Harnser Posted August 24, 2017 Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 People come onto this forum and ask for advice on how to buy a shotgun . After reading recent threads it seems that there are a number of people that would only advise newbies to only buy a gun that fits . I think that this is the wrong advice . Guns are made to an average specification,which means that they will almost fit most people but don't really fit anybody . My advice when buying a gun is to go for the make and model that you would like to have and to be in budget . Do not buy a gun that is much to short in the stock as this will be expensive to correct and will look awful . Don't worry about a gun that is to long this can be corrected easily and cheaply. Don't buy a gun that is to low in the comb as this can be expensive and ugly to correct . Don't worry about a gun that is to high in the comb as this can be corrected easily . To buy a gun new or second hand that fits perfectly is highly unlikely . Concentrate on buying the gun of your choise within your budget . You can worry about gun fit later . A good gunsmith will be able to fit your gun to you at not to much money . Harnser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crumpler1991 Posted August 24, 2017 Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 When i first started i never knew if a gun fitted me or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted August 24, 2017 Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 When i first started i never knew if a gun fitted me or not Very good post 👍 This is the problem and even if you have it fitted from day one it may not fit in twelve months as it takes that long for a new shooter to settle into a style and a reliable gun mount. Which also kind of confirms harnsers initial post also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted August 24, 2017 Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 Hi Just to add to harnster He's giving very good advice 👍 I personally have and have had many new and second hand guns mostly factory / manufacturers dimensions It wasn't until a long way into my shooting hobby that fit became important and I discarded some of the guns that weren't suitable for me and my style/type of shooting and upgrading gradually to comfortable mentally and physically fitting guns This was combined with lessons which I consider equally important Remember we are all different with different build and styles So buying your gun should be have one you like 😊 A lot of shooting is in your head and about pleasure I do have some guns in my collection that have been finished and fitted to my measurements Do I shoot better scores with them YES however I can put in a fair score with the others and probably enjoy shooting them more Anyway just my thoughts Buy the one you like the look of and enjoy owning and using it All the best Of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted August 24, 2017 Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 (edited) I still don't know if my gun fits well or not. All I know is I tried a totally different gun recently and almost doubled my scores on the clays so I've bought one like that. Two very experienced people I've spoken to recently both told me that unless you have a very consistent and solid gun mount time after time the fit won't make a huge difference. Edited August 24, 2017 by Lloyd90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted August 24, 2017 Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 The one piece of advice I would give any newcomer to our wonderful sport is. Buy a cheap secondhand gun, use it to learn to shoot, learn to achieve a consistent mount. Then shoot clays or pigeons and when you are proficient, buy what you actually want to keep and have it fitted to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alic Posted August 24, 2017 Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 (edited) When I started I bought a 687 Ltd silver pig 3 and Gd5!MK38 both on looks . As it turns out both 10mm ish low in the comb for me. Thanks to Andy Castle's intervention and 2 adjustable combs later I am in the low to mid 90's on most shoots . The cost of which was cheaper than the price difference I would have lost selling to buy a closer fitting gun. And I didn't chose the cheapest route to getting this done!. If they were dearer guns I would have looked a replacement stock. Some don't like an adjustable comb O/U on a game day but IMO there are worse things to have🤔. Most importantly I am happy with my shooting and my bag on a syndicate day. Edited August 24, 2017 by alic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted August 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 Muscle memory is the most important matter when mounting a shot gun . That is the ability for the brain to tell the muscles exactly were to mount the gun in the shoulder . This comes after lots of practice . Most experianced shots will be able to shoot reasonably well with just about any gun after a few dry mountings and a few shots down the range . An experianced shot will be able to adapt the gun to his shooting style to achieve reasonable success by using his now innate muscle memory . Harnser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psycho Posted August 24, 2017 Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 (edited) I bought a browning ..then a better browning.and a beretta semi then someone sold me a £30 side by side which fit me better than the rest my scores doubled... since then i got a gun which I could adjust to fit a benelli 828u..I sold the rest and kept the sidea by side for use in the rain ..my scores have now trebled by getting the benelli I have a gun that fits me properly the shim kit and extended pad did the trick...looking back I should have boughta gun that fit traight away being 6 foot 4 and larger than Mr average..it would have also saved me a lot of pounds ...so if you can get a gun sized and adjusted or one that you can adjust with a kit or a gun fitter it will pay dividends nice wood may look good ..but hitting targets make you feel good and finally I learned the expensive way when i found a £30 brno shot better than a 2 grand grade 3 browning UK B725 why because it fit..fit is everything when it comes to shotgunning Edited August 24, 2017 by psycho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted August 24, 2017 Report Share Posted August 24, 2017 No one can fit a gun to someone who doesn't have a consistent gun mount. Most people soon find which make of shotgun suits their build best however, and then learn to shoot with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted August 25, 2017 Report Share Posted August 25, 2017 If you choose a gun that comes into the shoulder without either catching on your clothing or having to pull it back into your shoulder when it's raised and the grip feels comfortable with some gap between your nose and fingers of the appropriate hand then you're in with a chance. If also when mounted your eye naturally sits on top of the rib and looks straight along it to where the gun is pointing and where you're looking then chances improve even more. Now, to start off we're not going to achieve perfection - if ever - but buying from an RFD that has a mirror on the premises means that the above points can be checked such that you're not going to be forking out for a complete disaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted August 25, 2017 Report Share Posted August 25, 2017 It is apparent that none of my guns have fitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted August 25, 2017 Report Share Posted August 25, 2017 It is apparent that none of my guns have fitted. Most of mine haven't either but they've all pulled plenty of birds down 😂😂😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted August 25, 2017 Report Share Posted August 25, 2017 No one can fit a gun to someone who doesn't have a consistent gun mount. Most people soon find which make of shotgun suits their build best however, and then learn to shoot with it. hello, PLUS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted August 25, 2017 Report Share Posted August 25, 2017 (edited) Practice makes perfect! Most anyone can, with practice, learn to shoot most any gun, however if the gun fits it will be easier and quicker! As a kid I shot some real dogs....one that if I wasn't careful the toplever would occasionally take a chunk out of the web at the joint of the thumb and forefinger (short stock) but I used it a lot and could shoot ok with it!...another where the triggerguard would bruise the middle finger of my right hand on recoil, which I couldn't shoot with at all, because I would flinch when I pulled the trigger, in later life one day during my lunch hour I called into William Powell in Carrs Lane, Brum....saw one of their best BLE in the cabinet...soon as I threw it up to my shoulder It felt right....I bought it there and then! That was some thirty odd years ago.....since then I have used it to shoot most game birds from Snipe, and Woodcock through to Partridge, Pheasant, Grouse and Ptarmigan....I can hold my own (shooting wise) in most company and will never part with it!....so serve your apprenticeship, learn to shoot, then find "your" gun.......and stick with it! Edited August 25, 2017 by panoma1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingman Posted August 25, 2017 Report Share Posted August 25, 2017 (edited) Gun fit is an odd subject. Like some of the previous posts I had never had a gun fitted professionally until I bought my perazzi, and have been shooting for 25 years. I have also had my fair share of cheap junker guns and also some expensive ones but just got out with them an practiced. I am and will never be a digweed but have done ok over the years at clays pigeon and game. I spent a fair whack having my perazzi fitted and it shoots and feels great. However here's the thing I bought a cheap gun a couple of weeks ago for use as a rough and pigeon gun, it's a lanber sporting. The lanber has a walnut stock extension fitted making the LOP 15" with is 3/4" longer than my perazzi. I have no idea about its cast, drop etc etc but I have shot it half a dozen times since buying it and I can hit things as well perhaps even better than my perazzi (which cost me well over 200 quid to get fitted). So I think there's a lot to be said about practise and adapting to a gun rather than blaming poor fit. Edited August 25, 2017 by Wingman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted August 25, 2017 Report Share Posted August 25, 2017 The one piece of advice I would give any newcomer to our wonderful sport is. Buy a cheap secondhand gun, use it to learn to shoot, learn to achieve a consistent mount. Then shoot clays or pigeons and when you are proficient, buy what you actually want to keep and have it fitted to you. This is sound and sensible advice - to which I would add "Buy a cheap secondhand gun that is a reasonably close fit, use it to learn to shoot, learn to achieve a consistent mount." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted August 25, 2017 Report Share Posted August 25, 2017 (edited) I called into William Powell in Carrs Lane, Brum....saw one of their best BLE in the cabinet...soon as I threw it up to my shoulder It felt right....I bought it there and then! Good guns, Powells, and the old Carrs Lane shop was a great place to deal with and the two Mr Powells (brothers) usually present (I have not used the new Banbury based Powells, but may be as good). Edited August 25, 2017 by JohnfromUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkfanz Posted August 25, 2017 Report Share Posted August 25, 2017 i dont know where i would fit into this,,i have 5 guns that i use,yesterday i shot 98 corvids and 1 woody with my outlander,sunday earlier i got 17 woodys useing my yildiz 28g, but my favorite is my lanber o/u 20g.and none have ever been fitted,but i have been shooting about 55years,so what advice could i possibly give a newby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted August 26, 2017 Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 i dont know where i would fit into this,,i have 5 guns that i use,yesterday i shot 98 corvids and 1 woody with my outlander,sunday earlier i got 17 woodys useing my yildiz 28g, but my favorite is my lanber o/u 20g.and none have ever been fitted,but i have been shooting about 55years,so what advice could i possibly give a newby. There are two points here; Firstly, although your guns may not have been fitted, they may still fit well. Manufacturers try and make guns that are a reasonable fit to the 'average' shooter. Secondly, most people can get reasonable results with a gun that is a reasonable, but maybe not perfect fit - some can even do very well - especially those who have had plenty of practice ........ but most people find that a gun that does fit really well is altogether that bit quicker, more instinctive, gives better confidence ....... which is why many people do have one fitted. As others have stated, it is vitally important to understand that a gun can only be fitted to a shooter who has developed a consistent style and mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted August 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 After 60 years of shooting and gun buying the only gun fitting I have had done is to lower combs and shorten stocks . This I have always done myself ,this is no big deal . On O cation I have needed a stock cast . This I left to a pro . Don't buy a gun that is a lot to short or has a to low a comb . You won't go wrong . Harnser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted August 26, 2017 Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 Some good posts here. I think reasonable is the key word. Given the amount of guns available/for sale, a degree of knowledge of what to look for, good advice from a non pushy knowledgeable RFD - and that mirror, it ought to be possible to get something suitable. Since I qualified way back, there has been a major change with BASC coaches. Owing to a drastic change in jobs/finances I had to pack it in along with my other role before I was able to become any more than reasonably competent. I had not been near a clay pigeon range for nigh on 20 years until my step-son and his partner's brother in law dragged me along to one in Leicestershire a few weeks back. What surprised me was that one was still seeing the same basic three mistakes that we knew we'd see time and time again during the day/s at any one country fair when working the BASC Shogun Clinic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted August 26, 2017 Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 Yes; gun mount is king, and should be practised with a mirror on a daily basis if you take your shooting seriously. If you're shooting on a regular basis then muscle memory plays its part, otherwise practise practise practise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted August 26, 2017 Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 The problem is that if you practice gun mount with a gun that has a fundamental error with fit then one is merely training the wrong muscle memory 😞 Close enough "can" be good enough but there is a fine line between close enough and not close enough 😏 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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