Several years ago I took my .264 out to the rifle range to shoot my customary three shots before deer season. I’ve hunted with this gun for 20-plus years. I custom load the ammunition. Ever since working up the load for this rifle, I haven’t had to touch it, other than the customary cleaning one does to a hunting rifle.
But today was different. Instead of the customary rosebud 2 ¾” high at 100 yards, I couldn’t believe what I saw. Not only were they not at 2 3/4” high, they didn’t even come close to touching.
I shot another three-shot string with the same result. “Maybe it’s me,” I thought. So, I got another rifle and shot a three-shot string, and got the customary rosebud. “It’s not me!”
Over the next three weeks, I checked every orifice and screw on that rifle. I checked the ammunition, and even bought new leather sandbags to shoot off of! The more I tried, the worse it got. It’s kind of like chewing coconut – the more you chew it, the bigger it gets!
Finally, it dawned on me one day. I hadn’t checked the reticule in the scope. Sure enough, the reticule was loose. I got that fixed and started seeing those rosebuds again.
What does this have to do with teal hunting?It’s real simple. You can have the best gun and ammunition money can buy, but if you can’t mount the gun to your face constantly and correctly each time you shoot, you are going to miss. Just like trying to shoot a rifle with a loose reticule or loose scope mount. You see the right picture, but you don’t hit the target! Your eye is the scope for a shotgun. Your cheek is the scope mount. The gunstock must be touching your face in the correct place every time you mount the shotgun. Then, and only then will the shooting eye line up with the muzzle.
How do you figure out where the correct place is? Stand in front of the mirror and mount the (unloaded) gun. Adjust your face on the stock until your eye lines up with the rib. Your eye should be low enough such that you don’t see any of the rib – you only see the front bead side. Feel where the stock is on your cheek and shoulder.
Mount the gun a few times in front of the mirror until it begins to come up in the same spot each time on your face and shoulder. Notice how, when it touches your face, your eye is automatically lined up with the rib. You don’t have time to adjust your head position on the stock when the birds are in the air. If you can’t accomplish this by moving your face around on the stock, your gun may have to be “fitted” to you. This is not uncommon. We will talk a lot more about this at a later date.
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