frontlander
New member
I was going to title this post "Fitting the Defensive Shotgun" but I dislike inacurate terminology. Pistols to me are defensive, long arms are to be grabbed when there is a problem imminent, therefore technically offensive. I'll instead use Dave McC's term, "Serious Shotgun". I recently purchased an 870 Express 12 gauge that had been worked over by the Gunsite smithy. Vang Comp barrel (no ports), MMC ghost rings, Side Saddle, shortened stock (12 3/4"), etc. I now have 400+ rounds through the gun and have come to some conclusions about gun fit and the serious shotgun. As usual these conclusions are mine only and may not pertain to your situation.
Prior to searching the archives I knew next to nothing about the proper fitting of a shotgun. All I knew was that a fellow pointed the shotgun at a target, pulled the trigger, gun goes bang, and sometimes the target is hit. Much has been written about fitting a shotgun for the shooting sports or the hunting field. The serious shotgun seems to receive little attention when it comes to fit. Most of the advice is to a take a stock shotgun, throw on some accessories, and have at it. The ghost ring sight seems to be almost a prerequisite for many. Because of my facial structure (high cheekbones, thin face) I have to raise my face a tad off of the stock to see the bead on a stock shotgun. A ghost ring sighted arm compounds the problem by raising the line of sight. In order to achieve the correct sight picture, I had to lift my face around 3/8" off of the stock. I've learned that with heavy recoiling buck and slugs, a less than solid cheek weld is an invitation for loose fillings and migraines. It also takes time to hunt for the sight picture, and in a life/death situation time is of the essence. In attempt to remedy the situation I shimmed the bottom of the stock/receiver joint with layers of tin foil and reduced the drop of the stock. This still wasn't ideal so I began applying small strips of duct tape to the comb, mounting the gun and checking sight picture, and adding more strips till a perfect sight picture was achieved. Now I can bring the gun up for a snap shot and have perfect alignment. My initial target acquisition has increased dramatically and subsequent shots are faster and much more accurate.
My conclusion: Adding a ghost ring sight sight (or rifle sights, for that matter) does not negate the need for the proper fitting of the shotgun to the shooter. My gun now mounts like a good upland bird gun, with the peep sight there to reassure me that everything is in proper alignment. These are simple and inexpensive solutions that will pay off big in competition, the hunting field, and most importantly, combat.
Prior to searching the archives I knew next to nothing about the proper fitting of a shotgun. All I knew was that a fellow pointed the shotgun at a target, pulled the trigger, gun goes bang, and sometimes the target is hit. Much has been written about fitting a shotgun for the shooting sports or the hunting field. The serious shotgun seems to receive little attention when it comes to fit. Most of the advice is to a take a stock shotgun, throw on some accessories, and have at it. The ghost ring sight seems to be almost a prerequisite for many. Because of my facial structure (high cheekbones, thin face) I have to raise my face a tad off of the stock to see the bead on a stock shotgun. A ghost ring sighted arm compounds the problem by raising the line of sight. In order to achieve the correct sight picture, I had to lift my face around 3/8" off of the stock. I've learned that with heavy recoiling buck and slugs, a less than solid cheek weld is an invitation for loose fillings and migraines. It also takes time to hunt for the sight picture, and in a life/death situation time is of the essence. In attempt to remedy the situation I shimmed the bottom of the stock/receiver joint with layers of tin foil and reduced the drop of the stock. This still wasn't ideal so I began applying small strips of duct tape to the comb, mounting the gun and checking sight picture, and adding more strips till a perfect sight picture was achieved. Now I can bring the gun up for a snap shot and have perfect alignment. My initial target acquisition has increased dramatically and subsequent shots are faster and much more accurate.
My conclusion: Adding a ghost ring sight sight (or rifle sights, for that matter) does not negate the need for the proper fitting of the shotgun to the shooter. My gun now mounts like a good upland bird gun, with the peep sight there to reassure me that everything is in proper alignment. These are simple and inexpensive solutions that will pay off big in competition, the hunting field, and most importantly, combat.
