Proper Mounting Techniques....

D

Dave McC

Staff In Memoriam
For Ledbetter,and others who may want to learn, here's Mounting 101, the best way I know for beginners.

Shooting a shotgun is like sex. If it hurts, you're doing it wrong.Bad form and Magnumitis
are the two main culprits(minor culprit, bad stock fit) if it does hurt. So, let's posit we're shooting a light load, say a light 1 oz field load is a 7 1/4lb shotgun that fits you fairly well.

Right now, you're standing facing the target with the shotgun loaded, safety on. Your feet are roughly shoulder width apart, and you advance your support(the foot on the same side as the hand that supports,rather than fires, the weapon) side foot about a foot or so.The shotgun is NOT at PORT ARMS, but pointed safely downrange. AS you bring the rear portion of the weapon up to your shoulder, you swing the firing side elbow up and out, so that arm ends up roughly parallel to the ground. This forms the CUP, where the butt of the shotgun goes.As the butt goes into the cup,your cheek automaticaly goes to the comb of the stock,making contact and becoming the rear sight of the weapon.

As the weapon is mounted, lean into it, causing your support side knee to bend further,almost like genuflecting, until you are ALMOST overbalanced. This provides some give to the recoil and speeds recovery. Make sure the butt is fully in the CUP, no butt showing over the top of the shoulder, but not anchored well below the top either. Make sure you're using the the support hand to not only hold the weapon up, but are actually pressuring the butt into the cup with a slight rearward push.

Now, when you're ready, take the safety off and fire. Notice how the kick is tolerable and you move back into firing position nigh perfectly. If you need to cycle the action,like with a pump,this can occur as the recoil cycle is happening, losing no time for repeat shots. After firing, re apply the safety, and reload as needed,keeping the muzzle pointed safely downrange.

As you get better at this, you can progress to heavier loads, but do it by stages. Turkey loads and heavy slugs need great form and control.

And you may worry about looking silly bending that front knee that much, but you won't hurt.

Any questions or comments, sing out,I'm unsure whether I explained this so everyone can understand it...
 
Dave,

Many thanks. I haven't been moving my elbow up and out and the shotgun slips into my shoulder bone after each shot because, I assume, no CUP for it to sit in. Got a bruise about the size of a silver dollar. I will try to stay away from the slugs and the 00 Buck, as you suggest. (This is the same thing I tell my doctor about smoking.)

I picked up a shoulder pad so I can continue shooting my room broom at little clay frisbees. By the way, I picked up some of those Winchester AA target loads that you and Lavan were discussing last week and the recoil is noticably greater than the Federal dove loads I was using. Did a little better with them, though.

I'm shooting my Mossberg 590 now. I had my Dad's old 500 for a while and it had a shorter stock (it was the police gun model). This shorter stock seemed more comfortable to me than the full-length stock. I'm 6' tall.

I just ordered a set of walnut stocks (from Brownell's for $51 on sale). Should I consider having the rear shortened to a more comfortable length, or was it more comfortable because I was using the wrong form? How do you determine the correct length of pull?

Are there any modifications to the mounting technique described for shooting clays? I assume you ensure you are pressuring the butt into the cup with a slight rearward push and then yell "pull."

Finally, I have suggested to my wife that we go shooting on several occaisions. To date, she appears to prefer that we have sex. I will work on this issue further with her by showing her your post.

Ledbetter
 
First,I'm leaving your last paragraph alone, and if I ever meet you and Mrs Ledbetter, I shall turn pale, stutter and look wildly around for the egress(G).

Second,I'm 6'2", 250, take a 36" shirt sleeve,and the standard stock fits me well enough. The Brits like to get the stock to within the right 1/32" for a number of parameters, and lots of them outshoot me, so take your pick.

The standard stock is SUPPOSED to fit Joe Average,5'9", 165 lbs, with it's 14 1/4" pull. To my best guess,a stock no longer than 14 1/2" inch should work fine for you, and it's easier to shoot one a little short than long.

Here's a test to see if your stock is more or less fitting. Wear what you'd wear in the field...

MAKE SURE IT'S UNLOADED, then stand facing a wall or something with a point you can focus on closely. Using your best form,and without taking your eyes from the POA, mount your shotgun.Then don't move as you look at the shotgun itself. If it requires little correction to bring the bead onto POA, you're close. Otherwise, maybe some time with a good stock smith might be in order. Probably, tho, you won't be that far off.

And sporting clays requires saying PULL before you mount around here. With practice, mounting the weapon takes little time and the shot follows closely thereafter.

Hope this helps...
 
Dave, a local 'smith that has done some work for me, including fitting my shotgun stock, showed me a different method of sizing the stock:

Unload the gun. Position the gun so the stock sits in the right (or left) elbow joint, just on the lowest part of the bicep. Now "lay" the lower part of your arm on the side of the gun's receiver with the trigger finger extended (Do NOT hold the "grip" part of the stock) and see how far behind or forward the last joint of your trigger finger is in relation to the trigger itself. That last joint on your triger finger should be even with the trigger. Adjust the stock length to accommodate.

When I first got my Benelli something just didn't seem right. I had to crane my neck and head down to get a good picture along the barrel, and of course the rifle sights. I have very long arms.

We added a Pachmyre Decellerator pad and a 3/8 custom stock spacer. Combined, this added about 1.5" to the stock length.

The shotgun now "mounts" exactly where it should be and comes up with the rifle sights in perfect alignment. I hear lots of folks complaining that they want a shorter stock for "tactical" reasons but from my experience, there's a price to pay.

Just one of my stories...

CMOS :)

------------------
NRA? Good. Now join the GOA!

The NRA is our shield, the GOA will be our sword.
 
E me the bribe amount,Coinneach,maybe we can reach an agreement(G)...

CMOS,I've heard that method for decades, and regard it as crude,but mostly effective.I just went and checked my HD 870, the trigger falls on the knuckle where the finger joins the hand, so it applies to me.Still think a stock a LITTLE short is better than one a LITTLE long,but maybe that's the hunter in me talking.
 
I was once told that the shotgun-in-the-crook of-your-arm method of measuring only proved that you had both an arm and a shotgun.

With the exception of deer and HD guns, shotguns are not aimed they are pointed. Unlike pistol shooting where the front sight is the focus, you should look at what you are trying to hit. As Dave said, the back sight of a shotgun is your eye and the placement of your eye in relationship to the gun is as important as the proper adjustment of the rear sight of a handgun.

Gun length is the most flexible measurement providing the gun mounts smoothly and your face is not so far up the stock that your nose get's banged by your thumb. I have a relative long arm but a shorter neck and don't need stocks as long as someone with a very long neck.

But stock length is only one part of the equation. The other elements of shotgun fitting are the drop (distance down from the bore line), the cast (distance right or left from bore and the pitch (angle of butt to bore. The best way to really get the proper measurements of all the above is to be professionally fitted with a try gun and then shoot at a patterning board. The English method is to stand 16 yards back from the patterning board and mount and shoot. Each inch of pattern movement equals a 1/16" adjustment to the stock. Once you get your measurements, you have your guns stock shaved, lengthened and/or bent to fit. I know this sounds like an pain in the behind to do but it works. An over/under that pounded me in the cheek and shoulder became a much softer gun to shoot once it fit. More importantly, I broke a lot more targets. To paraphrase Johnny Cochrane, "If your gun don't fit, you won't hit."

A less complicated way to determine a better fit is to take an EMPTY shotgun, mount it and have a knowledgeable shooter look down the barrels and see where your eyes are in relationship to the barrels. Yes, I know this breaks a fundamental gun handling rule but this is the way gun fitting is often done to establish whether the drop and cast. Did I say loud enough that the gun MUST BE EMPTY!!!!

I can't add much to Dave's advice on gunmount other than to suggest that you raise the gun with your forward hand not your rear hand. If you raise the rear hand first, the barrels will drop and your forward hand will bring them up giving you a see-saw mount.

The only way to become proficient at shotgunning is practice, practice, practice and if you can't get to the range, practice mounting your gun several times each day until you become comfortable with it.
 
Well...this is about as good a lesson in mounting as I have seen.

Dave's advice to lean into the mount is one of the keys to handling recoil. One instructor had me keep repeating "Nose over the toes", meaning that your nose should be over the toes of the left foot (for righties, reverse if you are lefty). Doing this also unlocks your hips and allows you greater side to side movement.

Mounting the butt of the stock in the pocket (or cup) is essential. Many shooters lean back or stand up straight and cause only a portion of the butt to come in contact with the shoulder. The result is a bruise where the portion of the butt contacts the shoulder. If you mount correctly the entire butt will be flat against your shoulder pocket. The result is that the force of the recoil is distributed over a larger area.

Watch a shooter who stnds erect as if he is shooting a rifle, only the tip of the butt (the toe in shotgun language) will be in contact with his shoulder. He will have a bruise!

Many women and youngsters try to lean backwards to counterbalance the weight of the gun. This will definitely hurt, even with small gauges. Either get them a lighter gun or let them exaggerate the forward placement of the left foot to get them to lean into the gun. This is critical with new shooters, if they learn proper technique from the beginning they will enjoy shooting. I know of several petite women who can shoot all day and not have a problem, because they have learned to mount properly and manage recoil. Occasionally I let them outshoot me :)

Geoff Ross

------------------
One reason to vote in the next Presidential election.

It's the Supreme Court, Stupid!
 
Thanks, folks for the compliments. Now...

PJR, you missed toe in/out, as well as drop, cast on/off, and pitch.A little toe out oft eases bruising of the chest area, espercially on barrel chested men and buxom women. A slight rounding of the toe oft helps here also.

A local legend I used to know would warm up by mounting his shotgun under a power or phone line and kinda draw the bbl along the wires.After a few tries he'd move enough to change the angle and do it some more.

Mounting the shotgun daily should aid handling as long as one does it right. Perfect practice makes perfect.
 
Always enjoy your threads Dave. Please keep 'em coming.

CMOS

------------------
NRA? Good. Now join the GOA!

The NRA is our shield, the GOA will be our sword.
 
Dave McC

You are right. I did not mention those deliberately because it seemed the post was getting complicated enough as it was.

The usual package is:

-Length at midpoint, heel and toe (this covers the pitch measurement too),
-Drop at comb and heel,
-Cast at comb, heel, and toe

(Some gunfitters also fit for grip angle and size and palm swell in pistol gripped guns.)

Cast off has the stock bent to the right (as seen from the rear of the gun) for the right hand shooter and cast on a bend to the left to accomodate the lefty.

Other arcane bits of shotgun fitting include the fact that measurements for an over/under are slightly different than a sxs and the English have a tendency to fit their guns to shoot high because they teach a more head up stance and shoot more driven game.
 
Thanks, CMOS, I will be off the BB for a few starting Saturday, we're going to Orlando to get the kids their theme park shot for the year.Catch ya when we get back...
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Proper Mounting Technique 101
Gentlemen support at least half their weight on their elbow's....WHAT WAS THE QUESTION?? :rolleyes:
Originally posted by Dave McC:
For Ledbetter,and others who may want to learn, here's Mounting 101, the best way I know for beginners.

Shooting a shotgun is like sex. If it hurts, you're doing it wrong.Bad form and Magnumitis
are the two main culprits(minor culprit, bad stock fit) if it does hurt. So, let's posit we're shooting a light load, say a light 1 oz field load is a 7 1/4lb shotgun that fits you fairly well.

Right now, you're standing facing the target with the shotgun loaded, safety on. Your feet are roughly shoulder width apart, and you advance your support(the foot on the same side as the hand that supports,rather than fires, the weapon) side foot about a foot or so.The shotgun is NOT at PORT ARMS, but pointed safely downrange. AS you bring the rear portion of the weapon up to your shoulder, you swing the firing side elbow up and out, so that arm ends up roughly parallel to the ground. This forms the CUP, where the butt of the shotgun goes.As the butt goes into the cup,your cheek automaticaly goes to the comb of the stock,making contact and becoming the rear sight of the weapon.

As the weapon is mounted, lean into it, causing your support side knee to bend further,almost like genuflecting, until you are ALMOST overbalanced. This provides some give to the recoil and speeds recovery. Make sure the butt is fully in the CUP, no butt showing over the top of the shoulder, but not anchored well below the top either. Make sure you're using the the support hand to not only hold the weapon up, but are actually pressuring the butt into the cup with a slight rearward push.

Now, when you're ready, take the safety off and fire. Notice how the kick is tolerable and you move back into firing position nigh perfectly. If you need to cycle the action,like with a pump,this can occur as the recoil cycle is happening, losing no time for repeat shots. After firing, re apply the safety, and reload as needed,keeping the muzzle pointed safely downrange.

As you get better at this, you can progress to heavier loads, but do it by stages. Turkey loads and heavy slugs need great form and control.

And you may worry about looking silly bending that front knee that much, but you won't hurt.

Any questions or comments, sing out,I'm unsure whether I explained this so everyone can understand it...[/quote]
 
I knew there was a trick to getting the wife interested in more sex! ;)

I do need to check the "fit" of my 870 now after all this good info! Suspect I need to shorten the stock some. Thanks.

------------------
...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
 
Greetings,

I'm glad to see this topic discussed again. I too am getting beat up, but in the shoulder area. The pointy part at the bottom of the stock hits me right in the angle of my armpit. I have to wear a recoil pad now when I shoot trap. When the shotgun fires, the stock slips from the mounted position into my armpit. I have a bruise right at the lower juncture of my arm and chest from this.

I am 6'0", 210#,wear a 33" sleeve and a 17" neck. I am shooting a standard Mossberg 590A1, and I pre-mount it (still learning) before shouting "pull."

Any thoughts? Thanks for your help.

Regards,

Ledbetter
 
Ledbetter,a slight rounding off of the toe of the stock will help you.And try this...

There's a craft glue out there for use on fabrics called Gem Tac. It dries clear, and putting a little on the recoil pad should make it tacky feeling enough to keep the stock where it belongs. Just paint it on the pad and let it dry for an hour of so.
 
Dave,

You sure know about a lot of stuff. I will try the tacky stuff first. If I round off the toe, do I just round the recoil pad, or the stock itself? Thanks for helping us newbies.

Regards,

Ledbetter
 
Like Erick said,Led.Just the toe of the PAD and just a little. Most toes are pointed a bit, just round that off.

The Gem Tac will not last terribly long, but a $4 bottle is enough for years.Make sure the pad is clean and non oily when you paint it on.
 
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