My shotgun shoots low, what now!?

J

Jmiverson

Regular
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Regina
Hey guys, I'll start by saying its a weatherby sa-08, 12ga.

I started shooting trap last season, and since then have not been impressed with my scores... Thinking it was just me needing more trigger time, I've been shooting lots. But a quick couple shots at the pattern board revealed that with a modified or IC choke, with Rio #8 shot, it does indeed hit quite low. I now find the "bird" is completely out of view in order to get a hit.

So what can I do? The shotgun came with cast and comb changing spacers, but what direction should I go? I've tried Rio and federal 1oz. Shot, is it an ammo problem? Any help would be appreciated.
 
You need to bring the comb up so that you are seeing more of the rib . you might try adding a pad to the top of the comb if the shim does not give enough adjustment .
 
Raise the comb to raise the Point of Impact.

Shoot a pattern carefully, from a rest at exactly 16 yards from the muzzle, using full or imp.mod. at a small ( say 1" ) aiming point (The 16 yards has nothing to do with the 16 yard line at Trap ... just a coincidence) Measure carefully how much lower the centre of the pattern is from the point of aim. The tighter choke gives a very clear indication of where the pattern is striking.
To reduce the risk of error, I would repeat the process at least 3 times ... and use your favourite Trap loads.

Raise the comb by 1/16" for every inch the pattern is low at 16 yards to centre it. Being that you are a Trap shooter, I would recommend that you finalize your fit
so that the pattern is approximately 70/30 high ... that is, 70% of the pattern above the POA, 30% below. Cast is helpful to move the pattern right or left. Most right-handed
shooters can benefit with a little cast-off ... that is the centre line of the top of the stock a little to the right of the centre line of the rib ... and just the opposite for
lefties, then referred to as cast-on. By raising the comb, you tend to straighten your head up to acquire the required site picture of the target, generally requiring a little more
cast off. I would suggest you work on comb height first to achieve the 70/30 pattern percentage ... then go to cast to move left or right as required.

Your owners manual should tell you which spacer(s) to use to achieve less drop at comb ( by raising the comb, thus your line of sight) and which way to put them in for cast-off
(for righties) or cast-on (for-lefties).

Once you've got a 70/30 pattern centred, verify your pattern - without a rest - from your normal shooting stance.... then shoot a flat or two before even considering any further change.
If you find you are still having to "cover" your targets, you might want to try a move to 80/20 or even a full pattern high ... but a word of caution - too much experimentation can lead
to poor shooting. Make a change, verify it, then give it a fair chance to work.
 
Wow thanks for the tips! I will check my manual like you suggest, then start moving my comb up.

Is there any load combination/manufacturer I should be trying? Or is the Rio 1oz #8 good enough?
 
Rio trap loads albeit somewhat dirty generally perform quite well.....try #7.5 and/or Win AA HS in both #7.5 and #8.....staying with 1oz loads will mean lesser recoil and break those clay equally well. As already suggested, you will very likely observe a marked difference once you have the drop adjusted and choke switched to a tighter constriction.
 
Beretta Boy does a great job explaining this. Just remember that you are shooting a field gun compared to a dedicated trap gun. I was told that they are meant to more or less shoot straight, whereas a dedicated trap gun will have a raised rib that will automatically adjust the angle of the barrel to match the angle of the clay being slung into the air when you shoulder the firearm.

I find Rio to be the only load that will not cycle my Silver. It's filthy and the charge sometimes isn't enough to even cycle the bolt back halfway. I use federal and winchester - whatever is on sale at WSS without any issue.
 
As with any field gun, it is ment to shoot a bit low, just adjust your shot placement. A weatherby SA-08 is a hunting gun and not quite ideal for trap but will still work. Trap guns O/U will be dead on just because the barrels are ment to hit straight on, just the lower barrel will obviously shoot slightly lower. Ammo will hit the same spot no matter what you use, smaller shot in the cup will give you a denser pattern and more of a chance of a hit in trap but will reduce the effective distance of breaking a bird at longer distances if you wait too long. Im guessing you are new at this, it will take a few thousand rounds to not even look down the barrel and just bring the gun up and hit what you are looking at. Just remember its usually the big orange thing and just focus on that.
 
I am fairly new, only been shooting trap for a year now. I have shot lots of upland game and informal clays with various feild guns but I'm finding this is a totally different animal.

Most of my experience has been with rifles, so ya I need some work! I'll check what the local guys have for shells on sale along with the rest of this awesome advice. Thanks guys!
 
OP

Listen to Beretta Boy. Once again he's written a superb bit of advice. I've temporarily built up combs on field guns to shoot trap with. It involved using a lot of narrow strips of duct tape. I would use varying lengths to build the back up more than the front until the "comb" was parallel with the rib and then added full length strips to adjust the height. Oddly enough when it was done the stock looked very much like a monte carlo trap stock ;)

If you like the results with a built up comb google D&E Scope EZE. The only problem with the stick on pad is that it is essentially permanent. If you plan to use the gun to hunt, you will likely need to remove any comb riser. Meadow Industries makes a comb raising kit that fastens with velcro. I've never tried that because I distrust the velcro for long term use. A Stock may be reworked to add a 4 way adjustable comb, but that starts getting expensive.

A lot of shooters who start shooting trap with a field gun, and find they love the sport, will find themselves in the quandary you are in now. Most of us in the end used that dilemma as an excuse to buy a "real" trap gun once the finances allowed. Fair warning :p
 
Thanks!! I think I will rig something up with tape and/or mouse pad and cover it with something. Only temporary, next season I will be looking for a dedicated trap gun. Really appreciate all the help guys.
 
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