There’s a reason why people say that it’s easy to solve the halting problem with a shotgun. It is a deadly damageable weapon that can easily take your life away.
Because of being so powerful, it has a powerful recoil too. Even though aiming is the most common step for any gun, shotguns need something more.
You have to know how you can shoulder the shotgun properly and get your target at the same time. Now, the main question is what is the correct way to shoulder a shotgun?
There are things like your cheek is the secret support when you’re shouldering your gun. You need your gun to fit to the shoulder pocket and you can use a comb raising kit too. And if you want to have the best posture, the best way to do it to mirror yourself and correct your posture.
We can offer a lot if you can offer only a little amount of time to work on your shouldering of a shotgun. Let’s dive deep-
What is the Correct Way to Shoulder a Shotgun
If you ever thought that you can shoot a shotgun like a rifle, that’s the biggest mistake of your life.
Shooting with a shotgun is totally on a different level and really tough to master. There are many sports that are related to the shotgun like shooting moving targets, flying objects and etc.
If you practice for most of these sports, you’ll be able to master the shotgun faster than you can ever think of.
However, if you’re not practicing correctly, it’s going to be of no use. Aiming and shooting is all of it for a shotgun. You need to shoulder a shotgun properly.
Now you might be wondering that what’s so important about this shouldering. Well, as shotguns are pretty powerful, they burst their bullet in such a force that is unbearable for a beginner. So, severe accidents can be happened.
As per newton’s third law, we all know that every action has an opposite and equal reaction and that exact thing is going on here.
That burst of the bullet also creates a recoil that makes the shotgun move in your direction. This can be deadly for the shooter himself.
There are severe cases where people injure themselves because they don’t know how to shoulder a shotgun correctly.
To avoid that kind of disaster, we’ve organized all the steps that’ll help you correct your shoulder position with a shotgun.
"Cheek" is the Secret Key
The key to being a master at shouldering your shotgun is your cheek. Yes, we know cheek is no part of the shoulder but it adds a support that helps you to handle the recoil.
If you’re up for consistent shotgun shooting, you’ll definitely need to focus on a proper cheek weld.
You need to mount your shotgun to your face to get your head properly aligned and keep your eye on the target. Then, you should try bringing the stock to your cheek as the main point of contact.
Keep your head straight, stay focused on your target, and bring the shotgun up to your face. The top edge of the stock should firmly sit just under your cheekbone which puts your dominant eye on top of the shotgun.
You can now stare straight down the barrel to the bead. Also, if the gun is a proper fit, you’ll have the butt of the gun right on your shoulder.
Fit to the Shoulder Pocket
When you bring the gun to your face, the butt of the gun is more likely to fit right into your shoulder pocket.
What’s the shoulder pocket, you ask? Well, if you look underneath your collarbone, that’s where the shoulder pocket is. Your shoulder and clavicle meet there which forms a natural pocket that fits around the butt end of a stock.
Moreover, the shoulder pocket gives you some nice God-gifted cushioning from the weapon’s recoil.
And setting your gun anywhere other than this shoulder pocket might cause your injuries that you’ll regret.
And once you feel that the stock slipped into the pocket, you can bump your shoulder forward or pull the gun tight into the pocket.
However, you shouldn’t make excessive movements of these, because the gun will be already in the proper position.
Another thing is that you should press the stock and keep it steady. Because if you press it firmly, you won’t be able to handle the force that it’ll throw at you.
If you think that you’re not feeling comfortable fitting the stock into your shoulder pocked while maintaining a good cheek weld, your shotgun might not fit you properly.
How do you know if you have an improper fit or not? Well, if you feel like that you need to tilt your head to keep your cheeks mount when you slide the butt back into the pocket, that’s when you know that you have an improper fit.
There’s a simple trick with shouldering that you might have never noticed so closely. You need to lean slightly into your weapon, hinge from the hips, and keep your knees slightly bent. This will help you have better control to take care of the recoil.
Fit to the shoulder pocket
Comb Raising Kit
Comb raising kits are very much handy when you have a shotgun. You can achieve a better fit without trading your favorite shotgun just using a comb raising kit.
So, basically these kits are a spongy neoprene sleeve that fits easily over the stock of your shotgun.
And you’ll also find that most kits have a selection of foam inserts that can be combined with the sleeve to raise the comb of your stock.
Mirror Yourself
Just like people in ballet watch themselves dance and improve their step, you’re going to correct your position too.
So, you need to stand in front of a mirror and then shoulder your shotgun. Then, you’ll notice every detail of how you look holding your shotgun or if you have a correct posture or not.
Now, you can correct your position, posture, and everything yourself. Watching yourself in the mirror can also boost your confidence level for the shooting.
Bottom Line
If you’re looking for what is the correct way to shoulder a shotgun only, then you’re going to the wrong path.
Aiming and shooting are also as important as the shouldering. You have to be an expert at every skill of shotgun if you want to be a quick and fearless shooter or want to be a master hunter who kills at one shot.
So, practice more and more and one day you might be able to be the master with a shotgun.