My son and I both enjoy duck hunting and shooting trap and sporting clays. We are both short in stature. I am 5'7" tall and my son is 12 years old and naturally, he is short too. How can we determine which gun "fits" us best. I knwo we should ask an expert, but wingshooting is not exactly the sport of choice here in south central Kentucky and to be honest, I don't know anyone with enough knowledge on the subject to help us out (except the local gun shop operators who think what they have on their shelves fits us

We are looking for guns that can be used on the trap range and in the duck blind so they would have to have at least a 3" chamber in 20 guage for him and I prefer a 3 1/2" chamber in 12 guage.

Good on you for asking the question, and taking your boy out. A couple of pretty good explanatory links are below. Hope that helps.

KG

http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.shotgun-stock-fitting.html

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=2113

P.S. Neither here nor there, but IMO, a 3.5" shell is just not necessary for waterfowl hunting. That said, whatever floats your boat.

I'm one who doesn't even come close to fitting factory stocks.My O/U has a custom stock, expensive but for me it makes a big difference.It was fitted with a 'try gun'.My Benelli I modified myself.I do believe in using the same guns for hunting and target shooting.Sporting clays is great for hunting practice.Search for a gunsmith who specializes in shotguns even if he is not local. I also believe the 3.5" is not necessary.

If you are near Gamaliel you can get Paul to help you out or you could call him. There is a relly good gunfitter in southern Kentucky but I do not recall his name. Here is the number and web address for Gamaliel shooting supply.

800-356-6230
270-457-3974 local
www.gamaliel.com

Born To Hunt,

For the right length of pull, when you mount a gun, your thumb should be around 1"-1.5" in front of your nose. As long as you can see straight down the rib, you should be close enough. Take the gu nto the patterning board to make sure you're gun is hitting where you are looking, if it's left/right, you may have to get an adjustable comb put on (if you don't want a custom stock) to fix that, also would help if you're gun's shooting a little higher or lower than you would want, then you can just sight it in like it's a rifle (moving the rear sight, which is your eye). I'm only about 5'10", but most guns fit me pretty darned well right off of the shelf, you probably don't need to change as much as you think. Good luck, and have fun with your son!

I hunt ducks quite a bit. I have a 3 1/2" gun. You do not need a 3 1/2" gun for ducks. I prefer 2 3/4" Kent Impact Tugnsten Matrix No5's for all ducks from early teal to late big mallards and blacks and I've killed more than a few big canadas with them too.

If you don't want to spring for these spendy shells, steel 3" No3's work well for big ducks instead. Go with steel 2 3/4" No4's for early season woodies and teal though.

The 3 1/2" really only comes into it own for snow geese and canadas.

And for canadas, I prefer a 10ga.

JPK