Son's .410 is shooting 12" high , Stevens 94N
I bought a .410 for my son years ago on GB and he just getting old enough to use it. I used to have one of these myself that I killed plenty of pheasant and quail with so I bought him one as well to learn to shoot.
Like I mentioned in the title, this thing is shooting about 12" high at about 30ft. I really looked the barrel over and it seems straight from placing a metal ruler against the straight portion of the barrel. The ruler trick is only good for 2/3 of the barrel since it tapers so I looked inside to see if there was any bend as well. I looked at the location the barrel locks up in the action and the barrel "lines" & action "lines" seem parallel to each other, no gaps, and the back of the barrel looks flat on the action. I suspected this may be a .410 on a 20ga receiver when I found that it was shooting so high. I did just think to look at the primer and sure enough the firing pin is hitting high on the primer.
I was wondering is there a place to research the serial number on the action to find out for sure?
Thanks in advance for any info.
Like I mentioned in the title, this thing is shooting about 12" high at about 30ft. I really looked the barrel over and it seems straight from placing a metal ruler against the straight portion of the barrel. The ruler trick is only good for 2/3 of the barrel since it tapers so I looked inside to see if there was any bend as well. I looked at the location the barrel locks up in the action and the barrel "lines" & action "lines" seem parallel to each other, no gaps, and the back of the barrel looks flat on the action. I suspected this may be a .410 on a 20ga receiver when I found that it was shooting so high. I did just think to look at the primer and sure enough the firing pin is hitting high on the primer.
I was wondering is there a place to research the serial number on the action to find out for sure?
Thanks in advance for any info.
0
-
used to know an old fellow who would "fix" shotgun barrell like you say yours is doing, by taking the barrell off the shotgun then he would swing and hit a large sandbag on the opposite side of the barrell. as you say it is high he would hit the sandbag with the bottom of the barrell to "adjust" the aim lower. I have never tried it, but folks told me he was great especially when you were that high with slugs and open sights. If you decide to try this I would start with a sandbag at least half it not longer than the barrell, or a good local gunsmith should be able to "bend" it to get it closer to point of aim......
also wouldn't hit it to many times without shooting it, you can allways adjust it more if needed0 -
I know for some of the Benelli guns that had a point of aim issue, they suggest resolve it by using shims between the receiver and the buttstock. For whatever that's worth... 0 -
Many trap shooters do want the gun to shoot high like forge said, but this sounds a little excessive. I think the barrel does need to be 'sprung' a bit by the sand bag method or in a padded vice. A lot of care should be used. 0 -
Just a few points:
1) Shotguns aren't aimed, they are pointed.
2) Your son's 'mount' might need some adjustment.
The fella in the video knows his stuff. There are plenty of great videos to watch and learn from.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=mounting+a+shotgun&ru=/videos/search?q=mounting+a+shotgun&&FORM=VDVVXX&view=detail&mid=CFADC1E59DDD5AF4E790CFADC1E59DDD5AF4E790&&FORM=VDRVRV0 -
Does it shoot that high with him shooting it, you, or both? More than likely it's a mounting issue. Have some other people shoot it at a pattern board. Trap guns are set from 50/50 to 90/10 POI for rising targets, and most field guns are set about 50/50 POI. 0 -
Tape a ramp on the end of the barrel with a bead. File the ramp down until its right, solder it in place. I used this method to make a cut down Model 11 shoot point of aim for a lady.
Barrels like to be straight, and swatting them on well padded high back chair is one technique to restore them to straight.0 -
Have done this on quite a few shotguns myself, easy to do........Even new shotguns one needs to "pattern" them, actually shooting them to see how the shot pattern spreads. I learned how to pattern a shotgun years ago from an old timer and he called the barrel walloping across sand bags or shot bags "Patterning" a barrel, never heard it called anything different.hillbille said:used to know an old fellow who would "fix" shotgun barrell like you say yours is doing, by taking the barrell off the shotgun then he would swing and hit a large sandbag on the opposite side of the barrell. as you say it is high he would hit the sandbag with the bottom of the barrell to "adjust" the aim lower. I have never tried it, but folks told me he was great especially when you were that high with slugs and open sights. If you decide to try this I would start with a sandbag at least half it not longer than the barrell, or a good local gunsmith should be able to "bend" it to get it closer to point of aim......
also wouldn't hit it to many times without shooting it, you can allways adjust it more if needed0 -
Pattern the gun at 30 yards instead of 30 feet. Might be surprised. 0 -
while there will be a big difference from 30ft to 30yds, as is you are gonna miss that squirrell at 30 ft, when kids miss to much they loose interest real fast........they should be able to roll a pop can from 30-50 ft every time 0 -
clamp the barrel in something....gently... Maybe a vise with pieces of wood on either side and open the action and eyeball thru the barrel (move eye around in a circle to see where the center of bore is pointing...like on a wall ....from say about 75/100 ft......close the action and see what the front sight and top of the action sight to .......30 ft is to close....got to give it enuff for the pattern to spread ...find stevens serial #s and see about gauge ..never heard of change in gauge latching up before ???? wear on older latch to change firing pin impact..... worn firing pin ??? 0 -
Simple explanation: The barrel of a 410 tapers significantly. The "rear sight" is MUCH higher than the front bead and the alignment of the two results in a considerable "muzzle elevation". Either add a higher front bead or learn to aim low. 0 -
Mobuck said:Simple explanation: The barrel of a 410 tapers significantly. The "rear sight" is MUCH higher than the front bead and the alignment of the two results in a considerable "muzze elevation". Either add a higher front bead or learn to aim low. Mobuck nailed it. Bob3 -
Thank you all for the responses. When I first bought the gun years ago I took it to the gun club when I was shooting trap. About 4 people besides me shot the gun on the 16yd line and on the trap house. Not one person hit a target with it. I took it out to the farm later for my son to shoot once or twice before I put it away in the cabinet. He was too little to really aim it and I had to help him hold it while he pulled the trigger. Now at 10, I'd have to put it on a sand bag for him to get good at hitting something with the front bead and the rear radius notch in the receiver to "aim" the shotgun. I'm going to put a clay target on the ground and get him breaking those good before I graduate him to thrown targets.
I actually did what some mentioned about smacking the barrel on a bag. I had a stack of salt crystal bags in the garage and it seems to have done the trick "almost". I did get the gun down to about 70/30 at 25yrds. The problem I'm seeing now is the front of the barrel is so low that the bead is starting to be covered by the fat chamber end of the barrel and I lost the bead in the receiver notch. It does shoot considerably lower now, but I think I'm going to have to change out the front bead for something taller like mentioned above. I could deepen the receiver notch with round chainsaw file. Looks like there is about 3/32"-1/8" room to go down before I get to the set screw on the firing pin.
I was pretty surprised how easy the barrel moved given the force I applied. I did most of the blows with the barrel in hand. I stepped outside each time to test fire and return to the salt bags. I did get a little overzealous and tried to rush myself. I left the barrel on the gun for 1 adjustment and when I smacked it on the bag a little it bent pretty far, like 2". So if you are going to use this method don't get in a rush and try it with the barrel on the gun!0 -
You need to get the kid a good gun if you want him to enjoy shooting and hunting.
People buy 410's for young kids and 223's for them to Deer hunt. Neither caliber is a good thing trying to get a young person introduced to the sport of hunting. Wounded animals is not a good thing for a young person witness immediately.
Get a 20 gauge. If they cannot shoot a 20 gauge or a 243/308 they are still to fragile to enjoy the sport of shooting and hunting.
Some people cannot accept the truth.
0 -
Oh, he has plenty of guns at his disposal once he's ready for it. He shot my 20g Montefeltro this last November and the recoil about did him in. I think that gun is one of the softer shooting guns out there. Last week I bought him a little Rossi 2 barrel set (.22/.410) for him to learn how to hit stuff, but that is a birthday gift for later in the year. I just wanted him to shoot the Stevens for now. Until he gets proficient with a gun he won't be hunting anything. (Probably until he gets 12yrs old.) He just gets to tag along in the woods with dad to learn for now.Okie said:You need to get the kid a good gun if you want him to enjoy shooting and hunting.
People buy 410's for young kids and 223's for them to Deer hunt. Neither caliber is a good thing trying to get a young person introduced to the sport of hunting. Wounded animals is not a good thing for a young person witness immediately.
Get a 20 gauge. If they cannot shoot a 20 gauge or a 243/308 they are still to fragile to enjoy the sport of shooting and hunting.
Some people cannot accept the truth.
0 -
Was waiting to see if anyone else saw what was obvious in the pics. Charlie and Mobuck got it. Bambambam, Hi-Viz makes a magnetic fiber optic bead front sight that will make things easier. If the gun has a threaded bead, they make a ramp that'll screw to that too. Used one on my son's 20ga to get him shooting straight. Big mistake, he cleans my clock on the trap range now.
Another point, a shotgun that doesn't fit, doesn't hit. Check his length of pull to the gun. Then have him shoulder it like he's shooting a rising bird, but do it with his eyes closed. Then freeze and open his eyes. If he's only seeing the front bead, he'll shoot straight or high with the sights on that gun. If he's looking at the top of the barrel, he'll shoot high.
0 -
Shotgunning. is he putting the bead on the target OR is he putting the target on the bead..
a good sight picture would set the whole bullseye “ON top of” the bead0 -
Bent barrel. I have fixed a few by setting the barrel on 3" V blocks on both sides of the bent area about 10 inches on both sides of the bend, then using a large C clamp at the spot of the bend to draw the barrel straight again. Clamp from top of barrel to underside of the bench. Wooden blocks and a piece of leather on the top of the barrel where the C clamp rides to keep from marring the barrel and go slow. Check often. Done on a flat work bench.
Brownell's has a jig to do this. Same principal , just cheaper.0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
18 comments