Stock w/ comb replacement for Remington 870: thoughts?

[Cos]

Got my new 870 28" to shoot some trap today for the first time.

While I am fairly convinced that gun shoots a way better then me, I think the stock is pretty low in my case, so I have to kinda crane my neck for a better sighting.

I've looked around for a bit and have found this Sterling thumbhole replacement stock with a comb . The reviews are very favorable.

I am wondering if anyone here have any experience with the stocks like this? I am in for some trap shooting. Perhaps, I would need to get a more upscale gun, but I would describe myself as a novice in that field, so I don't see spending of one or two grands on a real nice over/under is justified at this point

Thanks for any thoughts on the topic.

[BigDogatPlay]

Bring the butt higher on your shoulder to start with. If you are dropping your head way down and / or to the side to get to the stock, then you definitely want to bring the butt higher. I tell students to not lower their face to the gun, but bring the gun up to their face.

Depending on where you are at in the East Bay come up to Valley of the Moon Gun Club in Sonoma on most any Sunday morning and hook up with me or one of the other instructors. We can get you hitting targets and enjoying yourself pretty quickly in most cases.

FWIW my primary trap gun is an 1100 with a sporting profiled stock. It has a nearly identical profile to your 870. I'm a pretty tall guy with a fairly long neck but I am able to keep my head close to vertical on that stock and I break a lot of birds.

I don't see thumb hole stocks very much at all at the places I shoot, on any model. Most of the ones I see are on hunting guns that guys are shooting before they head out to a blind.

Remington's "trap stock" has a Monte Carlo. There are several shooters at the club who have them, but for me they generally make the stock too tall. If, after you trying bringing the gun up you are still certain you need more on top of the stock, you can try the American Plainsman stock from Boyd's. It has a fairly small Monte Carlo on top and I recently put one on a Mossberg 500 of mine. I'm still getting the feel of it but t shoots pretty nicely for me.

ETA: Your 870 is more than fine, novice or otherwise. I know several very good shooters who are very happy and shoot great scores with 870s old and new. Don't let the guys shooting investment grade guns get in your head. There's a fellow I know that shoots nothing but Kolar guns, which start with five figures on the price tag and go up. I've seen people beat him with Big 5 870 Express models. It's never the gun, it's the guy behind the gun.

[Cos]

Thanks for the great hints and tips! I really appreciate the advice about bringing the butt higher and will try to do just that on my next trip - it is certainly easier than buying the parts and making the mods on the gun. I have just tried to "bring the gun up" in front of the mirror and it feels more natural indeed. So, you might have just solved my problem after all

I would love to drop by at your club, but I am about an 1.5 away to the south-east from the Sonoma. If I will have a chance to drive up north, then I'll certainly drop by.

[Thefeeder]

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If you are closer to San Francisco and free this Sat.....I'll be shooting in the afternoon and can show you a few tips on mounting a shotgun.

There is also a Clinic on the 25th in San Jose if you want to join in.

[Cos]

San Francisco sounds good, in fact. Where are you shooting there and what time? Please PM me if you feel more comfortable that way.

Thanks a lot!

[RayPDA]

just to add to the mix:

If you're looking for something with a little adjustablity, take a look at:

http://jackweststocks.com/

You'll see the same stock on the Rem 1100 Competition Synthetic...the benefit of the adjustable comb is having the ability to move the comb to a point where you are able to correctly bring the gun into proper alignment.

my buddy put one on his 870TB; felt a little bit better than the original Monte Carlo stock.

They don't cost too much, but you get something that you can adapt for any of the clays games.

[Cos]

Thanks for the pointer: I will try to improve my skills first (apparently there's a lot of room to adjust in there . Stocks replacement might be a second option then.