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Member Joined: 01 Dec 2006 Posts: 524

How do you shoot your sterly's? Do you black out target or float the target just above the bead? if so, how much? I've had succes on birds with the gun, but I'm struggling at clays with it. I'm used to floating the clay very, very slightly above the bead. Of course thats with a browning XS Skeet with 30"bbls and only a 1 1/2" of DAH compared with the Sterly with its 26'bbls and 2 3/8 drop at heel. The sterly keeps making me subconciously lift my head of the comb which isnt good. I never seem to do that on game though cuz you know it when it happens-believe me.

In addition to my hopeless flinch, I've messed up my clays and bird shooting by way too much trap where I liked to float the target with a 90/10 % pattern. For some reason, I tend to shoot below flushing straight away birds more than clays Confused

BTW: I use the swing through technique for almost every low gun skeet target with the bead on line with the clay.
Your problem. however, is likely related to the increased drop on the Sterly stock + the fact that SxSs tend to have a slightly lower point-of-impact that O/Us. Keep building up the comb of the Sterly until you've got the same POI as the Citori with the same head position. You probably won't have the same sight picture however.

I agree. Build up the stock. My problem is when I switch from shorter to longer barrelled guns, my swing changes. My shortest is a light (5.10) 26" 16ga. double. My longest is a 30" pump.

Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 81 Location: Illinois

The best way I can describe the sight picture I use, is the bird is right on top of the barrels. That seem to work well for me and my Sterlingworths.

I do have 2 Sterlingworths and I have noticed one shoots about 4" to 5" lower than the other. One shoots a 50/50 pattern when I'm looking flat down the rib while the other shoots 50/50 while I am seeing some rib. So I'm sure the sight picture you need to see depends on how your gun shoots and fits.

Member Joined: 02 Feb 2006 Posts: 602 Location: western pa

I shoot an old Broadway Superposed for trap and have a bit of a gap between the gun and the bird when I hit the trigger. I also shoot 3 old Fox sxs guns and I find that you want to still see the bird when you pull the trigger, but keep pushing the gun thru in the direction of motion. Sometimes that blotts the bird out, depending on direction. As previuosly noted, this has to do with the stock drop dimension. Come September, I put the trap gun( over/under) away until the bird season is over. The difference in sight picture between the 2 types of guns will cause you trouble. However, with each different gun, you need to spend some time at the pattern board with the load and distance you will most use. Sometimes we forget exactly where a gun shoots so an annual trip to the board is time well spent.

Joined: 28 Nov 2006 Posts: 47

I don't have a 16 ga Fox (but I sure wish I did!) but I shoot a 1909 AH Fox 12 ga that came with a comb strickly down hill (must have had a 3" drop at heel)..never could figger out how to hit with it with any consistency so I finally gave up and had Wenig restock her. Put my favorite sxs dimensions in the new stock (15" LOP, 1.5 at comb and 2.0 at heel, zero cast) and all is well on both birds and clays. This old gun must have been designed for ducks and bigger birds since it has lots of weight in its 30" barrels. But what a clays breaking machine. Also great for pheasants on afterburners.

The original stock config must have been for another style of shooting than I know how to do but getting new wood on her has really made a diff. Probably building up the stock would have served the same purpose.

You are really lucky to have a Sterly Fox in 16...worth the tinkering and adjustments to be able to shoot such a fine gun.

Wow! Sterlingworths were typically made with either 3" or 2-3/4" DAH. That's too much for me. Now, I can "adapt" to various guns, but that makes me shoot worse.

My solution is to either restock the Sterly, or have the stock bent to emulate your usual gunstock fit. Trouble is, you won't be able to bend a stock with 3" of drop to where you need it.

Once you get the stock to fit right, there is no question of where the target should be in relation to the barrels.

If you have a Sterly with only 2-3/8 inches drop at the heel, that is a very rare case.

Good luck!

Mike

To continue...there is hope. I have three Sterlingworths (2-16 ga.) that I shoot regularly with comfort. ALL of them had stock work. Their measurement are are 2-5/16", 2-7/16" and 2-5/8" at the heel. The lowest one shoots 50/50. The other two shoot high. I sorted through (bought) several other Foxes before I found guns I could actuallly change to shoot. Mike

Joined: 23 Nov 2006 Posts: 58 Location: Northeast

I read your previous posts on this gun and you sounded like a knowledgeable bird hunter and clays shooter. With that background surely you know that asking people what they are seeing for a sight picture on clays is meaningless because people come in different sizes and their shoulder and facial features are all different. In addition, stocks have different dimensions. Lastly, what you might see over a 26" bbl SW is going to be different than when you shoot a 28" or 30" SW. In sum, you will get some data but it won't translate to you and your gun.

A couple of other thoughts:
1. Hitting birds is generally much easier than hitting clays because most birds are larger.
2. In a previous post I suggested you check the chokes in your gun to be sure they were opened exactly parallel with the bores, not on a tangent. That is very common with Foxes that have been opened because the original choke was taper bored and centering bushings are needed to insure the reamer doesn't cut at a tangent, which would totally goof up the POI on that barrel.

May I suggest that you get out with patterning paper and do some shooting for POI on each barrel? That will tell you all you need to know about where to hold on the bird or clay. Silvers

1. Hitting birds is generally much easier than hitting clays because most birds are larger.
Silvers[/quote]

That one lead to a pretty good skunk squirtin' match over on SS BB Rolling Eyes

http://bbs.shootingsportsman.com/viewtopic.php?t=32166

Member Joined: 01 Dec 2006 Posts: 524

Sure I'm a semi-knowledgable clay shooter and great bird shooter.
That said, i would never pesume to know it all and i am constantly learning.
what you said about sight picture really makes sense and I will be advised.
Its all different for different shooter types - no doubt.
Also, if I led you to believe the chokes had been opened I apologize. The chambers may have been lengthened though. No, the gun is choked IC/Full as it came from the factory. I have thought about opening the full choke to IM or M though. As for patterning for poi, yes, I really need to get out and do that -will learn much from it.

What I am is: a long time bird hunter who hunted in total ignorance for many, many years never knowing (or caring) why i shot bad, or good, who has in recent years attempted to become enlightened. I guess it all started when I began loading my own ammo for big game hunting and then building a custom rifle based on my beloved mauser action pulled from a FN gun.

And then finally, making the big mistake of doing the same now with shotshells reloading and in general, becoming obsessed with shotguns-both vintage and new, especially the 16GA (though I'm hoping to stop short of shotgun building).
Seems that with everything, the more you know, the more there is to know.
It would have been cheaper to carry on in ignorant bliss (I still had fun, but not quite as much). Now I expect to get everything perfect, never miss a bird or clay and make the best gun buying/modifying decisions imaginable.
Oh dang, I gotta go......that Brownells Gunsmithing kit and magna tipped screw driver set sale ends in an hour!