Gun Fit For Purpose

- Steve Rawsthorne

If you are a competitive shooter, you may well need a specific type of gun designed for that one discipline. A trap gun, for example, will have a higher comb and the point of impact will be higher than with a sporter or skeet gun. This is nothing new. Back in the days of live pigeon shooting competitions, side-by-side guns were built specially for the purpose, with long heavy barrels, tight chokes, high comb and often with a pistol grip, shooting slightly higher as a live pigeon will climb as soon as it is released from the ‘trap’ and you want to be able to see it when you fire. What we will look at here though is gun-fit for clay or game shooters – how to get the gun to fit you and shoot where you want it to. Any factory-produced gun can be fitted to you, so you don’t need to have a gun made to measure to benefit from a fitting or to have it re-stocked, alterations usually only cost a few hundred pounds, which is money well spent.

It’s good, but it’s not quite right

The major manufacturers have invested much time and money in research and have come up with stock dimensions that will roughly suit the average shooter; it’s not too far out, but not perfect. Having your gun fitted is about perfecting those dimensions for you. When you buy a car you adjust the seat so that you are comfortable on a long journey, and that gets locked into your memory. If you get into your car after someone else has been driving and moved the seat, it feels all wrong. Gun-fit is the same. It’s about making it all feel right… about being more successful.

The drop