O/U to SxS gun fit advice needed

[Andy]

I had an O/U gun fitting by Keith Lupton some years ago and had Rich Cole do a Silver Pigeon with semi custom stock to my dimensions as a field gun. It just points dead nuts on. I have had 2 LC Smiths, both too much drop (the 12 FW Elsie is up for sale and I'll post that soon). The only SxS I have now is my 28 repro and it's close to my dimensions and I shoot it pretty well (for me) and I love how it mounts. I am not opposed to a SxS fitting, but time is the issue more than money. I googled and searched this site but can't find an answer to this: is there a way to make a move from O/U to SxS fitting dimensions? I notice on my Parker I see a bit more rib, while on the Beretta I see just bead, no rib (maybe due to slightly more drop?) Granted, my mount is not the most consistent thing in the world but this is my observation. Here is what I got for fitting for O/U followed by what my Parker measures.

O/U Fitting
Cast off 1/8 to 3/8
Drop 1 7/16 at C and 2 1/4 at H
LOP 14 1/4 (single trigger)

My Parker 28
Cast off 1/4
Drop 1 3/8 at C and 2 1/8 at H
LOP 14" (front trigger)

I am just dying to buy another Parker but I won't buy something I can't shoot with or point well. Any advice to give? Or is nobody as anal as me and you just dish out wads of cash for guns and live with the dimensions?

[Bruce Day]

Practice throwing the gun to your shoulder and pointing at a target until you know the gun.

I shoot anything with a drop at heel from 2 to 3 1/4 inches. If the drop at heel is too much get your face closer to your thumb . Very much cast off just compensates for not getting your face over enough and causes the gun to kick off center. I have seen lots of people get all gun fitted and they still don’t shoot any better than they did before .


Just learn to shoot it without overthinking .

[Mike Franzen]

Gun fit discussions can take you all over the place. I believe when i find a gun that just fits it has a completely different feel to it. I don’t have to make any adjustments whatsoever. I just bring it up, see the target and pull the trigger. For me those guns are far and few between. Bruce’s advice rang a bell with me when I read it. If the gun isn’t fitted to you, you can learn to fit yourself to the gun. When I am struggling to hit targets I am not doing that.

[Big D]

A friend of mine had a gun fitting, and after that, he was convinced that he could never shoot any gun that didn't have those exact measurements. He lost out on a lot of nice guns because it was perhaps 1/8" off

[GH-16]

Gun fit can be a tricky thing due to all the variables involved. You can shoot a particular gun really well in warm weather when you're wearing light clothes and then have troubles in a cold weather hunting situation when you have heavier cold weather gear on. Then you have guys like me who have fought weight issues their entire life where their weight & body size fluctuates back and forth, which believe me when I say it does affect gun fit.

Due to these variables. I've just learned to adjust my shooting style to the particular gun I'm shooting at the time. This doesn't necessarily lead to producing the best scores at the range, but it sure is fun shooting all these different toys.

The one kicker is if your a competitive shooter, then gun fit becomes a critical thing, along with a well practiced consistent gun mount. I probably miss more targets or birds due to a poor gun mount at times than I do for gun fit issues.

[Andy]

I appreciate that feedback. The LC were unshootable to me but perhaps I didn’t give them long enough. I wouldn’t reject a gun 1/8 or 1/2” off but probably would at an inch or more if I intended to hunt with it. If it was for a collection to invest in I wouldn’t care as much. Many thanks!

[John Allen]

Bruce is exactly right. Gun fitting is mostly BS designed to make gunshops and gunsmiths money. You can adapt to almost any gun as long as the measurements are not extreme.I have 3 guns that I shoot a lot. 2 sidexsides and one overunder.Each has slightly different dimensions but I shoot all 3 well. I have learned where each one shoots and just adjust my mount accordingly.

[B. Dudley]

And the idea of gun “fit” being different from a SxS to an O/U is utter bungo.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Brian Dudley

And the idea of gun “fit” being different from a SxS to an O/U is utter bungo.

Thank you Brian. I suspected as much, but I'm not blessed to be able to shoot any gun well. I'm not blessed to shoot any gun well to be honest.

[B. Dudley]

Originally Posted by Andrew Sacco

Thank you Brian. I suspected as much, but I'm not blessed to be able to shoot any gun well. I'm not blessed to shoot any gun well to be honest.

Please do not take my statement on the subject as any sort of law. It is just my opinion based on the simple question of how is an O/U any different from a SxS (except for one has the barrels oriented the wrong way...)? I mean, both have sighting planes that the eye needs to get down one way or another, and that is dictated by stock dimensions. That place the gun to your shoulder, your face to the comb and your eye down the rib.

I have once or twice before heard the argument for the “fitting” between the two being different, and why. But I cant remember what it was.

And no, I do not do gun fittings. I know the basics of it and what changes are supposed to make the difference in patterning. But when it comes to stock making, I just make what I am told to make. Be it dimensions based on a previously done fitting, or taken off another gun that the owner feels they shoot well.