HOW TO USE - Brownells

 The subject of stock fitting is filled with much myth, mystery, and, sometimes, even the plain unvarnished truth. The Brownells Pull and Drop Gauge provides the gunsmith with an economical and accurate tool for measuring the basic dimensions of a gun stock. It helps you accurately duplicate dimensions from one stock to another, and fit an individual stock to a shooter. The Pull and Drop Gauge will measure stock dimensions including length of pull, drop at comb and drop at heel to 1/8 of an inch, and can be used to mark the stock when lowering the comb and shortening the stock. Using the Brownells Pull and Drop Gauge allows the gunsmith to easily demonstrate to the customer where custom fitting of the stock may be in order.

PULL & DROP GAUGE

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BROWNELLS GUNSMITHS DATA RING BINDER

SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS IN YOUR

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WARNING

Never attempt to disassemble or reassemble a firearm unless you are absolutely certain that it is empty and unloaded. Visually inspect the chamber, the magazine and firing mechanism to be absolutely certain that no ammunition remains in the firearm. Disassembly and reassembly should follow the manufacturer's instructions. If such instructions are not immediately available, contact the manufacturer to see if they are available. If they are not available at all, then you should consult other reference sources such as reference books or persons with sufficient knowledge. If such alternative sources are not available and you have a need to disassemble or reassemble the firearm, you should proceed basing your procedures on common sense and experience with similarly constructed firearms. With regard to the use of these tools, the advice of Brownells Incorporated is general. If there is any question as to a specific application it would be best to seek out specific advice from other sources and not solely rely on the general advice and warnings given.

HOW TO USE

WARNING: THIS TOOL AND THE PROCEDURES DETAILED BELOW ARE INTENDED TO BE USED ONLY BY QUALIFIED PERSONS FAMILIAR WITH STOCK ALTERATION TECHNIQUES, AND OBSERVING STRICT SAFETY PRECAUTIONS AT ALL TIMES. Both rifles and shotguns can be fitted using the techniques outlined below. Factory rifle stocks are not frequently altered beyond Length Of Pull (LOP) adjustment and, in some cases, comb height adjustment to facilitate iron sight/scope sight access. In the case of a custom rifle stock, factors such as LOP, comb height (alignment to iron sights or a scope), grip size and other custom dimensions are incorporated into the stock during the stockmaking phase of the gun building process. Some customers will want a rifle stock fitted with the same attention to detail that is necessary in a shotgun stock, the following instructions apply equally to rifle and shotgun. The fit of a shotgun stock is much more critical to comfortable and accurate shooting than many suspect. Since the "rear sight" of a shotgun is actually the shooters' eye, an ill-fitting stock is the equivalent of having the sights misaligned. The need for comfort should be addressed also. Painful shooting leads to bad shooting habits like jerking, bucking, flinching, closing the eyes and not keeping the head down on the stock. The first thing to do is define the parts of the buttstock and the terms used in establishing measurements. The following diagram shows the major terminology and relationships we will be talking about concerning gun fit:

Nose

Comb

Heel

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INSTRUCTIONS

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World's Largest Supplier of Firearms Accessories and Gunsmithing Tools.TM

By measuring these dimensions on our shotgun we can determine what we have. The Brownells Pull and Drop Gauge is particularly useful in determining these measurements. The following illustrations show how.

Measuring Drop

Measuring Pull

Length of Pull

076-200-548 Sept. 05r

Now that we have some baseline measurements of the stock, we can measure gun fit to the shooter and establish how to modify the stock for best fit.

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? 2005 BROWNELLS, INC.

MADE IN U.S.A.

If we already have one shotgun that fits very well we can compare the dimensions and make the new stock as nearly identical as possible. If we don't have another shotgun stock that fits, then we must proceed to fit this gun to the shooter. Checking fit is usually done by having the gunsmith stand in front of the shooter and look down the barrel to check alignment of the shooter's eye to the rib or topofbarrel.MAKEABSOLUTELYCERTAINTHEFIREARMISUNLOADED.CHECKBO THCHAMBERANDMAGAZINEANDBECERTAINBOTHARE EMPTY. A shooter working on his own gun can shoulder the gun while looking at a mirror, he must also MAKEABSOLUTELYCERTAINTHEFIREARMISUNLOADED. The old established way of determining Length Of Pull is by placing the short "leg" of the Brownells Pull and Drop Gauge in the crook of the arm, as per the picture, and measuring the length of the forearm to the trigger finger. While this measurement was widely used in the past to determine

Pull Length

fit, it does not take into account such factors as facial bone structure, length of the neck, thickness of the chest or the type of clothing that will be worn while shooting (when predictable). A more exact way of checking gun fit is to have the shooter dress appropriately for the circumstances under which the shotgun is expected to be used. There are two basic methods used to fit the gun to the shooter. Method 1 - Have the shooter close both eyes, mount the shotgun to the normal shooting position and, without moving, open the eyes. The gunsmith standing in front of the shooter can now determine the relationship of the shooting eye to the sighting plane of the shotgun. The reason for closing the eyes is that there is a natural tendency to conform to the gun when the eyes are open, making it difficult to assess the natural fit of the gun to the shooter. By closing the eyes while mounting the gun we can see the natural relationship of the shooter to the stock and eliminate the subconscious tendency to conform to the stock by the shooter. Method 2 - Have the shooter pick a spot on a wall in the shop, or some nearby object to serve as a "target", concentrate on that spot and mount the gun. The gunsmith can then move in front of the shooter and determine the relationship of the shooting eye to the sighting plane of the shotgun. The first thing we'll establish is the correct length of pull. Have the shooter mount the gun several times, observing how the gun comes up, and the head's position after the mount. Optimum head position places the point of the cheekbone approximately 11/4" to 11/2" inches behind the nose of the comb. Also, the gun must rise smoothly. If it drags on the shooter's clothes the stock is probably too long. If the shooter has to pull the gun back to the shoulder, the stock is probably too short. If the cheek is significantly forward or rearward of this point, the stock should be altered by either cutting (to shorten) or adding a spacer, or thicker recoil pad to change the length of the stock until a good fit is achieved. Bear in mind that a novice shooter will not have a good, definite mount and stance, so this dimension will likely change as the shooter becomes more experienced.

SpacerTo Help Maintain Pitch

Pitch Amount SpacerTo Help Maintain Pitch

Original Pull Length

Place Pull &Drop Gauge firmly against butt

toe to accomplish this. Place a spacer between the barrel or rib and the length of the straight edge that extends over the barrel. This will help maintain the pitch angle as you slide the gauge to the new pull length as shown in the second diagram. Make sure to allow for the thickness of the recoil pad, then scribe along the gauge to mark your cutting guideline. Rifles generally do not have pitch; the butt should be at a 90? angle to the centerline of the barrel. The next step in fitting the shotgun is to align the eye over the center of the sighting plane or rib. Have the shooter mount the gun, check the relationship of the shooting eye to the sighting plane and determine which way the shooter's head needs to move to center the eye over the rib or sighting plane. Narrow or widen the comb at the point where the cheekbone and cheek contact the stock to center the eye. You can narrow the comb with a rasp when the comb is too thick; add a cheek pad or build up the area with wood or epoxy and polishing/finishing to a smooth contour. Or, it is possible to "bend" the stock, adding "cast-on" or "cast-off". Cast-off moves the stock to the right for a right-handed shooter, cast-on moves the stock to the left, for a left-handed shooter. In the case of an expensive shotgun it may be preferable to send the stock to a professional stockmaker for bending. Whichever way it is accomplished, it is absolutely necessary to get the eye centered over the sighting plane or else the shotgun will likely shoot left, or right, of center. Next, adjust the height of the comb to position the eye correctly above the sighting plane. Once again, with the shotgun unloaded, have the shooter mount the gun. For field (game), skeet and sporting clays shooting, we usually want a "flat" shooting gun. That is one that centers the pattern of the shotgun evenly around the center of the aiming area. Raise or lower the comb height until the pupil (dark spot in the center of the eye) is nearly touching the surface of the sighting plane. To adjust, make small changes in the height of the comb, maintaining a straight comb line with frequent stops for checking fit as you go along. Trapshooters frequently like a gun to shoot a little "high" as their targets are usually rising as they are shot. By shooting high, the likelihood of shooting under the target is diminished. We normally want about 60% of the pattern to hit above and 40% below the aiming mark. This can usually be accomplished by adjusting eye height above the sighting plane until the iris of the eye (the colored part) is just touching the sighting plane of the shotgun. Again, make small changes with frequent stops to check for fit. When the stock fit is finished, use the Brownells Pull and Drop Gauge to measure the finished dimensions and record them in your customer's file. Future guns can be altered to the same fit. While the above directions have addressed fitting a shotgun stock, the exact same results can be obtained when fitting a rifle stock. If the shooter is having trouble getting "down" on the stock to align the front and rear sight, the comb line can be lowered just as if lowering the comb for a shotgun shooter. If the comb is too low and the shooter's head loses contact with the stock when looking thru the scope, the comb can be raised. If the toe of the stock is digging into the shooters' shoulder when firing the rifle, the pitch of the rifle can be adjusted. If the customer wants a recoil pad installed on the rifle we can check the LOP and adjust for best fit to the customer at the same time the stock is altered for the recoil pad. As you can tell from the above instructions, the proper fitting of a gun stock is not an overly complicated operation. By using a logical sequence and the Brownells Drop and Pull Gauge, very acceptable fitting may be obtained. This will result in increased demand for this fitting service plus better shooting and more satisfied customers.

Reassemble the firearm according to the manufacturer's instructions. Check for proper functioning using ACTION PROVING DUMMIES. Make sure ALL SAFETY MECHANISMS are fully functional as designed and approved by the manufacturer. If these tests prove satisfactory, test-fire the firearm with live ammunition in a SAFE and APPROPRIATE manner. IMPORTANT! Start the live ammunition tests by first loading an ACTION PROVING DUMMY, then a live round, into the magazine. Only after several tests have been conducted in this manner should additional rounds be placed in the magazine and fired.

Pitch Amount

New Pull Length

Move Pull &DropGauge to new pull length

Pitch is an important dimension and you can use the following diagrams to help maintain the pitch already built into the buttstock when shortening the stock. Place the Brownells Pull &Drop Gauge firmly against the heel and toe of the stock and place a long, straight edge on top of the barrel or rib, and the short leg of the gauge. Make sure the long straight edge and the short leg of the gauge are "square." You may have to move the short leg up or down while holding the long leg against the heel and

MADE IN U.S.A.

? 2005 BROWNELLS, INC

076-200-548 Sept. 05r

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