Trigger Feel   I recently picked up my friend's gun and noticed a big difference in the trigger pull. On mine, there is a gap between the time my finger first touches the trigger and point at which the gun goes off. Also, sometimes the trigger doesn't fire the second barrel because I haven't released it far enough after the first shot. I really liked my friend's trigger. What should I do?    As you gain experience, you will have a greater appreciation for a really nice trigger versus one with a lot of “slop.” First of all, let’s define some terms. We refer to the pulling … [Read more...]

  Monte Carlo   A well-known instructor told me that a Monte Carlo on a shotgun stock will always cause me to shoot high. I was told by a gun fitter that this is not true. Can you clear up my confusion?   A Monte Carlo has nothing to do with where your shotgun shoots. The benefits of a well-fitting shotgun are two-fold: 1) the gun shoots where you are looking, 2) the gun is comfortable to shoot. The dimensions of a shotgun stock that will affect where your shotgun shoots, otherwise known as your POI or “point of impact,” are limited to drop at comb and cast. The dimensions … [Read more...]

  What Gun to Buy   I'm 5'8" and most guns seem too long for me. I've never actually been fitted for a shotgun, but I want to buy a shotgun and then get it fitted for me. Which shotgun do you recommend?   It is preferable to get fitted to a shotgun while purchasing it; however, that’s not always possible, and most salesmen are not gun fitters. Given your height, it’s likely that you will need to cut or shorten the length of pull (LOP) of your shotgun. The LOP is the straightline distance from the front face of the trigger to the vertical center of the back edge of the butt … [Read more...]

  Reading   I'm an instructor, and, unfortunately, I've seen many shooters read articles and watch videos and try to incorporate what is said. It causes them to think too much rather than shoot. No offense, but shouldn't shooters just shoot instead of reading a bunch of articles?   Reading too much and exposing oneself to conflicting information can be a hazard. Many shooters — frankly, those who are not willing to put in the work — overdose on information in a fruitless attempt to find “the silver bullet,” the fairy dust that will propel him or her to the top of the … [Read more...]

  Below my Feet   Where I normally shoot, I don't see a lot of target below my feet. When I got to big shoots and have to shoot from a raised platform or down into a stream bed, I have a really tough time hitting the targets. Any suggestions?   The shooting stance employed on targets above the waist doesn’t lend itself to a target below the waist. Most shooters today employ what we refer to as a Stanbury stance or modified Stanbury stance, named after the legendary British shooter and instructor Percy Stanbury. For the right-handed shooter, this stance is characterized by … [Read more...]