I just found out we have a shotgun forum.

I am 56 and have been shooting a shotgun since I was 7 or 8, mostly dove hunting.
I think I may have been making mistakes all of my life- basic mistakes.
I shot a sporting clays match this week and now have a really tender mouse under my right cheek bone. I had always been taught when shooting a rifle to set my cheek bone on top of the stock firmly to have a consistent sight picture, so I do the same with a shotgun. My cheek bone was pretty solidly on top of the stock comb.
I also think I kept my elbow down- again, out of habit.
I also think I tend to try to aim the shotgun instead of point, and I honestly don't understand the difference. I try to keep my head in position looking down the rib and try to swing the bead through the clay target.
I also try to have my head in a position so I just barely don't see the rib- just the bead.
The shotgun in this case is an older Remington 1100 with a fixed modified choke. I was shooting Winchester Super Speed #8 shells.

I don't know if I will get into this sport heavily- but it is fun. It will be more fun if I can correct the mistakes.

Ideas?

I have been shooting sporting clays, FITASC and 5 Stand competitively for about 15 years.   I grew up shooting rifle a lot, and did some shotgun shooting in the form of occasional clays and bird hunting.

When I first got into sporting clays, I had a lot of the same result that you describe.   I was used to "climbing in" to the stock for a firm and solid cheek weld.  I also focused hard on the bead before shooting.   Both are wrong.  Guidance from some experienced, internationally ranked sporting clays shooters helped me a lot.  There are two books that I recommend, one of which was written by a friend of mine from Texas who passed away several years ago.

"Move, Mount, Shoot" by John Bidwell

"Shotgunning: The Art and Science" by Bob Brister

The best way to describe the difference in mount is that a shotgun is brought up to your face, and once the stock fit you it will point and shoot exactly where you look.   Forget the bead, and focus hard on the target (actually, the specific point on the clay, like the leading edge).  The mount should be smooth and fluid, and not a hard "press your face aggressively down against the stock" movement.  

Getting a lesson or two by a qualified sporting clays instructor will also be worth your money if you do not know anyone with experience.

Also, let me know where in Texas you are, and I may be able to recommend some good instructors.

I'm in Fort Worth. I shot the clays at Fossil Pointe near Decatur- which is a really nice facility. They offer lessons and it sounds like I could use them.
Sporting Clays is a lot of fun, so I may have a new way to spend money.

My cheek is still too sore for me to go shoot, or even try to mount correctly.
I did try a few times. Unless I place my cheek bone on top of the comb I am not able to look down the rib- I'm off to the side with the barrel and rib at an angle.

Am I supposed to see the entire rib? I was trying to eliminate seeing the rib except for the very slight ramp at the receiver end. I can only eliminate seeing the rib with my cheek bone pressed hard onto the top of the comb.

If I held as steady as possible I could move from on top of the comb to placing my cheek on the side. At very short distances available inside my house the bead seemed to stay pointing at nearly the same spot, but at longer distances I could imagine it to be off a little- sort of like parralax.


Are there any simple basic answers you can help with?

This clays habit is probably more expensive than cocaine, and more addictive.  

Scott Robertson is a member of Team USA, and owns a shooting facility on the northwest side of Dallas called Elm Fork.   Besides being a hell of a shot, Scott is a very engaging fellow.  His mom, Jeanie Almond was a nationally ranked skeet shooter back in the day.  Both may still give lessons.  I suggest that you check with them about lessons if you are so inclined.

Have fun.

Assuming that your hand dominance and eye dominance are the same, your dominant eye should align above the stock and serve as the "rear sight" as you look down the receiver and rib.  If you hold the stock to the side of your face and not under your eye, you will have to cant your head to align properly.   That is not a good thing.

It sounds like your stock may be a bit short, and needs some drop and perhaps cast.   My competition shotguns have a nearly 16" LOP, and quite a bit of cast off and drop.   They are fitted to me, and I can pick up the gun, close my eyes, bring the gun up to my face in a normal mount, open my eyes, and the bead is perfectly aligned.   You need to get there, and a qualified shooter/instructor can help.  My guns shoot 50/50 patterns, so I do not see any rib when I mount the gun.  The bead appears to sit flat on the rib, with no "ramp up" or rib showing.

Just for fun, put a slip on recoil pad over your existing one, and see if that extra stock length helps.   Most hunting guns do not have paralllel combs, and adding length will position the stock further down on your face.

It's an older Remington 1100 field model.
I am relatively sure it's something with the stock. A friend let me fondle his Browning Maxus, and when I shouldered it the rib disappeared and my cheek bone rested lightly on it's stock. I really have to crunch down on mine.

With what you said and my brother mentioning that it might be short I started thinking.
This was dad's shotgun- one of them. He used it for sporting clays. He was also shorter than I am with shorter arms.
I mounted the shotgun then slowly slid my head back on the stock. After a few inches I saw that I didn't have to crunch my cheekbone down on it to look directly down the barrel.
I will try a slip-on recoil pad and see if the added length works when shooting. If so I will fit a more permanent pad.

I encountered a guy at the 5 Stand yesterday who had shot in a corporate shoot that morning with a borrowed shotgun.   It was too short for him, and he had a sore cheek from it.   He shot my gun to compare fit, and it did not hurt him at all.

LOP adjustment will be a good place to start.

I finally got around to measuring the LOP on my  shotgun. It is 13.75". From what I have read the normal LOP is 14 7/8"


I inherited this 1100 from dad and he was 3-4" shorter than I am with shorter arms. I am hoping he just replaced the recoil pad and didn't cut the stock.

Even if he did cut the stock, you can increase the LOP to whatever you want by adding spacers between the stock and the recoil pad.   My sporting guns have a nearly 16" LOP, achieved through adding spacers.   It does not detract from the aesthetics, IMO.

I measured the LOP on this 1100 at round 13.5" to 13.75".
I checked and discovered that dad had cut the end of the buttstock off. I actually found the piece he removed and placed it between the existing stock and recoil pad. The recoil pad is a Kick-Eze, not the stock Remington pad.
With the piece on it is still too short, but not as bad as before.

Which would be the best option- replacing the buttstock, leaving the wood as a spacer and finding a thicker recoil pad, or finding an adjustable spacer? Is there another, better option?

If it were me, I would go the least expensive and most functional route first.   I would reattach the previously cut off piece, getting the stock back to approximate original dimensions.   I would then add a new recoil pad and spacers to get it to the correct LOP for you.

Shoot the gun a while, tweak the fit as needed to get it shooting where you look without punching you in the face, and then decide if you want to improve the aesthetics.  If you do, buy or have a new stock made to your newfound dimensions.

I did install the piece that had been cut off. It was a smooth cut so dad must have used hid band saw. It is barely noticeable. The recoil pad on it is a Kickeze or Kickeez.
I looked on a few sites trying to find spacers. Do you know of a good source for them? Brownells and Midway don't show them unless I just overlooked them.
It is better with the wood piece installed but still seems a little short.

I have used these, directly from Kickeez.

https://kickeezproducts.com/recoil-pads/spacers/