Gun fit is important, and the only real way to get it right is by shooting the gun. If you do not have a gun fitter available to watch you shoot targets then the best way is to shoot at a patterning board.
The first thing you need is a consistent mount. You cannot determine proper fit if you are throwing the gun to different places on your shoulder all the time. Work on your gun mount technique until you are consistent.
The next thing you need are some strips of leather or similar material and some masking tape. Slip on pads of various lengths are helpful, but if you only have one it should be fairly thin. You can vary the effective length by placing bits of the leather in the end. While the "rule of thumb" described above will get you close, it only really works on guns with parallel stocks. On most guns, the drop at comb is less than the drop at heel, so moving your cheek backwards or forwards on the stock will alter the height of your eye relative to the rib. You must do this by altering the LOP, not by modifying your mount technique.
Take the gun, tape and leather to the patterning board. Draw a visible dot in the middle of the board. Step back 16 yards. Now comes the very hardest part. Without looking at the gun at all, stare at the dot on the target and in one smooth motion mount the gun and fire. The hard part is not looking at the gun, but it is very important. If you know you blew the mount, ignore the result and shoot again.
Now, look at the point of impact (centre of the pattern). If it is low, tape some leather to the comb to add some height. If it is high, add some length to the stock. Do this in small increments, an eighth of an inch on the stock will translate to as much as a foot on the target.
Keep at this process until the gun shoots where you are looking. Of course some conditions cannot be solved with the addition of length or comb height. Examples would be not enough cast, or excessive comb height. However, the Bobwhite is reasonable in these regards, so if you are somewhere close to average build you will be able to fit the gun without real work on the wood.
I am taller than most, and all I had to do was get the length right with a stock extension (offset to the right about 1/16th of an inch) in order to get my Bobwhite to shoot where I look. Your milage may vary.
Once this process is done, you can make more permanent alterations to the stock, such as gluing down strips of leather or making a proper stock extension instead of a slip on pad, or even taking down some wood if required.
There is a real benefit to going afield with a gun that you know fits you. You can concentrate on the game or target, rather than trying to accommodate the gun. Your confidence will be high. This process is a little tedious, but worth it.
Sharptail
