Straight Stock and Pitch

[Pa SxS]

Even though Harry isn’t looking for this information, I just measured the pitch on my 2 straight gripped Parkers.

The 1882 D grade hammergun has a drop at the heal of 2 3/8” and 4 degrees of pitch.

The 1903 DH has a drop at the heal of 2 ¼” and 2 degrees of pitch.

I measured the pitch using the shotguncombo guage I won in this years raffle. The main beam of the combo guage sits on the rib and an extension piece mounted on the beam is extended down to contact the surface of the butt. A protractor is used to measure the angle.

I can tell you that if your shotgun recoils into your cheek bone, the usual reason is the toe of the stock is digging into your chest instead of the entire butt surface making equal contact with your chest. This pivots the stock upward during recoil. The DH has just a little bit of muzzle jump into my cheek.

Measuring the pitch using the wall method can introduce many variables. How many have checked to see if the floor and wall are exactly 90 degrees all the way up the wall? I guess if you just want to compare all your guns and use the same spot for measurements, that’s OK, but you can’t be sure that the guy doing the cutting on your buttstock has the same configuration. Also if you use this method, I’d recommend taking the recoil pad off and going against bare wood.

[Old and Reliable]

Both Bill Murphy and Dean Romig have, from my limited experience, the right concept of an accurate measurement using a door frame that is plumbed to a perfect 90 degree angle from the jamb to the sill plate-It is also true that two 12 gauge VHE's stocked with identical dimensions, but one with 26" barrels, the other with 30" barrels, will show a difference in pitch when so measured, if you measure both from the muzzles and the resultant "stand-off" from the vertical door jamb.

To my way of thinking, pitch affects more the type of field shooting you will do with a certain shotgun. I go back to my "Bible", Captain Paul A. Curtis' book "Guns and Gunning" Penn. 1934- his comment about the confirmed rabbit hunter using a gun with a greater drop and downpitch than his friend a confirmed quail hunter may well ring true, even today. And Trap and Live Bird guns are often stocked with very little pitch and drop at heel and comb, to give a built in elevation in pattern to typical rising and going away targets.

Also the style in which you mount your gun(s) may also affect the best pitch, etc. for you. I have studied by book and video the H&H Ken Davies mounting style, and use that for SC and when shooting Tower birds- most of those shots may duplicate the incoming and driven birds the British encounter, and their economy of movement, feet and hip rotation and fixing the eyes on the bird or clay and only seeing the muzzle and sight bead as a blur are very worthwhile.

Hunting waterfowl from field blinds, pits or layout boats, where the birds may be dropping their feet at first shots, then rising after the shots are fired, IMO, calls for slightly different LOP, DAH and pitch in my waterfowl guns. I also like solid Hawkins or older Silvers/Winchester 1922 patented pads on my guns, especially those for waterfowling and Tower birds. LOP wasn't discussed as much here, but the shape and placement of the triggers and grip style on a certain gun can also be a factor. Gloved hands or not, also a factor in gun fit worth noting.

There are so many variables in getting good gun fit, the one thing that remains a constant however, we all are going to miss, but good fit, including the pitch of your stock, can cut the miss column down considerably.

[Austin W Hogan]

Chuck is correct; if you use the combo gauge it will give you an angle from rib the butt face that can be compared. If you use the wall method the number is dependant on barrel length, length of pull and drop. It is possible to trigonometrically calculate the pitch angle from this if you know the length from muzzle to heel. It is a lot quicker and easier to use the combo gauge.
Best, Austin