Fox Collectors

Curious as to anyone’s thoughts on stock pitch? While it can be changed by adjusting the angle of the butt or with spacers I’ve never given it much consideration unless I am using a modern target gun that can be adjusted or when doing a restock for one reason or another. I know that pitch is a personal preference based upon many factors but what do you do as it relates to the old SxS’s we shoot that you don’t want to alter the stock on? Thanks - Brett

Very good question Brett. I’m guessing that excessive pitch hurts resale value. Of the guns I own, one has a bunch of pitch. How does it shoot? Well, the first time I ran 25 straight on a trap field it was with that gun. I’ve also taken a few ducks with it. That wasn’t a very technical response to your question. All I can say is that it shoots.

I've used a slip on pad and used cardboard either in the toe or heel to change the pitch.

I once owned a very nice CH Parker Bernard 10ga that was made with I believe is called negative pitch (the toe of the stock is longer than the heel, like this \ ) . When I shouldered the gun it slipped right of my shoulder, it was impossible to shoot so I made up a slip on pad to correct the pitch. It worked but a finally decided to sell the gun and move on. Lesson learned.

Pitch can be very important and few understand its nuances fully. Proper pitch is only proper for the shooter using the gun, not necessarily another shooter, due to differences in body build and usage. Pitch on a gun should be determined according to the height at which most birds/targets are taken. I.e., perfect pitch would be different for a dedicated rabbit gun as compared to a dedicated pass shooting gun, because of how the butt contacts the shoulder at different angles of elevation.

For the best recoil attenuation (least pain} the heel of the butt should never make less contact with the shoulder than the toe. Having good contact at the heel also minimized muzzle rise, which in turn minimizes cheek slap by the comb.

Buy a copy of Rollin Oswald's book The Stockfitter's Bible for a complete education on pitch. Chapter 12 dedicates 10 pages to pitch. It is one of the best book purchases any serious shotgunner can make, IMHO.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+stockfit ... nb_sb_noss

Stan,
Thanks for the recommended reading and link. I fully agree that pitch is shooter/shooter build dependent and appreciate the insight on what intended/main purpose of the gun should be.

I also read a couple post when I googled pitch similar to what Daryl suggested as far as use of shims and slip on pad for a quick/field adjustment of pitch.,appreciate everyone’s responses!

I agree 100% with Stan. The Stockfitter's Bible is an excellent resource. I've read it multiple times. Buy it, read it (over and over), use it.

Ordered the book.

Jeff S wrote: ↑Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:48 pm Ordered the book.

I just did the same. Will give me something to read in the doldrums of winter! Thanks

I received the book yesterday and I just read the chapter on “pitch”. Very interesting and easy to read. I’m looking forward to reading the entire book.

Received my copy yesterday. I immediately read the section on pitch. Very informative! Thanks for the recommended reading

There are many more golden nuggets of wisdom in the other chapters of Oswald's book, as well. Upon my first reading of an inexpensive book like this, that I intend to keep, I underline everything significant to me for future reference. I've never underlined as many passages in a book as I did with that one.

Funny you should ask. I learned about pitch 20 years ago from a local stockfitter who had me shoulder my LC Smith field grade while aiming at his hand, held palm facing me next to his head. (He made sure the gun was empty, of course) He then came up and loosened the buttplate screws and put about 4 layers of folded cardboard under the top of the plate and retightened the screws. I mounted the gun again, and the difference was obvious. Much more comfortable and easier to mount securely in the shoulder pocket. Since then I have learned that most LC's have too little down pitch for me, and I have placed Brownells tapered buttplate shims under most of them. I measure pitch by standing the gun against a wall with the butt on the floor and the breech balls just touching the wall. I measure to the center of the bore at 28" and look for about 3" of difference between the wall and the bores. Most Fox guns need similar treatment. Parkers are funny, though. Most lower grades(G's V's and P's) with the DHBP have pitch right at 3" or so, fitting me perfectly. D's and above with SSBP's have about 2" of pitch and slide down out of my shoulder pocket. Ithacas are all over the board. I had one Ithaca 16 ga No. 1 Flues that had about 4 inches of negative pitch and the toe just dug painfully into my shoulder pocket. Used a tapered spacer upside down to bring it back to 3". Also, pitch needs vary a little with the drops. My preferred drops are 1 3/4 and 2 3/4 and 3" of down pitch works well with these. My takeaway from all this is that I am very pitch sensitive, and know what works for me. I suspect others have different shoulder and neck architectures and need different pitch. I recommend the folded cardboard test to see what feels better for you. It is quick, easy, and completely reversible.

Adding washers under the pad/butt-plate work well too. It's an easy way to check and test shoot the guns.