shotgun fit question for a neat winter project

[willysjeep134]

Hello all. Plans are running through my mind for this winter. I have a Winchester 1300 "Black Shadow" right now. I must have been posessed when I bought it with those black plastic stocks on it. They may be practical to some, and they are sure a lot cheaper for Winchester to make, but I am starting to find them very ugly.

My dad has a toolshed out backed just stacked with nice thick air dryed black cherry lumber. He also has a power planer and band saw and a pretty big collection of standard hand tools. Also, I am pretty gifted when it comes to woodworking.

Anyways, here's my plan. We have an 1897 original Winchester pump shotgun that I really like the style of. I want to copy the style of this shotgun in a new forend and buttstock for my Winchester 1300. I can get a solid buttplate for a 97' from E-bay to top off my creation.

I just need to know how to properly fit a shotgun stock to a shooter now. After all, if I go through the trouble to build one I might as well have it fit correctly. I dislike recoil pads so I want to get the fit right on the first try. Any ideas on how I should go about this?

[Ramrod]

In the world of high dollar custom guns, an adjustable stocked "Try-gun" is used to get the measurements needed for an individual shooter, and the stock is built to those figures. For a home project, the easiest method might be to find the gun that fits you best, and copy the measurements. The important ones being pull length,  drop at comb, drop at heel, pitch,and cast-off, if I remember correctly. ( No, I never had one built, but I look at the manufacturers numbers when shopping for a new gun.)