Balotelli Posted September 9, 2020 Report Share Posted September 9, 2020 To kick this topic off it would be interesting to get an idea of how many Forum members have had a gun fitted to their requirements. Clearly, we can't put our hands in the air but if anyone would like to share a gun fitting experience that would be great. The subsequent question, just how much did a fitted gun make to their shooting? Would anyone like to share their experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted September 9, 2020 Report Share Posted September 9, 2020 I have never had a gun fitted to me. It would be a good idea, and my shooting may improve if I did. However, most of my guns fit well enough not to worry too much about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 Hello, how many RFDs have a Try-Gun ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalkedUp Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 I have had guns ‘fitted’ by RFDs and an ex Olympic shot shooting coach. I would not constitute this a a gun fitting however as they were not gun fitters or had access to a try gun etc. My guns have been adjusted to fit by me by dry mounting and tinkering. What I was amazed by is that I did it separately by feel on guns years apart and when they have subsequently been laid next to each other the measurements were within millimetres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 My two english made side by sides are both fitted. The old BSA was 'bent' to fit and the Army & Navy was made measure. Yes I feel both just feel like a hand made to measure suit, there is just that little difference. Now my O/U 410 is straight off the shelf but it just felt right the first time I raised it to my shoulder although it does not have the very slight cast the s/s guns do. The working tools, pumpers and semi autos seem to shoot well for me and are as the factory made them. There again I have some 70 years of shooting various guns so have learned to adapt over the years. I had a trap gun back in the 1970s which had a wonky rib but I learned to adjust on the DTL stands and was usually in the running. My view basically, if you can afford to have it done then it is well worth while but get a known reputable stocker to do it for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead eye alan Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 8 hours ago, motty said: I have never had a gun fitted to me. It would be a good idea, and my shooting may improve if I did. However, most of my guns fit well enough not to worry too much about it. Same here of the shelf guns have been fine for 55 years. Pointed in the right direction no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
243deer Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 Fact, in my case hugely better. I went from a very poorly fitting sbs which was all I could afford when I purchased it which was not checked for fit by the gun shop to a Miroku sbs which John Forsey did take the trouble to check mount and approximate fit out of a selection of around 6 possibles. Added 20% to my clay score overnight. If you have a gun that nearly fits and you shoot in the 90's then even a 1% improvement is going to be significant. One difficulty we have in the UK is the weather and so the different clothing we wear affects gun mount, possibly enough to make the gun fitting out of true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Boggy Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 I think, rightly or wrongly, that gun fit is more important when using a side by side than an O/U. No doubt many will disagree. Perhaps in the clay world, fit is equally as important, I don't know. The O/Us that I've had have been used without any alteration, but being left handed with a right master eye I find I need some 'cast on' on my side by sides and shut my right eye when taking the shot. Seems to work OK for me. Perhaps when one considers the cost of driven game shooting (something that I have very little experience of and now is beyond my means) it is false economy, in my view, not to have a gun either fitted or the knowledge that it shoots where it's pointed. I do 'pattern plate' my guns to make sure that they shoot roughly to point of aim, but confess to not getting too wound up with chokes etc in the multi choke O/Us. Pointed in the right direction, they seem to do the job. My side by sides now have very similar dimensions regards LOP, cast, drop at comb and heel. My O/Us have the same LOP but slightly differing other dimensions, but I adjust accordingly to how I shoot them. May I ask Balotelli, as he raised the question, what guns he uses and whether he has had his guns fitted. OB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 Experienced Guns should instinctively know if a gun fits them or not the first time they dry mount it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokersmith Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 Not having a gun fitted isn't a problem ... … as long as it fits ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enfieldspares Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 (edited) Five guns with stocks made, with the same wood used for their fore-ends, to a fitting. Earliest fitting in the 1990s by Ken Davies at Holland's ground near Northolt for a Webley 700 to be fitted and a Powell sidelock. And before that at Powell's a boxlock 3" ejector. And I've had fittings done by a number of supposed people that ought to have known what they were doing but didn't so I've always gone back eventually to Holland's re-visiting them for that in 2004 when I had my late father's gun re-stocked to me and then in 2015 when I had my Boss re-stocked to me. Holland's are the best. West London a waste of time as were Powell's (done in the shop at Carr's Lane by Peter Powell) and a fitting done by Westley Richards when they were at Bournbrook. Westley's at least did it using a pattern plate at the standard sixteen yards. But you cannot correctly fit a gun in a shop (as I found to my cost at Powell's) or just simply using a pattern plate. You MUST at sometime during the fitting actually "try" the gun on clays. All my fittings were for side by side guns and all, except the Boss, with double triggers. Edited September 10, 2020 by enfieldspares Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 35 minutes ago, JDog said: Experienced Guns should instinctively know if a gun fits them or not the first time they dry mount it. This. For an inexperienced gun the question is moot and a fitting pointless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 9 hours ago, motty said: I have never had a gun fitted to me. It would be a good idea, and my shooting may improve if I did. However, most of my guns fit well enough not to worry too much about it. Yep. I have had one done and it did make a difference, but the best gun fit method is practice, practice and then more practice as the bottom line is the fact that the human body is an amazingly flexible bit of kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Best Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 36 minutes ago, Smokersmith said: Not having a gun fitted isn't a problem ... … as long as it fits ... What he said all day long. And good post @Enfieldspares. I bought a secondhand Holland and the vendor was an ex England team clay shooter who offered to fit me for it. I declined as, with experience, I realised it was “near enough”. And anyway I wanted to take it to Holland’s shooting school to have it fitted. I can not recommend them enough, and cheaper than you might think. The best money you can spend on a shotgun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enfieldspares Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 (edited) 32 minutes ago, London Best said: And anyway I wanted to take it to Holland’s shooting school to have it fitted. I can not recommend them enough, and cheaper than you might think. The best money you can spend on a shotgun. Yes. I'd add this which is IMHO the best advice for anyone going to have a gun fitted. If you are driving there then come what may, come hell or high water get there a full one hour before your fitting is arranged. My mistake with Powell's was to walk straight in to Carr's Lane after negotiating Birmingham traffic and Birmingham parking. Your mind and body just aren't, literally, in correct usual "shape". Arrive well before time so as to relax them. Why? Because you need to allow your body to get back to recover and regain its usual posture from the contorted shape that it has morphed into to enable you to drive your car or motor vehicle there. You need to allow your shoulders to regain their normal posture, your neck the same and to relax your arms, elbows and wrists. After all how many times after a long drive when you get out of your car or vehicle do you flex your back and stretch your shoulders back? So when you do arrange a fitting ask if you can arrive that whole sixty minutes early (which in itself knowing you've a time "cushion" will allow you to relax mentally that you're not going to be hurrying there worrying about being late) and just then sit down or walk about or relax in a comfy chair.Or even just put the seat back and unwind in your car. Fitting a gun to you if you've arrived and got parked up with seconds to spare after a frantic fifty mile drive won't work. Edited September 10, 2020 by enfieldspares Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPhantom Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 I had my o/u fitted over 10 years ago and had the stock altered as a result. The gun felt totally different and my scores actually went down initially until I had got used to it. One thing the gun fitter said to me at the time (how true this is I don't know), is that you should get your gun fit checked every 3 or 4 years as your body shape changes over time. Needless to say I haven't had it checked since as I'm happy with the way I'm shooting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balotelli Posted September 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 1 hour ago, Old Boggy said: I think, rightly or wrongly, that gun fit is more important when using a side by side than an O/U. No doubt many will disagree. Perhaps in the clay world, fit is equally as important, I don't know. The O/Us that I've had have been used without any alteration, but being left handed with a right master eye I find I need some 'cast on' on my side by sides and shut my right eye when taking the shot. Seems to work OK for me. Perhaps when one considers the cost of driven game shooting (something that I have very little experience of and now is beyond my means) it is false economy, in my view, not to have a gun either fitted or the knowledge that it shoots where it's pointed. I do 'pattern plate' my guns to make sure that they shoot roughly to point of aim, but confess to not getting too wound up with chokes etc in the multi choke O/Us. Pointed in the right direction, they seem to do the job. My side by sides now have very similar dimensions regards LOP, cast, drop at comb and heel. My O/Us have the same LOP but slightly differing other dimensions, but I adjust accordingly to how I shoot them. May I ask Balotelli, as he raised the question, what guns he uses and whether he has had his guns fitted. OB Like most on the Forum, I have a shed load of shotguns some relatively cheap and one at the higher end and yes, I did have the pricey weapon"fitted". For the most part the Benelli semi-autos come out for pigeon shooting, as you may have guessed. However, I love my O/Us which I do use from time to time. Just for interest, and not relevent to this post, I have an ancient double barrel .410 of unknown make. Apart from the last mentioned, my guns are all 12 bores and range from an Ultralight to lumps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesj Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 I would think that practice would improve your score more than a fitted gun as long as the gun fit is not miles out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokersmith Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 6 minutes ago, bluesj said: I would think that practice would improve your score more than a fitted gun as long as the gun fit is not miles out Replace practice with coaching, and I'd agree …. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Best Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 When I arrived at Holland’s for my fitting the fitter asked me to leave my gun in the car and come in for coffee. As I drank the coffee and looked around he stood weighing me up and setting a try gun. Then he said, “how does that feel?” “Pretty good,” I said. He watched me mount it again and made one tiny adjustment. “I think that may suit, let’s see how your gun fits before we shoot.” I fetched my gun inside and when he measured it he laughed and said, “those are the exact same measurements I have just set on the try gun.” We went outside after a few mounts with my own gun and did not need to shoot with the try gun at all. The fitter told me he didn’t think they could improve on the fit of my gun at all. All in all, a big confidence booster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 16 minutes ago, Smokersmith said: Replace practice with coaching, and I'd agree …. By gum, that could get a tad expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokersmith Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 Given the stated aim of improving scores … coaching will in my experience deliver a much cheaper and quicker improvement, than bumbling along making the same structural mistakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 2 minutes ago, Smokersmith said: Given the stated aim of improving scores … coaching will in my experience deliver a much cheaper and quicker improvement, than bumbling along making the same structural mistakes. I would go along with that as long as the trainee puts the right amount of time and effort in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 7 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said: Hello, how many RFDs have a Try-Gun ? Why does it matter how many RFDs have try guns. A better question or questions may be How many RFDs have access to a gun fitter? How many Gun fitters have try guns? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B725 Posted September 10, 2020 Report Share Posted September 10, 2020 Anyhow the OP only shoots plastic decoys as shown by his previous picture so I don't think gun fit on a spud gun is required 😂😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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