Dear Technoid:

I purchased a new BT-99 Plus 34in a few weeks ago, I finally patterned yesterday. The results caused me to question this purchase. With AA 3Dr,1 1/8, 7 1/2St,I was hitting 2 1/2 feet to the left at 40 yards. This is consistant with chokes full, improved mod, and mod. What should I do to correct this, return the gun(out of production),call Browning.

Help

Craig

Dear Craig:

Probably you have nothing to worry about. The good news is that everything shoots to the same point of impact. That means that all your chokes are concentric. All that you have to do is to move that point of impact 2.5 feet to the right. This is what gun fitting is all about and it is a common adjustment.

Although you do not mention it, I am going to assume that you are right handed and shoot from the right shoulder. I am also going to assume that you are right eyed.

If you shoulder on the right side and are looking out of your left eye, that would definitely throw the pattern to the left. Repeat your pattern test once or twice with your left eye completely closed. If that corrects it, then you know what your problem is.

If everything check out so far and the gun is still shooting to the left, then there are two possibilities 1) your stock is too thick and needs cast (probably the problem) or 2) your barrel is indeed bent to the left (unlikely- BT-99s were good guns).

When you sight at the target, are the center and front beads lining up on your aiming mark? OR is the middle bead to the right of the front bead? If your beads line up (assuming that they are centered on the rib and that the rib is centered on the barrel) and you still shoot left, you may have a barrel problem.

If the beads do not line up, you most probably have a gun fit problem. Your stock may well be too “thick” and you will need to have it bent away from your face a bit to give it some “cast off”. That will align your right eye over the rib and should solve your problem. Consult your gunsmith about bending your stock (or re-inletting it). It is not expensive and is done every day.

One thing to remember, trap stocks are seldom cast off because cast may increase face slap. Most trap shooters crawl their stocks, rather than keep an upright head, and that often eliminates the need for cast off. I would certainly try different head positions before having the stock bent.

It is always hard to analyze gun fit over the ether, but the Technoid has never been afraid to swim in murky waters. What you can’t see, probably won’t eat you. Maybe.

Hope that this helps.

Best regards,

Bruce Buck – The Technoid
SHOTGUN REPORT’S Guru of Gear
(Often in error, but never in doubt.)