Bruce,
I’ve searched through your archives, but didn’t see where you specifically addressed cheek bruising. I’m new to skeet shooting and bought a Beretta 686…what I thought was a good compromise between a capable field gun and something I could shoot at the skeet range (not competitively yet, just for fun). Anyway, I’m having trouble with a swollen cheek after 4-5 boxes of shells. I also tried a buddy’s 20 gauge pump (Winchester 1200) and have the same problem after 5 boxes of shells. I’m able to hit 20+ on the first box and then fewer and fewer as my cheek gets sorer and sorer (I’m sure its because I’m starting to flinch). I’m right eye dominant, shoot right handed, 200lbs, 6’2″ and a fairly experienced rifle shooter and hunter. I’ve had some experienced guys at the range look at my posture, etc. and they claim it looks “normal” and not at all awkward or problematic. I do have to really press my cheek down on the stock in order to line up the rib/bead like it needs to be. I’ve searched around Charlotte, NC for a stock fitter to help me out, but I can’t find anybody within NC or SC. What causes this face slap? My shoulder if fine, no soreness at all. Any thought on a quick fix or something I can do myself? The gun is new with a really nice finish. I think I need to take some wood off the comb/more cast off or something, but I can’t bring myself to take sandpaper to the finish unless I’m sure that’s what I really need.

Thanks,

Lane

Dear Lane,

You definitely have a face slap issue. Lots of people confuse face slap with recoil, but they are two different things. In the purest sense of the words, face slap is a fit or technique issue, whereas recoil is a mechanical issue. Unfortunately, diagnosis over the ether is like calling a doctor on the phone to say “it hurts here”. Analysis has to be hands on.

Face slap is simply caused by the gun recoiling into your face instead of along it. Nothing simpler. Obviously, the more deviation the stock has from being parallel to the face, the more face slap potential there is. Stock drop from nose to heel and any cast potentially increase face slap. Unfortunately, in the imperfect world of shotgunning, some stock slope and cast are required by many shooters to properly line up the rib. It’s all a compromise. Trap stocks can get away with little slope nose to heel (often parallel) and generally no cast because they are pre-mounted and the trap target is generally thrown just about parallel to the ground. A parallel stock is much less successful on a field or sporting gun, where the nose to heel slope of a comb sort of auto-compensates for high and low targets as the head is automagically placed more forward and tipped down (high targets) and more rearward and upright (low birds).

You’ve certainly taken the right approach in having friends analyze your style, but that may not be enough. I can’t tell from there. You and I are about the same size. I’m 6’1″, 200# with a 35″ sleeve and high cheekbones. I tend to crawl my target stocks a bit. Beretta stocks have usually pounded my face, while most Browning Japan sporter stocks (425 and UltraXS, but not the new 525) were pretty good, if a touch low. I generally shoot conventional trap stock dimensions on most of my guns, but my situation seems to be the exception. Like many competitors with a number of years competing behind them, I shoot longer and higher stocks than I do in the field. Most shooters find that as they compete at clays over the years, their stocks get higher and longer.

You are on the right track when you start borrowing other guns. Something out there may fit you. Definitely look at the Citori Sporters. Try everything you can get your hands on. You might luck out and find something just right that you can copy. Just be aware that dimensions that work perfectly on gun “A” often don’t work the same on gun “B”. You’d think it would and it often does, but not always. It’s for sure that O/U dimensions don’t even remotely translate to SxS dimensions. Same with double trigger vs single trigger.

One of the issues you’ll have with most guns is your arm length. I generally shoot 15″ to 15-1/2″ in an O/U depending on the curve of the pistol grip. The more relaxed the curve, the more length. In a double trigger SxS I run close to 16″. You ought to be at least my length, maybe a touch more. Buy a slip-on recoil pad so that you can experiment with length when you borrow guns. Nothing kicks more than a gun with a stock that it too short. Dwarf stocks give the gun a chance to build up a head of steam before it whacks you. Short stocks also promote movement along the face, causing face slap. Franchi and Benelli autos, plus most Remington and Rugers are among the worst offenders for taller guys.

Dunno about the cast. Berettas all tend to come with some. Any amount of cast at all causes me face slap. My face is somewhat thin and I turn slightly into the stock when I mount the gun. If you hold your head erect and face forward, cast will affect you differently.

So far I’ve just told you mostly of the problems, not about the fixes. Definitely add some length to your stock with a slip on pad or some cardboard held on with masking tape. Try a full inch at first. You can always shorten it. The extra length will effectively lower your stock by moving your face to the rear. If the extra length makes the stock too low, then add some tape to the top of the comb. You an remove cast off by adding tape to the inside “face” of the stock. Temporarily adding stuff is easy. It’s the temporarily removal that causes the issues and the tears.

If simple experimenting and borrowing don’t give you some relief, then it’s off to the gun fitter. If there’s no one near you, then make a shooting weekend of it. I don’t know of any fitters in your immediate area, but there may be some. In the Northeast Keith Lupton (tel: 845-877-3719, Dover Plains, NY) is highly respected. Ken Davies, Holland and Holland’s legendary fitter, said that Keith was one of the very best in the US.

Finally, do you get fitted before or after you practice enough to be a reasonably competent shot? That’s a chicken and egg deal. I don’t know your skill level now. A really good fitter can fit a new shooter so that the gun will fit properly when their shooting technique matures. There’s usually no point in fitting a beginner to his existing style as it may change. Experienced shooters with fixed styles are the easiest to work with. Your rifle shooting experience will probably work against you in shotgunning. Rifle and pistol are certainly interesting in and of themselves, but they have absolutely nothing to do with shotgunning. You aim a rifle or pistol. You point a shotgun. There’s a world of difference. But if you are shooting in the 20s, you knew that. I just wish that I was able to remember it all the time.

Best regards,

Bruce Buck
The Technoid writing for Shotgun Report, LLC
(Often in error. Never in doubt)