I don’t know how many guys go and get your gun fitted but it makes a ton of difference. I’ve had several different guns fitted by different gunsmiths and even had an adjustable comb done on an over and under. I buy a new Black eagle 20 gauge because we are going 20 gauge only next year. I shoot it some last season and know it’s not set up right. I take it to a gunsmith that was highly recommended and you won’t even believe what I learned. First off I’m a right handed shooter and the gun came from the factory set up for a left handed shooter. We are adding two inches to the stock and changing the drop on stock. When it hits my cheek I know it’s in the correct position. It will be ready next week and he’s meeting me at elm fork to put it on a pattern board to see how it shoots. This guy is the most knowledgeable person I’ve ever met. There’s more but that’s the basics.
His contract info;
Selous Gun Fittings
1605 W Northwest hwy.
Grapevine,Tx
Andrew MacFarlane
817 266 7653

Agreed. If it dont fit well you most likley want shoot it well. Have had a couple fitted to me. Philips Gunsmithing at Lake Fork is very knowledgeable also at fitting shotguns.

how does that happen?

They are just throwing them together and shipping them out. A friend took a Browning and a Black Eagle over and both were set up for left handed shooters. We all have learned how to shoot a gun that we acquired. We adjust to our guns. I’ve spent some time on a pattern board to see where my gun shot. Just like golf clubs. When you hit a golf club that’s been fitted for you it’s a world of difference.

Pattern board at 16 yards. 1/16” stock movement will move your pattern 1”. Don’t change anything before you get the length of pull where you want it.

I am a south paw. I have several over unders fitted to my mount and dimensions. I’ve done some myself and have had some done professionally. Auto loaders with shims and an adjustment plate the stock bolt goes through, I always set up myself.

I’ve used three outfits in the Houston area to fit some of my over unders. Briley, Dustin Mount, and Larry Feeland. Feeland was the most thorough and the most expensive. If I need another one fitted, Larry Feeland would be my first choice. It is a two hour drive down there for me. Larry works by appointment. He did all the work while I waited. It took most of a day. Multiple trips to the pattern board. Multiple adjustments to the stock. I already had the dimensions I prefer. The dimensions I supplied were pretty darn close. When Larry was finished the LOP, cast, drop, pitch, and toe out were absolutely perfect for me. I like a 50/50 pattern. With zero user adjustment, point of impact is dead nuts on my mount.

Fitting your stock will only be as consistent as your mount.

I think it is the cast that is backwards. Not sure how a cast on gets put on a gun but it's probably the manufacturing process that takes the next stock whether it is a cast on or off.

While I agree having the gun properly fitted is critical for consistently hitting your target. I often wondered how much that all gets thrown off when the gun is fitted to you when you are wearing a t-shirt, and then you go hunt ducks with a couple base layers and a heavy coat on which adds an inch or two of bulk to your shoulder. Which I would assume throws everything off.

I wonder what the expert gun fitters response would be.

That's easy. Andrew above who fitted my gun has you bring in your duck gun and hunting clothes. He fits the gun to how you hunt. My water fowling guns are a shorter length of pull than my sporting clays gun. Gaining or dropping a significant amount of weight will also effect gun fit as well. Don't ask me how I know.

With your new auto loader:Take the butt plate off. Take the nut off the stock bolt. The stock will pull off. Inside the stock is a small metal plate with a hole the stock bolt goes through. Take that plate out. Flip it 180°. Keep the top of the plate up. Put it back in the stock. Flip the shim that is between the stock and receiver. Put it back together. Now you have right handed cast. Fine tune the cast with the assortment of shims. Further tweaking can be accomplished by lightly sanding the shims. Flipping the stock plate top to bottom will add or take away drop before fine tuning with the shims to adjust point of impact up or down.

Edit to add: to know what adjustments to make.

Put a spot on a pattern board. Step back 16 yards. Stare intently at the spot. Shoulder the shotgun and shoot. Do it 3 times. The patterns should be on top of each other. If they are not, you need to work on tightening up your mount before proceeding. If your mount is not repeatable, fitting is an excercise in futility. Measure horizontal and vertical distance from the center of the pattern to the center of the spot in inches. 1/16” of added drop will lower the pattern 1”. 1/16” Less drop will raise the pattern in the same 1” increments. Adding or subtracting 1/16” cast will move the pattern 1” in the direction you alter the cast.

With your shotgun upside down, place the rib flat, running down the edge of a flat table or workbench. The bead needs to be off the end and pulled up against the edge of the bench so the rib is flat and you can return the shotgun to the same position. The edge of the rib needs to be flush with the edge of the table for its entire length. Use a carpenters square to measure the distance from the table to the heel. That is your drop at the heel. Now with the square perpendicular to the stock, mark the cast from the side of the stock at the heel on the table. Multiply the horizontal distance in inches you want to move your pattern by 1/16. (You obtained this number from the target you shot at 16 yards) Mark the measurement from the current cast mark on the table.That is where you need to adjust the cast to. Do the same with your elevation and drop. You can accomplish drop by simply measuring. Take your time and don’t over do it. It is a simple process. When done correctly, when squared up and mounting into a mirror, this puts the bottom of my pupil sitting on the rib dead center with almost no rib showing. The shotgun in the mirror should be square to the one in your hands. Factor in if you like a 50/50, 60/40, or whatever pattern you like for your preferred site picture.

Enjoy your new smoke pole. If you want to adjust your new Benelli to your mount, it is simple enough to do yourself. Older autoloaders and over unders that do not come with modular stock adjustment require more skill.

Andrews's fitted guns for Myself, Wife and Dad. Been pleased with results

What does something like this cost?

It is a good point, and a reason to not over think it. I shoot one gun, clay and birds. If I ever miss a clay or a bird, I do not blame my fit, I just did not put the pattern on the bird. If I'm wearing a lot of layers hunting, practice mount before legal helps a lot. I do practice mounts before every hunt, make sure I got my mount right based on clothing... Many times I pull the trigger and gun is not even fully mounted.

We all dress for the weather. If wearing a jacket is a problem, your mount is the problem, not your jacket.
This is how it works. In this order. Eyes and body tracking the target. Gun inserts under the eye and into your cheek. Shoulder rolls up and into the butt. Pull the trigger. Stock goes to the correct position under the eye and on the face first. Once there, it stays there. With thicker clothes the shoulder does not roll as far forward before it finds the stock. It is not a problem because the eye is in the right position. Put the gun on your shoulder first and all kinds of things that make no difference suddenly do and can cause you to miss. Stance, body angle, head down blah blah blah…. Lots of stuff that shouldn’t hinder you, gets pulled into getting the center of your pupil right on top of the middle of the rib and what you are doing is over complicated. The comb of the stock is the real sight on a shotgun. That is what puts your eye in position so the gun shoots where you look. Put it where it goes first and a lot of things I see shooters obsess over take care of their self.

What? Just kidding. One of my favorite JP quotes when I was talking about shooting strategy in the blind “Just shoot the f’n duck!”

I believe a good shooter should be able to pick up any shotgun and shoot it well. The shotgun I’ve been shooting the last 35 years feels right but I’ve borrowed shotguns from friends and still hit what I pointed at. Don’t let clothing or a professional fit get in your head. Shooting a shotgun is pretty simple if you hunt enough.

I mostly agree with you scalebuster. It changes when you are a lefty shooting a shotgun with factory right hand cast, which most have. The stock is in the damn way. You can’t get to the barrel. Not even close. I wanted to shoot over unders and double barrels. I learned how to get rid of that right hand cast on my own that most have from the factory. As I got older and made a little more money, I also got busier. I got lazy if I had a lot going on and paid someone else to do the alterations. Neutral cast stocks don’t pose much problem. Shoot some of my scatter guns with left hand wood. The pain in the keaster a lefty has to deal with would hit you right in the face, especially if you are a good shot, if you didn’t wrap it around a tree.

There is wisdom in his words.

many a duck been killed with an 870 that came right out the box, you can either shoot or you cant

The human can conform to anything and adapt, so any factory gun can and will work. That said, I did a sxs 16ga that comes perfectly to the shoulder and it is a beautiful thing. I will say this, if you are going to have a fitted shotgun then reload and pattern the reloads for optimal performance. When is the last time you went to any range where anyone was patterning a shotgun? Counting thhe pellets, etc. Not many.

You d be surprised how often the barrels of double guns aren’t quite aligned. The patterning board tells all.

I understand. I was shooting pigeons with a buddy’s lefty cast autoloader while he trained on his dog. It felt very awkward.

My fitting didnt change much for me, My wife it made dramatic difference. Apparently women have longer necks and longer length of pull per their height, or atleast mine does. Her LOP was lengthen a bunch and cast changed and her accuracy changed significantly.

I've overthought this with my SBEII. I shoot a right handed gun lefty. I figured... man, I could be even more accurate if I setup the shims for a lefty! So I did... and shooting went to crap LOL. Changed it back and never messed with it again.

When I was in the market trying to figure out what to get, I was careful to shoulder one over and over to see how natural the fit was. Should have known better than to mess with it.

Most of my other guns take no time to adjust. But, when I swap to my Citori it takes a few shots to get back in the swing of it. A little time behind the barrel goes a long way.

It’s not cheap. $250 per gun.

My barrels are pretty close but as you said, not perfect.