[OneShooter]

Can someone please explain to me why it seems that so many people are against trying different things on their shotgun (ie raising comb, adjusting butplate, holdpoints, ETC)?

 

[Trap2]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with changing your setup. It can sometimes work wonders for your scores. The main problem I see when shooters change is that most shooters that do so do not stick with the change long enough to determine if the change was, or wasn't, beneficial to their scores. My personal experience with doing this has helped me over the long run. When I change something, I stick with it for 1000 rounds. If it helps, I keep the setup, if it doesn't help me improve after this time, I change back to my original setup and try something else, and repeat the procedure. I was told, many years ago by a champion shooter, that if your scores are not improving to where you want to be, you need to change something or you will always remain in the same spot you are now. That clicked with me, and I have never been afraid to change my setup since. I can be shooting very well, and then, for whatever reason, I start shooting poorly. I may, or may not, change my gun setup if I think I need it. Gaining, or losing weight can alter your setup dramatically, as can a change in your eyesight, change in your meds, etc. Don't be afraid to try something new. Just make sure you make a note of where you started from so you can change back if need be, and don't pay attention to the naysayers...... Just my opinion.... Dan Thome (Trap2)

 

[davidjayuden]

IMHO making adjustments is akin to switching guns: seems like you have to learn all over again. I know that is an exaggeration, however I do not make adjustments lightly.
dju

 

[chee40]

Just make sure whatever changes you make are small, a 1/16" of movement on a comb up, down, or over can make a big change on how you break a target. A 1/4" of movement can put you in a different stratosphere so be careful....

 

[Martinpicker]

I just switch guns. Martinpicker

 

[wolfram]

Nothing wrong with making adjustments but you need to understand and prove the effect of each adjustment. I equate all this to shooting a scoped rifle - you get the thing hitting roughly where you want (the initial fitting) then make small adjustments one at a time and observe the effect before making more ajustments. With a rifle you generally check your adjustments buy shooting a paper target at moderate range from a rest, with a shotgun the testing can be shooting 16 yard straight aways with the bullseye being a center punched (smoked) target.

Now once a person knows the exact effect of their adjustments then they can take that with them on game day and if it looks like the wind is really taking the targets for a ride then perhaps the comb should be elevated a bit. Or if you need to wear extra layers then shorten the LOP by an amount that you have proven in your testing. All a matter of experience and practice, practice, practice.