[timps]

Too high is not a problem unless it's stupidly ridiculously high, too low can be a problem. If you take what you consider to be the top ten shots in the world you won't get 10 identical measurements. As long as you are constantly mounting the same so your eye is always in the same position above the rib and you will get used to it.

 

What might be too high for the salesman might not be too high for you.

[Westley]

I bought my gun from them a few weeks ago but they had a demo model which I was able to try first. They had 2 traps at the rear of the shop which allowed the shooter to move to change the clay direction. 1 easy target and the other a touch harder. They were superb to deal with and I ended up buying the demo gun, there and then. Does your gun HAVE to be a new one. They had a very good selection of used/demo guns available which you CAN try and with either Brian or John on the trap buttons, I feel you could possibly find a better fitting gun WHICH you can shoot.

[MITCHF]

Malmo have a lot of RA guns in stock, can't see why they haven't got a demo. It's a relatively new brand and they seem to have the most stock in the U.K. Looking on GT site.

I'd leave it with them , for that money you'll get a good 2nd H gun from a more established brand.

[clayman]

Too low is always a problem. Too high is really a non-existent "problem" - the eye high of the rib is usually a positive advantage. Work out the geometry. The eye 5mm high at the back of the rib, with the barrel length around a meter throws a pattern only 5cm higher for every 10m out to the target, irrelevant in a pattern around 75cm - and that assumes you sight the target through the bead, which you should not ( the usual cause of guns slowing or stopping is "aiming" through the bead). If you have your eye high, you point the gun using the rib in your lower periphery vision at the place you want the shot load to go, with the target in clear sight above the bead. With the eye high of the rib, the shot load rises slightly to centre the clearly visible target that is viewed above the bead. Raising people's eyes off the rib usually has a dramatic positive impact on the score rate - burying your head and "aiming" through the bead will normally have a negative impact on scores.

[Westward]

Too low is always a problem. Too high is really a non-existent "problem" - the eye high of the rib is usually a positive advantage. Work out the geometry. The eye 5mm high at the back of the rib, with the barrel length around a meter throws a pattern only 5cm higher for every 10m out to the target, irrelevant in a pattern around 75cm - and that assumes you sight the target through the bead, which you should not ( the usual cause of guns slowing or stopping is "aiming" through the bead). If you have your eye high, you point the gun using the rib in your lower periphery vision at the place you want the shot load to go, with the target in clear sight above the bead. With the eye high of the rib, the shot load rises slightly to centre the clearly visible target that is viewed above the bead. Raising people's eyes off the rib usually has a dramatic positive impact on the score rate - burying your head and "aiming" through the bead will normally have a negative impact on scores.

That's the best post I've seen on gunfit for years. Well said!

[wymberley]

That's the best post I've seen on gunfit for years. Well said!

If you do a search, you'll come to the conclusion that the poor bloke must be sick and tired of saying it.