24 Nebraskaland • July 2020
Now that I had made the decision to "stick to my gun," the
task of fi nding a willing, knowledgeable gunsmith turned
out to be surprisingly complicated. After what seemed like
a wild goose chase, the third gunsmith was the charm:
Stephen Reynolds at Midwest Gunstocks was the man. He
cut down my gunstock to shorten the length of pull, shifted
the gun's cast to fi t a left-handed shooter and stuck on foam
to temporarily heighten the comb to adjust my shotgun's
drop. Stephen was also generous with his knowledge. He took
the time to explain what he was doing and kept in contact
with Greg throughout the entire process.
It was a solid month and a half from the time I
fi rst met with Greg to when I was fi nally able to
hit targets over a trap house. I got in two shooting
lessons before my grouse hunt out west, fewer than
I had hoped, but still, I felt good about it. My gun
was fi nally shooting where my eye was looking,
and if I missed – which was often, still – then it was
on me. The diff erence was that I could actually see
where I was making mistakes and improve.
I had more fun on that September grouse hunt
than I had in a long time. I successfully connected
with my fi rst sharp-tailed grouse and experienced
that heart-pounding, gut-wringing miss on my
only chance at a greater prairie chicken.
My shotgun recently went back to Stephen for
installation of a permanently raised cheek piece,
and I look forward to getting back out to the
shooting range this summer with Greg. But more
than ever before, I'm excited about this upcoming
upland season, and that's because this time,
I'll be ready.
N
ANATOMY OF A SHOTGUN
Bird hunting is reflex, reactionary-type shooting, making gun fit paramount to success in
the field. Three gun fitting problems include the drop, cast and length of pull. The drop of a
shotgun determines whether your pattern lands high or low, whereas the cast determines the
right and left. The length of pull is the measurement between the trigger and the butt.
Rick and Jenny Wheatley of Omaha sharp-tailed grouse hunting on
public access land near Minatare.
RIB
FORE-END
TRIGGER
BARREL
MUZZLE
SIGHT
DROP AT COMB
CAST
DROP AT HEEL
BUTT
STOCK
LENGTH OF PULL
ILLUSTRATION
BY
TIM
REIGERT
