Practice, Practice, Practice... BRUISE

[newbutold]

Did you hit more birds with the coaching? For painless fun get yourself a 28ga.

[ceh383]

For painless fun get yourself a 28ga.

That's what I'm doing. Had a deal on a "Baby Frame" Beretta, but that fell through. So I ordered a new Browning 725 Sporting 28ga, hope to have it by Christmas.

I currently shoot 1oz @ 1225fps thru a Zoli 12ga. It is a very soft shooter, but I would think an A400 with the kick off system would be even softer.

When you mount the gun does the butt pad fully contact your shoulder at the same time? Or, does the heal or toe make contact first? Is it just the bruising, or is there some cheek slap too?

Lots of questions, and no one can tell for sure what the issue is without seeing you shoot.

[StandardFinn]

Did you hit more birds with the coaching? For painless fun get yourself a 28ga.

Honestly I was hitting about 85% of my birds which is typical for me. I think what he helped me out with most was just being better about where I'm at in ready position and what to focus on and where I should be mounting and looking during my mount. Like I said, I played golf which is a precision sport with immense eye/hand coordination - I've taken hundreds of golf lessons and figured it wouldn't hurt to work with a professional who may have that sliver of knowledge to push me to 90-95%. Turns out he wanted to change my mounting position instead, which I am open to trying. Hell, I have a an extremely strong golf grip that I know could benefit from a more neutral position. Problem is it feels so damn awkward that I've given up altogether and work with it. Might be the same case with my mount but the advice in this thread has also been helpful and something I will address next time I'm at the range.

When you mount the gun does the butt pad fully contact your shoulder at the same time? Or, does the heal or toe make contact first? Is it just the bruising, or is there some cheek slap too?

So when I mount, I mount kind of high because I have a long neck, I'm a thin guy with a semi-muscular build. He was having me drop the butt lower in my pocket which caused me to need to get further up the stock and lower with my cheek which was just causing a ton of awkwardness. When I mount, if feels like I'm flush with the butt pad...but I think I need to really reassess my mount in a mirror and work on that.

I do think I need to have this gun fit to me. I can already tell the pitch needs to drop a lot. When I mount, even with the new position he suggested, my neck is craning hard to get that rib flush. After I got home the other day I did some hard research into proper mounting and fitting. It's pretty apparent I need a professional to work with me on fitting alone, so that's the next adventure I believe.

[Helpful_Cub]

I'm sorry you had to go through that pain! Listening to your comments it seems like your old styles only real issues was sighting and smoothly swinging. As long as you've got those, you can hit regardless how you mount the shotgun. The A400 is very similar to my Extrema2 with silly low recoil and an inertia system in the butt stock. So its probably not the gun. Realistically you could probably shoot it freehanded.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B6bKbqSdNEc

So for now, heal, get 100%. Then go have fun and find a fitting place that works for you. Then work on moving your core/hips to track side to side and your arms only up and down. Again, have fun with it. If your black and blue and unable to finish a game, then what's the point? Plus you have to keep in mind when shooting a traditional under/over that its lighter and recoils more than a A400. Lots of people use them successfully. Its kind of like baseball, everyone has a different batting stance that works for them. Just because your's is different from Mr. Utah doesn't make it wrong. You just need to focus on the fundamentals. Track, sight, have fun. Good luck and I hope you figure the problem out.

[md2020]

That's what I'm doing. Had a deal on a "Baby Frame" Beretta, but that fell through. So I ordered a new Browning 725 Sporting 28ga, hope to have it by Christmas.

Nice!

do me a favor when you get that 28ga.... don't let me touch it... don't let me see it. Let me know when you bring it out so I can go do something else that day and be nowhere near it.

I'm already having major self control issues and looking at that gun won't help!

[shovelon]

So when I mount, I mount kind of high because I have a long neck, I'm a thin guy with a semi-muscular build. He was having me drop the butt lower in my pocket which caused me to need to get further up the stock and lower with my cheek which was just causing a ton of awkwardness. When I mount, if feels like I'm flush with the butt pad...but I think I need to really reassess my mount in a mirror and work on that.

I do think I need to have this gun fit to me. I can already tell the pitch needs to drop a lot. When I mount, even with the new position he suggested, my neck is craning hard to get that rib flush. After I got home the other day I did some hard research into proper mounting and fitting. It's pretty apparent I need a professional to work with me on fitting alone, so that's the next adventure I believe.

That is the first thing my coaches fixed on me. Raising the comb. Not only was I leaning back but I was tilting my head to get on the stock. When I pulled the trigger I tended to lift my head to minimize the cheek slap. I eventually ended up with the comb raised and cast off enough to bring the butt into my pocket without tilting my head. The bruises went away and no more cheek slap. A fellow shooter taught me how to lift my trigger elbow level with the stock to create a better pocket for the butt to rest in.

Done correctly the pocket knook and solid cheek weld allowed you to hold your gun up one handed and I have even seen my one eyed 85 year old coach break targets with his left arm behind his back.

[Newshooter]

The Beretta has shims that can alter the fit of the gun for you. I am not sure what model you have and if it is possible but and adjustable comb has done wonders for me. I am the opposite as I was blessed with chubby cheeks. Having the flexibility of an adjustable comb helps a LOT as some guns just don't fit me out of the box.

[StandardFinn]

That is the first thing my coaches fixed on me. Raising the comb. Not only was I leaning back but I was tilting my head to get on the stock. When I pulled the trigger I tended to lift my head to minimize the cheek slap. I eventually ended up with the comb raised and cast off enough to bring the butt into my pocket without tilting my head. The bruises went away and no more cheek slap. A fellow shooter taught me how to lift my trigger elbow level with the stock to create a better pocket for the butt to rest in.

Done correctly the pocket knook and solid cheek weld allowed you to hold your gun up one handed and I have even seen my one eyed 85 year old coach break targets with his left arm behind his back.

This was another thing he had me doing, basically chicken-winging my right arm(trigger arm) out. Which is the complete opposite thing I've learned as a golfer In golf you want to tuck yourself in as tight as possible...having my right elbow pointing perpendicular to my body into space is extremely foreign to me. I didn't have any cheek slap issues surprisingly..just the shoulder. Which feels almost 100% better today which is good cause I'll be back out this weekend!

The Beretta has shims that can alter the fit of the gun for you. I am not sure what model you have and if it is possible but and adjustable comb has done wonders for me. I am the opposite as I was blessed with chubby cheeks. Having the flexibility of an adjustable comb helps a LOT as some guns just don't fit me out of the box.

Yeah, It is possible to adjust the shims - I just don't think I have the correct tools to get into the stock to take it off. If I'm gonna have someone fit me though I'll probably just avoid that for the time being. But you're absolutely right.

[ceh383]

StandardFinn,

I have a similar build and no off the shelf gun fits me. My current gun required an adjustable comb, an adjustable butt pad and a change in LOP and pitch. I never had any bruising before the mods but I couldn't hit anything with it. A friend and I did the stock work in his garage, it turned out very well.


Before


After

After the stock work was done I used a bore site to get it close, then range time to fine tune it.

You don't NEED a stock fitter to get it right, but you do need a good consistent mount...

[ceh383]

do me a favor when you get that 28ga.... don't let me touch it... don't let me see it. Let me know when you bring it out so I can go do something else that day and be nowhere near it.

I'm already having major self control issues and looking at that gun won't help!

No guarantees...

I'm having those same self control issues myself.

So far in the last week and a half I've bought:

A new car
A new gun
A new reloader (28ga)

I need to stop

[JagerDog]

I'll add than in addition to fit and mount, stance plays a significant role in felt recoil. Shoulder forward of hips so your shoulder has somewhere to go.

[shovelon]

I'll add than in addition to fit and mount, stance plays a significant role in felt recoil. Shoulder forward of hips so your shoulder has somewhere to go.

Bingo! And rotate on the hips not rolling your shoulders or moving the gun with the arms.

[Ahansom]

I have guns I can shoot easily shoot 500+ rounds in a weekend tournament with no pain or bruising. I also have a few that leave there mark after 50. Like you've already done, going to a coach is great. Getting someone that really knows fit, hold and stance instead of the free unsolicited advice you'll receive at the range. It may take a little time and money but it will pay off when you can enjoyably shoot.

[newbutold]

My AL391 Urika with adjustable comb is virtually painless. Should be doable with with your A400.

[tanks]

...
Anyone have any advice in these regards? I feel like it's possible I need to have my gun fitted to me at this point to help....

Appreciate anyone's input and similar experiences/how you got past this.

My 12 gauge SxS shotguns are bare wood at the stock without any pads and weigh a bit over 6.8 pounds or so. I do not feel any recoil even after 300 shells of practice last Thursday before taking off for a SD pheasant hunt.

It is ALL ABOUT THE FIT OF THE GUN.