Shooting high

Seamus the hunter

I fired at a galvanized sheet to test my shotgun to see if it was shooting straight (so i could blame something) and discovered it was shooting high i lowered my head till i could just see the top of the bead but still shoots high i was just wondering is there anything to buy or do to highten the bead of the shotgun

Thanks
Seamus

Dian Cecht

Is it a sporter or trap model? They normally shoot high whereas a game gun will shoot flat.

Seamus the hunter

To be honest i dont know my farther bought it for me when i was about 11-12 and he knows nothing about it but it has engraving of a pheasant and a woodcock so my guess would be a game gun

Dian Cecht

Lanber make sporter & game guns. Can you measure the width of the rib on the top barrel that would give me an indication of which one it might be.

Could be as simple as the gun doesn't "fit" you.

FISMA

Have you tried shimming the stock?

Seamus the hunter

whats shimming if you dont mind me asking

J.R.

Seamus the hunter wrote: »

when i was about 14-15 i was a great shot but now i cant hit nothing i

were you a great shot with this gun?

Seamus the hunter

J.R. wrote: »

were you a great shot with this gun?

Yes I was

meathstevie

See what happens if you let your target sit on the tip of your barrel. By the sound of things you're going to be spot on. Remember that shotguns are made to be pointed and not aimed.

Witcher

A shotgun will always pattern high, a sporter will be 60/40 high and a trap gun about 70/30.

Since you used it ok when you were younger I'd say it's a fit issue. You've likely put on more weight in your face since then and you just can't get your head down on the gun as much as you used to and without knowing it you're lifting the muzzle to line up the bead with your eye.

I have a Beretta sporter and when I got it my ABT scores went down because it just threw the pattern lower than my last gun so now I lift my face a bit off the stock and raise the bead to my eye and I can shoot it nearly like a trap gun.

That's what's happening to you here I'd say but it's just not on purpose.

Seamus the hunter

Blay wrote: »

A shotgun will always pattern high, a sporter will be 60/40 high and a trap gun about 70/30.

Since you used it ok when you were younger I'd say it's a fit issue. You've likely put on more weight in your face since then and you just can't get your head down on the gun as much as you used to and without knowing it you're lifting the muzzle to line up the bead with your eye.

I have a Beretta sporter and when I got it my ABT scores went down because it just threw the pattern lower than my last gun so now I lift my face a bit off the stock and raise the bead to my eye and I can shoot it nearly like a trap gun.

That's what's happening to you here I'd say but it's just not on purpose.

I dont think its a issue about raising the muzzle i lower my head till i can barely see the top of the bead and it still shoots high

FISMA

Seamus the hunter wrote: »

whats shimming if you dont mind me asking

Basically, the same idea as shimming a floor or installing cabinets. Using angled pieces of material to level.

Shims can change the drop, cast, and length of a stock.

I had a shotgun that when shouldered, I could see the barrels slightly ramp up. I installed a shim between the stock and receiver to level out the barrels.

Usually, shimming is done to a new gun that has not been fitted and not one that you have previously shot well in the past.

Have a look over a quick: read, view, and ad.

cookimonster

By 'forcing' your head down onto the comb you are creating a unnatural mount. This can result in various problems from wrong eye domination to simply breaking cheek weld just before pulling the trigger.

You maybe over thinking your problem (my common fault). Put on your old comfortable shooting clothes, get your trusty cartridges and shoot some simple away clays from a sporting gun hold and let your muscle memory and instinct take over.

Seamus the hunter

cookimonster wrote: »

By 'forcing' your head down onto the comb you are creating a unnatural mount. This can result in various problems from wrong eye domination to simply breaking cheek weld just before pulling the trigger.

You maybe over thinking your problem (my common fault). Put on your old comfortable shooting clothes, get your trusty cartridges and shoot some simple away clays from a sporting gun hold and let your muscle memory and instinct take over.

Yea maybe. I can hit away clays no problem which leads me to another question how much lead do ye give on a bird about 40 yards

cookimonster

This is so subjective, a lot depends on combinations of cartridges, chokes, angle of target ( crossing, quartering) speed of bird, size of bird (big birds such as geese look slow but are traveling very fast), background (judgeing distance, speed) and light conditions. Very importantly your stryle of shooting ie maintained lead, swing through or combo of the later.

But as a rule of thumb the following can be seen as consistent

These are the figures from BASC website.

Lead required for a slower, 35 mph, bird:
* 3 feet at 25 yards
* 4-5 feet at 30 yards
* 6-7 feet at 40 yards
* 8 feet at 45 yards

Lead required for your typical 40 mph bird:
* 4 feet at 25 yards
* 5-6 feet at 30 yards
* 7-8 feet at 40 yards
* 9-10 feet at 45 yards

Lead required for a faster, 50 mph, bird: Pigeon, some clays, many wildfowl
* 5 feet at 25 yards
* 7 feet at 30 yards
* 9-10 feet at 40 yards
* 12 feet at 45 yards

Seamus the hunter

cookimonster wrote: »

This is so subjective, a lot depends on combinations of cartridges, chokes, angle of target ( crossing, quartering) speed of bird, size of bird (big birds such as geese look slow but are traveling very fast), background (judgeing distance, speed) and light conditions. Very importantly your stryle of shooting ie maintained lead, swing through or combo of the later.

But as a rule of thumb the following can be seen as consistent

These are the figures from BASC website.

Lead required for a slower, 35 mph, bird:
* 3 feet at 25 yards
* 4-5 feet at 30 yards
* 6-7 feet at 40 yards
* 8 feet at 45 yards

Lead required for your typical 40 mph bird:
* 4 feet at 25 yards
* 5-6 feet at 30 yards
* 7-8 feet at 40 yards
* 9-10 feet at 45 yards

Lead required for a faster, 50 mph, bird: Pigeon, some clays, many wildfowl
* 5 feet at 25 yards
* 7 feet at 30 yards
* 9-10 feet at 40 yards
* 12 feet at 45 yards

Thanks thats a more detailed answer than i thought i would get and surprising stats interesting