After a couple times out with my new 870, I'm pretty sure the comb is too high. Snap shooting with a naturally placed cheek weld results in my eyes positioned too high, looking down on the barrel instead of flat across it, and my shots also going high. When I try to lower my head for better sight/barrel alignment, the stock ends up on the bony part of my face, which gets pretty brutal after a few slug rounds.

Anybody know of replacement 870 stocks -- preferably plastic -- that offer alternative comb-drop lengths? Pretty sure I'd be interested in trying one if it didn't cost an arm-n-a-leg.

The only adjustable comb stocks available are EXPENSIVE custom jobs.

Some options:
"Wedgies".  These are plastic wedges that are inserted between the receiver and the stock.  By selecting the angle of the wedge, you can increase or decrease the drop of the stock.
Mossberg sells these for their guns, and you can make your own from plastic or wood.
www.mossberg.com/pr_stockdrop.htm

An adjustable comb conversion kit.
Brownell's sell two different kits that allow you to convert a standard stock to an adjustable stock.

CSP makes several optional kits.  #365-102-000, 365-102-100, and 365-104-000.
Price runs from $58.00 to 63.00, and requires permanent alteration to the stock.

Graco makes several option kits.  #352-100-425, 352-100-350, 352-000-008, 352-100-870, 352-000-005.  Cost from $40.00 to $55.00.

Try putting only about half (lower half) of the butt on the shoulder...other half is above the shoulder proper...unsupported...and nod "yes" to the gun...that is, get the gun to your cheek, and then, with your cheek "stuck" to the stock, move the eyes / chin down until you see only the bead "floating" on the flat of the receiver. (the cheek stays in place!)

Worth a try since it costs nothing!

(This is a technique used for hundreds of officers who have to "fit" themselves to the standard guns, and works well for many...but not all...of them)

Thanks ikor. And yes, I recalled from the shotgun chapter of Jim Crew's "Some of the Answer" his advocating placing only the toe of the butt in the shoulder pocket, rather than the entire butt spread out over the shoulder. I tried this dry-firing and it does raise the entire gun significantly to where only the front bead appears over the receiver. I'm going to my range to test this with live fire in a couple days, but am pretty confident it will place the shots where the bead is. I'll be equally curious though to see what kind of hole gets dug into my shoulder while shooting slugs , and will need to train to make this stance instinctive.

And thanks faris. These sources may prove useful if the above doesn't work out and I end up taking a mods approach to the problem.

If the butt is held tightly to the shoulder I think you will find there is no more...or less...recoil from your loads than before. Keep your head up as much as possible and bring the stock to your face rather than bring the face down to the gun...if that makes sense. (If you have a long neck, that may change things a bit Hah!)

Take an "agressive" boxer type stance with weak foot forward, the knee is bent and maybe 80% of the weight on that foot/leg to begin with. Once you get the hang of bringing the gun to your cheek regardless of where the butt falls on the shoulder, and are comfortable with it, you can begin changing your style to a more "normal" stance / body position, shooting on the move, etc.

And watch out that you do not get the meaty part of the hand caught between the back of the fore end and the sharp forward edge of the receiver when operating it hard and fast...it WILL leave a mark!

Well I tried some more live fire, at-first with getting a higher shoulder placement, which got the bead on-target but created some awkwardness mount-wise.

Then I tried with a "wedgie" that I had made from wood. Looked good at first on the gun, and got a really comfortable mount with the bead in just the right place. Only trouble -- it desintegrated after the third round.

Maybe I could try a more robust material for another wedgie attempt, or just work more getting an at-least useable mount with the stock as-is. The most natural config still has me looking over the barrel, which I don't really have a problem with for closer-up point shooting. In that mode, I actually kind-of like seeing the target in full view and unobstructed. That definately won't work for longer range, aimed-slug shots though. Guess I'll just have to hunker down for those....

Have you thought about using some Accur-Glass and making your own?

It is an epoxy used to glass bed ultra accurate rifles in the action and recoil lug so it can take a beating and keep on ticking!

Might be worth a try!...

BIGGER_HAMMER

Well, I am doing this for my son right now, on his 870 youth 20 Ga.

Difference is, I am using a wood stock, and sanding the top of te stock down, as well as shortening it.

Are you very physcally different than the "average joe".  Most average folks are able to shoot weel with a DAC of around 1.5"

My son is a fairly scrawny 11 year old, and I probably will end up with a DAC of around 1 5/8 as opposed to the stock 1.5.

Here is a pretty good page on stock fitting:

members.aye.net/~bspen/fit.html

Hey entropy, great web site! Anyone following this thread, check this out. Very concise treatment.

Re. the "average joe", I guess I'm just a classic pencil-neck geek : neck and face longer than most, so need a greater drop-of-comb to get the stock lower on my face, and to bring the sight-line up to my eye level.

Thanks again for the web site. I'm gonna study it closely.