Proper Gun Fit

Graco Corporation Makes a Proper Gun Fit Affordable

The most critical element in shooting trap, skeet, or sporting clays will always be the gun fit. Many people consider a gun fit to be second fiddle to shooting ability. Meaning, they believe an individual that is a good shot, can shoot with any gun and perform well. Although someone who is truly a great shot will be able to break a clay with any gun off the shelf, they will never be able to break every clay with any gun off the shelf. Being able to shoot at a high level and go on a storied run of breaking hundreds, potentially thousands, of clays in a row requires: one extreme dedication, and two a proper gun fit. A proper gun fit done by a professional shooting coach will cost you hundreds of dollars an hour and more in shells and clays to get set up.

While a professional fitting is an option and if money is no object than it is the best option, but if you are like me and most of the world an affordable option that would allow you to fit a gun to yourself or someone close to you without the high price of a professional sounds more appealing. One concern that comes with doing your own fitting is that you have limited knowledge in gun fitting and/or competitive shooting. The products that Graco Corporation is producing and selling are manufactured with the purpose of allowing someone new to shooting to get a jump start in gun fitting and enjoy doing it without breaking the bank. Graco’s products outperform other shotgun accessories due to the simple fact that they last a lifetime, are user friendly, and allow for ample adjustment. This being said, someone new to shooting, without much experience, can get familiar with our products in a short time and get proficient in shooting quickly.

There are three main factors to a proper gun fit: length of pull, eye alignment with the front bead, and gun mount. If one of these three is out of position it will affect another. For example, if an individual’s gun is not at the correct length of pull it will cause him or her to manipulate their body in a way that will create a poor gun mount and the eye to be out of alignment with the front bead. By putting a shooters body out of position when trying to break a target they are very much handicapping themselves. Graco Corporation makes three products that make fitting yourself possible, one being our adjustable butt plates or Gracoils, another being an adjustable comb, lastly would be the Shot Fit alignment tool.

The Gracoil Recoil Reduction Unit or the 575 length of pull adjustable butt plates are excellent options for acquiring a length of pull that does not come standard from a manufacturer. They are both adjustable an entire inch in length of pull allowing fine tuning with micro adjustments. The adjustments beyond length of pull include pad positioning with both units and specifically in the Gracoil there is adjustable tension in way of recoil reduction. Once a length of pull measurement is taken by measuring the distance from the crease in the elbow while held at a 90 degree angle to the bend in the first knuckle a Gracoil or 575 adjustable butt plate will allow your gun stock to be manipulated to be set at the specified length of pull and allow fine tuning afterwards. This allows a comfortable gun mount without manipulating the body, creating consistent cheek contact on the stock and adjustable comb.

The next tool that Graco makes for achieving a proper gun fit is the adjustable comb. The adjustable comb is made to adjust up, down, left, and right. The dominant eye is the determining factor in point of impact down range when operating a shotgun. The adjustable comb allows a shooter to change their point of impact and sight picture when looking down the rib of the gun. At Graco the adjustable combs are made by performing a precision cut in the existing stock and inletting the hardware. Graco’s combs are sturdy, dependable, and will not budge from use. The adjustments are simple yet highly effective.

The Shot Fit by Graco Corporation is how we check the gun fit as a whole. The Shot Fit allows individuals to check the consistency of their gun mount, and adjustment on their comb. The Shot Fit is designed to have four fiber optic LED lights that when everything is aligned properly will all be visible. The Shot Fit connects magnetically to the end of the barrel and aligns with the front bead. The idea is that when the gun is mounted correctly and comb adjusted properly an individual can mount their gun with eyes closed, open their dominant eye and look down the rib of their gun and see all four lights clearly. Being able to see all four fiber optic lights indicates that the individual’s eye is perfectly in line with their front bead. Minor details make a major difference in point of impact down range. When trying to get a consistent gun mount it may be hard to discern minor differences without a Shot Fit. The Shot Fit will allow an individual to tell when they make a minor mistake. In this case, someone may mount their gun without having consistent cheek contact, but once they utilize the Shot Fit, they will be able to tell that they are experiencing some inconsistency when they can only see three of the four fiber optic lights on the initial gun mount, two out of four the next, and so on, compared to all four every time. The Shot Fit is a great tool to utilize to become as consistent and accurate as possible when shooting.

A proper gun fit is essential in competitive shooting and also something that has multiple different factors. Proper gun fit usually takes years to figure out and even longer to master the concept. At Graco we have the products that help you cheat the process and get immediate results. Using Graco Corporation’s variety of products that are engineered for success and built to last will help you reach the next level.