The Fit of Shotgun Stocks.....1909

[Bill Murphy]

Drew, that is one great bunch of pictures of guys and girls who don't shoot out of the middle of their glasses. I have never shot out of the middle of my lenses and can't figure out how I ever could. It is an anatomical impossibility for most of us unless we are willing to put up with the recoil of a stock with four inches of drop. By the way Drew and Dave, what make of gun was Mr. Fox shooting? I have seen a few four inch guns and a few orders for four inch guns in the Parker Brothers records. In my youth, hunting in Southeast Pennsylvania for pheasants over good setters and mallards at dusk and after dark , it really didn't matter whether the gun had a stock or not. However, when shooting quail in heavy cover in Southern Maryland during the same era, stock fit became quite an issue and I crawled the stock and tilted my head, and have done so for the rest of my shooting life.

[Drew Hause]

Bill, it seems that all four fellas are mounting the same gun; which is certainly a boxlock with 'Parkerish' lines to the receiver. The original article might have better resolution. If the gun is indeed as illlustrated in Fig. 1 it could be an Ithaca.

[Parker Bachelder (Brad's Profile)]

Stock Drop is dependent on shooting style. Two basic styles are recognized in stock fitting considerations. Open faced or closed face. Europeans tend to shoot open faced ,or "heads up" simply touching the comb with the chin. Americans tend to shoot closed face, cheek firmly on the comb. The majority of the shooting schools teach open faced shooting, it is a faster target acqusition. The above pictures are examples of open faced. Early
English and American stocks tend to have excessive drop by modern standards. Cast off or cast on as well as twist, were seldom considered in early firearms. Ventilated or raised ribs not only helped with heat dispersal, but also created a dependence on sighting plane. Instinctive shooters seldom if ever see the bead, they mount and shoot. For us non-instinctive shooters we rely on the bead or beads for mount confirmation.
Bottom line is , if you choose to shoot early dimensioned guns, you need to shoot Open Faced and ignore the beads.

Brad

[Drew Hause]

Or 'crawl the stock' as Mr Fox (who is 6' 4 1/2") is doing in Fig. 5. Looks like his nose is forward of his right thumb