Stock Drop Thoughts

[Reggie B]

Not the Dow Jones Industrial, but the rare small bore stock drops. Just for the giggles of it how much stock drop is too much if you are searching for a rare Parker small bore? Does the rarity of the gun negate excessive stock drop? If you were searching for say a 30" graded 28 gauge or a 32" A grade 20 gauge and you have been searching for years does a 3" or 3+" drop kill the deal for you? I suppose you could ask the same question of any hard to find Parker, not just a smallbore.

Just thought it would be interesting to get opinions from members.

[Dean Romig]

Reggie, I find it so much easier to adapt myself physically to a gun with 3" or even 3 1/2" of DAH than to a gun with minimal DAH, say 2 1/4" or less. There are temporary or removable comb risers of all sorts to attain a more comfortable DAH to the individual, but there is no way around a too shallow DAH.

To me, if I love the gun with excessive DAH, I make it mine and figure it out after the fact.





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[Reggie B]

Thanks Dean. I hope we hear more thoughts on this. I hear and read often comments like "that is a super nice gun that I would have bought but too much drop" or something similar.

[Bill Murphy]

I recently found a rare Parker with 4" of drop at the heel. Oddly, it feels just fine at the shoulder. I also have Parkers with less than 2" at the heel. They feel just fine too. My first Parker, a 28 gauge, was very crooked, probably 3" drop at heel. When I was a teenager, I had to put a pad on the comb to shoot it. Now, sixty years and 70 pounds later, it fits me just fine without the pad.

[Randy Roberts]

Originally Posted by Reggie Bishop

how much stock drop is too much if you are searching for a rare Parker small bore?

For me rare would be the 32" 28 gauge in any grade or a B grade or higher 32" 20 gauge. In those instances I am going to make it shootable for me either with a stock bend, addition of some type of comb riser or have it restocked while keeping the original wood. To answer your question Reggie I suppose there is no such thing as to much drop in these very specific instances. On other guns, shooters if you will I have walked away from plenty with to much drop for me. I don't get to worked up over the DAH as it's the DAC that matters most to me.

I saw a shooter just last evening that had a micro fiber towel folded up and taped to his gun with blue masking tape to form a comb riser. Not sure I would want that on my A grade 20 though.

[Andy]

I sold a dandy little LC 20g that I just could not shoot, the drop was about 3 1/8" if I recall. I have passed up a lot of Parkers that I feared I couldn't shoot well. That being said, I can't shoot a fitting gun well, but certainly worse with too much drop. For me Reggie, the higher the price the less drop I'll tolerate but I'm a shooter, I don't collect for price appreciation. I have a 28g Repro that I don't shoot well and I can't quite figure it out. My buddy thinks there's too little drop, I just don't think I shoot it enough, and the drop is slightly less than what I use and echoing Dean, there isn't much I can do about it. When I naturally mount it, it's like I'm looking up a "ramp" and I'm just not good enough to adapt to so many different guns. If I don't start shooting it better it's being sold.

[Woodcock survey]

[QUOTE=Andrew Sacco;341857]I sold a dandy little LC 20g that I just could not shoot, the drop was about 3 1/8" if I recall. I have passed up a lot of Parkers that I feared I couldn't shoot well. That being said, I can't shoot a fitting gun well, but certainly worse with too much drop. For me Reggie, the higher the price the less drop I'll tolerate but I'm a shooter, I don't collect for price appreciation. I have a 28g Repro that I don't shoot well and I can't quite figure it out. My buddy thinks there's too little drop, I just don't think I shoot it enough, and the drop is slightly less than what I use and echoing Dean, there isn't much I can do about it. When I naturally mount it, it's like I'm looking up a "ramp" and I'm just not good enough to adapt to so many different guns. If I don't start shooting it better it's being sold.[/QUO
i have a repro 20 that i had that problem with and put a boot extension on it which lengthened the pull and brought my cheek back increasing the DAC. Problem solved. Allen Newell had the same problem on a repro and after trying mine he ordered a Galco pad from CSMC for his and i now have one also. The extension will increase the drop. My reply did not come out in the right place it is in there Andy!!

[Andy]

[QUOTE=Daniel Carter;341866]

Originally Posted by Andrew Sacco

I sold a dandy little LC 20g that I just could not shoot, the drop was about 3 1/8" if I recall. I have passed up a lot of Parkers that I feared I couldn't shoot well. That being said, I can't shoot a fitting gun well, but certainly worse with too much drop. For me Reggie, the higher the price the less drop I'll tolerate but I'm a shooter, I don't collect for price appreciation. I have a 28g Repro that I don't shoot well and I can't quite figure it out. My buddy thinks there's too little drop, I just don't think I shoot it enough, and the drop is slightly less than what I use and echoing Dean, there isn't much I can do about it. When I naturally mount it, it's like I'm looking up a "ramp" and I'm just not good enough to adapt to so many different guns. If I don't start shooting it better it's being sold.[/QUO
i have a repro 20 that i had that problem with and put a boot extension on it which lengthened the pull and brought my cheek back increasing the DAC. Problem solved. Allen Newell had the same problem on a repro and after trying mine he ordered a Galco pad from CSMC for his and i now have one also. The extension will increase the drop. My reply did not come out in the right place it is in there Andy!!

I'll reply in the right place : ) Thank you, someone suggested this to me recently but I've been so busy I haven't ordered one. I have one of those Neoprene slip on ones I could try that I guess in the interim. Also it gives the benefit of protecting the checkered butt plate. Thanks again I'll give it a go.

[edgarspencer]

Kenny took the words out of my mouth. I only hunt with 2 or 3 different guns that are “right there” when I snap to. Shooting a mounted gun at targets isn’t the game I most enjoy, but it helps with the guns that aren’t just right. I guess I can shoot different drops better than I can guns too short, or too long.

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by edgarspencer

Kenny took the words out of my mouth. I only hunt with 2 or 3 different guns that are “right there” when I snap to. Shooting a mounted gun at targets isn’t the game I most enjoy, but it helps with the guns that aren’t just right. I guess I can shoot different drops better than I can guns too short, or too long.

While I buy into the one man one gun theory and the same could be said with three as you say . But I shoot about ten guns on a sporting 3 or 4 day event . But I don’t usually shoot mounted gun . And while I’m not perfect with any of them I truely believe shooting for now fifty years with whatever landed in my hands perfect fit isn’t as crucial to me as it is to others . I’m not saying perfectly fitted guns aren’t a good thing , I just think over the course of years perhaps I’ve picked up an ability to adapt to not quite right guns easier than a lot of folks .