Fitting a shotgun Stock

[Davemuzz]

I bot a Remington 11-87 12 guage last year for the specific purpose of Turkey hunting. Of course, when I use it for that purpose, I am aiming it like a rifle as opposed to pointing it like a shotgun.

So, I decided to shoot some clays with the gun and I notice it doesn't quite fit me. I am tall at 6'1" and the drop on the stock is 2.25". So, when I sholder this gun quickly, I see a lot of ventlated rib.

I own an Ithaca and the drop on it is 2.5" and when I sholder it, I am looking "right down the pipe."

I need to drop the butt down another Quarter inch to half inch at the most. I really don't want to buy one of the adjustable butt plate's as I don't prefer the looks of 'em.

So, is it possible to cut the angle of the stock where it fastens to the receiver, and then cut the butt plate so that I can acheive the correct drop and fit? I do have access to table saws, joiners, planers, belt sander, drill press ect. so I would not be attempting this with a hand drill and a dremmel. (but maybe some Elmers glue)

Thanks for you help

Dave

[gunnut69]

You said you were tall and that's likely the problem.. altering the angle on the butt may help some but refitting a butt stock with a thrubolt like the remington's is a pain. Try lengthening the stock a bit. This has the effect of dropping the eye and should help. A temporary spacer can be installed. if the spacer works out a more esthetically pleasing one can be substituted later. Perhaps even a thicker recoil pad.. Those heavy turkey loads can be painful from the sitting posiition.. Also you might consider adding a set of sights or a scope(red dot??) to the gun. In that caase the higher comb may be a blessing as it will aid your eye positioning with some kind of sighting device installed. I use a Browning BPS 10 ga. with a set of Williams FireSights installed.  They work great and simply clamp to the vented rib.. The trouble with altering butt stock angle(drop) is the thru bolt hole..  The old hole will have to be filled and a new one drill. The new one would have to be higher on the butt to lower the comb, but would exit at the same point on the front of the butt.  Check the pull on the gun that fits.. Butt plate angle also can help and can also be a temporary thing by installing spacers to allow testing for feel..

[Davemuzz]

Ok, I certianly like the idea of fiber optic sights as I try to put those on every thing I own (including my toothbrush).

Would you suggest I start out with a .25" spacer or .50" spacer and then maybe increase to .75" (3/4") and see how that fits\feels?

I suppose for just trying out purposes in my shop, I can take a piece of wood and plane to the right thickness, drill a few holes and see how it feels. Then once I determine the correct length, order the spacers and a Limbsaver recoil pad.

Sound like a plan?

Thanks for you help and guidance. Give me a nudge on the "start size thinckness" and I'll be on my way.

Dave.

[gunnut69]

I'd start small, say 1/4 inch and go from there. You can also taper those shims and adjust the pitch to see how it helps..  The sights on the rib should be added before adjusting the stock as they be what your checking access to. The alighnment of your face is also affected by the thickness of the comb. Thinning usually requires a refinish but can make a bunch of difference..  Pitch is the angle of the butt plate in relation to the sight plain of the barrel. A 90degree angled buttplate is said to have 0 pitch or neuteral pitch. More length at the top (heel) causes the sight plain to tip forward but can make mounting the gun quickly a problem. More length on the bottom of the butt plate (toe) raises the front of the sight plain but can cause the recoil to force the butt downward..a painful thing.. It can also be experimented with by tapering those shims..

[longgun]

I have restocked a couple of old Remington shotguns in the past.  What I did to fit the butt stock to the receiver was to get the stock at the right angle that I wanted it to fit the metal.  Then drill the bolt hole through the stock.  You will need for the wood to fit the metal pretty close and when you get this like you want it,  then drill several small 1/8" holes about 1/4" deep around the end of the of the butt stock.   Next use mold release ( I use Johnson past wax) and give the receiver a good thin coat of wax.  At this point I mix up Devcon epoxy and give the butt stock a good coat of epoxy making sure that I force some up into the holes that were drilled.  Next I give the but end of the receiver a coat of the epoxy too.   Obviously you want to have the stock bolt threads covered with wax as well as the screw hole in the back of the receiver.   Then I insert the bolt and screw the mounting bolt up.   The epoxy will ooze out from around the joint,  and this needs to be cleaned off with a soft rag that is saturated with wax.   After it cures up good,  loosten the stock bolt and the butt stock will pop off with a little incouragement.   The cured epoxy will make a perfect fit on the butt stock to the receiver.  Much easier than trying to cut the stock to fit.  IMO.....  don

[Davemuzz]

Gunnut69,

Just wanted to tell you thanks and let you know you are a genuis!!

What I ended up doing was attaching a 1\2" butt plate extension and replacing the factory recoil pad with a Limbsaver recoil pad. So, overall this extended the leangth of pull by 3\4". Also, the Limbsaver pad is set about 3\8" lower on the pad extension than the factory. Now, I know that sounds "ugly looking" but I contoured the butt plate extension from the stock to the pad..so the appearence flows well.

So now, when I pull the gun up, I am looking "right down the pipe" every time. The true test is I do this with my eyes closed (shoulder the gun) and when I open my eyes, I am looking "right down the pipe."

So, the gun fits right, and I also have my favorite recoil pad installed for those turkey loads that give my shoulder grief.

Again, Thanks

Dave

[gunnut69]

Good luck with the longbeards this spring and good hunting!!