Have you recently bought a new scattergun, and felt as though, despite the fact that it felt like a fit in the gun shop, something is off at the range?
Are you missing clays (which you should be hitting) left and right?
Everyone knows that length of pull, or LOP, the distance between the trigger and the end of the shotgun’s stock, has a profound impact on the fit of the gun to the shooter.
But in some cases, the problem may be something else – comb height.
What Is Comb Height?
Comb height is a measure of the height of the stock’s cheekpiece. When properly set, comb height will keep your eye at the level of the bead’s plane – not above or below it.
In this manner, comb height is not measured in the same way as length of pull. While the comb height may remain constant, each shooter’s facial anatomy and dimensions will affect whether or not the gun is a fit.
However, this feature of a shotgun’s fit has far-ranging repercussions on the clay course and in the field.
Why Comb Height Matters
If comb height is too low, your eye will be below the plane of the bead at the front of the gun, and your shots will trend low.
If comb height is too high, then your eye will be above the plane of the bead, and your shots will trend high.
If you’re noticing that your shots are missing not in front of or behind the clay, but over or under it, the issue is very likely comb height.
This is the reason many high-end competition and sporting clays shotguns have modular stocks with adjustable cheek pieces that can be raised or lowered.
(Incidentally, comb height adjustments impact rifle shooters, too. Even though this article is about shotgunning, it’s important to note that improperly adjusted comb height on a rifle can create a parallax distortion through optics that adversely affect the accuracy of rifle shooters.)
Is Your Comb Height Off?
The telltale giveaway that comb height is poorly adjusted to you is if your shots are missing either too high or too low.
You can also sometimes “feel” if comb height is off, too.
It’s too low if you mount the gun and the barrel rib seems to “disappear” and too high when you mount the gun and there seems to be “too much barrel” (indicating that your eye is resting too high over the stock).
What You Can Do About It (Try a Shotgun Cheek Pad)
If your comb height is off, there isn’t necessarily any need to do anything drastic.
There’s actually an easy fix for a comb height that’s too low – just get a shotgun cheek pad like a Caparison cheek rest, which you can get very affordably online at Anarchy Outdoors.
This shotgun cheek pad (which is also great for rifle shooters) is made from precision, laser-cut, blended EPDM foam with a closed-cell construction that resists water, air, and gas absorption.
Its closed-cell nature also means that this foam resists compression and loss of form.
It’s affordable, easy to apply, and enables you to make immediate, at-home adjustments to raise comb height without the need to visit a gunsmith.
You can learn more about this shotgun cheek pad via the previous link or get in touch with Anarchy Outdoors for more information at 833-980-0333.
