A couple of years ago, Brian and I were doing a Scholastic Clay Target Program intervention in the Midwest, where we taught the coaches and volunteer parents on the first day and athletes on the second and third day.
As is normal, most of the guns had moveable combs and butt plates. This is a common thing we run into when doing these youth interventions. The sad fact is almost 100% of the guns were adjusted to poor shooting posture. This limits the shooter’s ability to shoot consistently in sporting and skeet, but not so much in trap.
To shoot a shotgun well, the shooter’s weight must be on the front foot with the spine curved slightly forward at the top so that the cheek is ahead of the shoulder pocket, which allows for them to wrap themselves around the gun. In order to do this, the shooter must have enough strength to support the majority of the weight of the gun in the front hand, arm, and shoulder.
In most people’s first experience with a shotgun, their weight is on the back foot and they will mount the gun high in the shoulder. They will struggle to hold the gun up and when they pull the trigger, they begin to wonder how something that is this awkward and hurts this much can be called “fun.”
The first thing we see happen with the moveable butt plate is that it is shifted downward, and the toe is turned out to fit a more standing straight up shooting posture. The downside to shifting the butt plate down is the recoil axis is moved up, making the gun kick much more and slap the shooter’s face. Now, instead of being straight back, the recoil is up and back.
Then a moveable comb is installed and moved over to the right or left to get it away from the shooter’s face so it lessens the cheek slap. But they soon discover that they can only move the comb about 3/16” before the side of the stock begins to hit the shooter’s jawbone.
Another common mistake we see is that shooters have a gun stocked with a comb that is too high, which causes them to miss consistently over the top of most skeet or sporting targets. The instant fix is to install a moveable comb, which makes logical sense. If the comb is adjustable, it can be adjusted to fit better, and you’ll stop missing everything over the top. The problem with this is that the comb was too high in the first place, so even though it is adjustable, it cannot go any lower.
With the comb bottomed out, you can only use about 3/16” of the cast, which will give you a little drop, but not enough to keep you from shooting over targets. To use the maximum amount of cast from a moveable comb, you must have the comb raised ¼” minimum or the inside of the stock will impact the shooter’s jaw.
Countless times, we have encountered moveable butt plates and combs that shooters have adjusted to what feels right to them. Then we make both adjustments neutral and begin to show them how to change their posture. All of a sudden, their gun fits so much better they are amazed.
It might sound like we are totally against moveable butt plates and adjustable combs. But they can help for the right application, provided the shooter is using good shooting posture first. However, there is nothing that replaces a custom-made stock.
A custom stock could cost more than you have in the gun. Unless you have shot a lot and developed a weight displacement and balance and shooting form that suits your physiology and game, it is almost impossible to build you a custom stock. This is where the adjustable comb and butt plate come in.
But first, learn good shooting posture. Then the adjustments will be minor, which is what they are intended to be.
