English Stock.

[grant]

Does anyone have any comments on a English Stock vs. Pistol Grip?

[portsider44]

I shot an english stock SXS 20ga once as a child but don't remember much about it.

I sure like the looks of the english stock & have been trying to sell my wife on the fact that I NEEEED to buy a Browning 16 ga OU with an english stock.

[Greg Jennings]

There are no competition shotguns built with English grips.

Does that tell you something?

Best,

[grant]

yep...

[TAK]

Many of the guns with the English stock are "Ritzy" gun owners. Not a bad thing but most are guns that are well out of my price range.
It too has been some time between shooting them but I remember them to be a little "Kicky"

[Greg Jennings]

They contribute to incorrect shooting form.

Best,

[Decoy]

An English stock can be very effective for quick instinctive shooting.
Not recomended for competition b/c you are not assured to grip the gun in the exact same fashion everytime.
English stocks would be good quail/grouse guns but would not make a good dove/clays gun since smooth consistant swings and mounts contribute to accuracy.
But english stocks will come up quicker to the shoulder for those unexpected eratic flying birds.

I think the rounded pistol grip is a good compromise between the 2 -- the gun comes to the shoulder quickly yet still allows consistant grip everytime.

Another thing just b/c a gun has an english stock does not make the price tag higher. price on these guns comes from the level of engraving and the grade of wood.

[tfbirddog2]

Actually, the english stock gives you the natural wrist action compared to rolling it with a pistol grip.I does not promote incorrect shooting.Shot one sometime and watch your wrist.They are made more for fast action shooting like quail and grouse to cut down on movement to get on the birds faster thats why you see them in o/u most comonly.I read that in a wing shooter on some ritzy mag.Hey Tak did you know you can order a Remington 870 pump in english stock.i didn't till a customer had one, He let me take it one pass on quail I had never moved so fluidly with a shot gun.Like you said though always thought they were for foreign o/u's.I highly suggest trying one before turnig a nose up.I would prefer it on a o/u compared to pump or semi for my own.

[Greg Jennings]

Before I go on, let me tell you that I quit counting the rounds through my *latest* skeet gun when I hit 27,300. Before kids came and I quit running the circuit, I was rated in the top 100 shooters in the world with AA and AAA in all 5 events. And, while I was at it, I plugged my way to being a AA 26 AA trap shooter in my spare time...

In other words, I ain't no weekend duffer.

The pistol grip is used on all competition shotguns including those that require quickly mounting the gun. To wit, Olympic Skeet and FITA Sporting Clays.

If the English grip gave any advantage, even 1/100%, the competitive shooters, including me, would be flocking to it in droves. But in all the years I've shot (30+), I've never seen one in the hands of a top shooter of any sport. Riddle me that, Batman.

Best,

[TAK]

I did. My parts of the woods they are called the straight stock.
I also have seen some other gun makers too.
I have a Model 37 inthaca 16 gauge with a english stock. More than its fair share of rounds. I don't shoot it anymore, I was told that it is a collectors item...?
If one wants to spend some money they can have the stock "BENT" .....
I hunt around a guy that has more invested in guns than you can think is humanly possible. sxs o/u auto's, riffle and shot gun both in one, 2 1/2 shells, black powder, Barrel inserts and refinishs you name it.

[ward myers]

i have 2 english stock shotguns
a remington 1100 20 ga special field
& a browning gold hunter 20 ga
i wouldnt shoot anything else
i have shot my share of wild quail & on the fly they just seem to pull up quicker & be where you need them
as far as pricy. you can go to walmart & buy a sam walton special made by remington for 687 $
i amaze fellow hunters when a a straggler gets up behind us & i kill the bird stone cold dead from the hip
i think they work better for me because im not a real big guy & the english stock is smaller in diameter& easier to grip
just 2 cents worth from a wild quail hunter
in trap & skeet you dont have to hit clays before they hook to the left or right behind a tree

[ward myers]

grant stop by a walmart ask to see one of the guns & throw it up & see what i mean

[Gregory]

Actually a straight grip gun was designed for double triggered guns. Bare in mind before the single trigger was invented or first introduced to shot guns with double barrels, all double barreled shot gun had two triggers. The English straight grip was designed to help the hand slide rearword to ingage the rear trigget. I have five Doubles with straight grip and double triggers. The oldes is a 1828 Thomas Cook Precussion 14 ga .The second oldest in my possession is a John Manton 12 percussion 1848 vintage, both guns I bird hunt with. The next in line is a German sidelocked 16 1901 vintage and the next three are 12's a German Box lock made in 1939, a Spanish 70's vintage a nd a Browning Citori mid eighties vintage (I guess it's six and not five as I thought) single triggered.
No you wont find any straight gripped shotguns at the clay games, but then again the English were not clay shooters back when the invented the modern shot gun as we know it today. They were shooting driven birds and the reason why they came up with the straight grip. Or straight stock as know to us Americans.

Now if I was a Clay shooter with a pre mounted form and with a single triggered gun, my choice would not be a gun with a straight grip. But then a gain, Clay shooting is a horse with a differnt color when comparing a clay shooter to a live bird shooter and a hunter.
I thot you like to know.....
Best, Greg.

[Greg Jennings]

I've been told many, many times that birds and clays don't have anything in common...usually by people that don't score well on clays and usually right before I clean their clocks in the field....

YMMV,

[birddog]

A good shooter is a good shooter and practice does make you a better shooter weither it be at clay targets or flying birds.. But I have to agree with the Greg that said," Clay shooting is a horse with a whole different color". Clay targets slow down in flight, while a birds speed increases in flight. I could never get the knack of that slowing down in flight, but when it comes to the knack of knocking birds down in flight. Hummmmmmm! A horse with a whole different color!
Janet

[Decoy]

Shooting clays most definitely makes you a better bird shot.
I dont care whether you shoot $5,000 Krieghoff at skeet and a $200 870 at birds you will be a better shot the more you shoot.
I dont have an english stock shotgun but i have shot them and i like the way they feel for quick instinctive shots. They definitly do not give any advantage to competive clay shooting infact i would say there would be a distinct disadvantage for several of the reasons mentioned in the posts.
for these reasons i think that a man can NEVER own too many shotguns!!!!! aquire as many as you can b/c it is always nice to contemplate which gun to shoot today!!!!!

[Gregory]

I've been told many, many times that birds and clays don't have anything in common...usually by people that don't score well on clays and usually right before I clean their clocks in the field....

YMMV,

I think the topic was on straight grips and not on how well you assume you can clean ones clock in the field. :shock:
To some of us, the game gun is just as important a reason for being in the field,or how we go about training our dogs,or the breed of dog we like hunting over. It's a total package or none at all.
Best
Greg.

[grant]

Thanks for all the info....

I found a gun with the help of Janet. Its a Franchi Veloce 20ga O/U with a pistol grip...

I'm sure I'll enjoy it...

Grant

[Greg Jennings]

<snipped>
I dont have an english stock shotgun but i have shot them and i like the way they feel for quick instinctive shots. They definitly do not give any advantage to competive clay shooting infact i would say there would be a distinct disadvantage for several of the reasons mentioned in the posts.
for these reasons i think that a man can NEVER own too many shotguns!!!!! aquire as many as you can b/c it is always nice to contemplate which gun to shoot today!!!!!

I've got a couple of SxS with english stocks. I don't shoot them nearly as well as my competition guns or even my meat guns. OTOH, I *love* them for the looks and the tradition and carry them some for that reason.

Best,

[tfbirddog2]

Jennings, thats your insite stick to it, wasn't asking for background check of skill.I was just simply explaining what I know or have learned over the years being around the shot gun.I have to say "To each his own", on everything from guns,training birddogs,kids and marriage.I also was referring to the stock for bird hunting not clays, that is what a few books have said along with a few old timers.Not getting ugly but,I have never counted rounds or ever will if i ever do I'll walk away from the gun cause wouldn't be having fun anymore for me compation or not.Kudos for what you've done if you want them,give your self a hand not a small thing to do.Clays are a different horse too.I like the E-stock for o/u on small birds my 2 cents