Trap season is about to start, at the end of next weekend. I will have two boys in the program this year. When my oldest son started two years ago, he made the decision to buy his own shotgun. The most important aspect of shooting well is having a shotgun that fits well. Consequently, I decided to cut some length off of his shotgun to get an appropriate length of pull for a 13 year old.

Last year, I had to add that length back as he had grown significantly. Now, I have another son starting trap. He has decided that he doesn’t want to buy his own shotgun for now. Now, I am in a bit of a conundrum. I don’t really want to cut my stock stock down and deal with the back and forth of growing. I decided to solve the problem definitively. I ordered an adjustable stock.

This can get a little technical, but length of pull is the measurement from the trigger to the end of the butt stock (including the pad). A stock that is too long makes the gun difficult to mount and shoot well. A stock that is too short risks significant recoil pain. I have had weeks of bruises from shooting slugs out of a youth sized stock.

The cheek mount is critical for sight alignment. My own shooting experience tells me that most factory stocks do not get the shooter in a good position and most people would benefit from some additional rise. I shoot better with the shotgun that has an aftermarket pad applied than one that does not. Youth with smaller faces need more rise than the available thickness pads. The thickest one I have found was 1/4″.

I wanted to write about it today, but I don’t have it yet. So, that will have to wait until next week. I can show a picture of what it looks like.

It is not cheap, but it is going to be a lot easier to adjust throughout his growth than other options. I am also excited to try it myself, but once setup for him, it wouldn’t be prudent to diddle around with it. So, I will have to give up my shotgun for the season. I have others so if I want to shoot, I may end up doing it with my 20 gauge since my other 12 gauge has a red-dot sight on it. I am completely fine with that other than the ammo crunch has forced the team to standardize on 12 gauge.

My other fear is that this looks bulky and probably heavier. That is something that I will have to wait and see. Ultimately, I might want to get a second 870 that is better suited to leave setup for games rather than field work. For now, this will get the job done for this season.

End Your Programming Routine: A dedicated tool is always the most efficient way to do a job. That also comes with it’s drawbacks, like it is less useful in other situations rather than the specific job. The jury is out on where I am at this point. It would be unfair to judge until I get it, install it and get it setup for my son.