Not enough drop?
 

Picked up an old English gun and have fallen in love. She's quite a Hussey. Unfortunately I think she's a little straight for me and I may have to bend her a bit. Question: If a gun does not have enough DAH what is the the effect on the POI? (I am thinking I'll be shooting high).

Thanks in advance,

JDG

Here she is:

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In my experience the difference will be in mounting the gun while game hunting. If I shoot a high stock gun premounted I just push my cheekbone down on the comb. Push harder if I see too much rib, softer if i don't see enough.

If I am going hunting it is hard for me to mount a high stocked gun correctly. Generally my eye is too high over the rib as I have placed the comb against my jaw.

Probably clear as mud.

Best,

Mike

I would pattern the old Hussie first, before I made any decisions with the stock.

And shoot it at some skeet or clays as well. Most skeet shooters like guns that shoot high as they tend to float their birds over the barrels. Patterns are most important as you will see point of impact vs point of aim (point). The gun appears to be a beauty.

That's the plan: pattern before I do anything but the gun feels high as I see too much rib. Given the value of the gun and the age of the wood I want to make sure it is done right the first time. Thinking I may get fitted (using the LOP and pitch of the gun) and then use a try gun) to find the correct DAH. That being said I am open to suggestion. One thing for sure: I will not cut that stock no matter what.

Now, back to the original question; stock too high, poi too high?

keep the original stock original and have a new one made to fit you?

Yes, a stock with higher drop will cause you to shoot high. If in fact the ammount of drop is more than you would normally shoot in order to see down the rib level.

If you can see the surface of the rib, then you need to have your target above the bead.

High stocks are more common with trap shooters that are going after rising targets and they like to aim at the bird instead of lead it. So, when the gun shoots high, it will hit the bird.

Obviously you can bear down more on a high stock to try and sight down the rib level, but that will just make for a sore cheek if you are doing a lot of shooting.

What are the dimensions of that gun you have? And how far off from what you normally shoot is it?

Yes, stock high, POI high. I have a couple of real high stocked English guns that can't be "fooled with" and I have reached a solution. I am going to try to fabricate or have fabricated a Boss rib or stub rib at each end, breech and muzzle, hopefully with magnets imbedded so the ribs are not permanently attached. That effectively raises the sight plane by whatever height the stub ribs are. However, the good news is that I have shot these guns for about three years and have hit most of what I have shot at. Unfortunately, they are meant to be competition guns and they should be perfect. I have not yet fabricated my stub ribs, but I am "close".

Patterning will tell you the shot spread.

what you need is a Point of Impact test.

the one I use came out of a George Bird Evans book, (i don't remember where he said he got it)


set up paper at 16 yard from your eye, not the muzzle

put a small spot in the center of the paper at eye level

mount and fire as on a straight away bird, do several do make sure you are consistent

every inch the center of the shot is off from the spot is a 16th of an inch off in the fit

so 4 inches high is 4/16 too little drop at comb

4" low = 4/16 too much drop

4" left needs 4/16 cast off

the biggest problem is - if the gun fits - you need to come up with a new excuse when you miss

Thats good stuff, need to give that a try. I need a lot of drop at comb. Thanks