On most 14-1/4" guns I shoot I see about the forward third of the barrel and I typically float the bird above the bead to compensate for a high shooting gun. I took a factory stocked left handed Merkel 8 from the rack and tried it. It is hard to measure its cast on dimensions, as it has a cheekpiece and a little monte carlo. But I look straight down the rib on this gun. This gun measures 1.5 X 2.25 X 14.6". Unlike many of my using guns, I see about the front one-fourth of the barrels when I mount the gun. I first shot the gun at 20 yards. I actually closed my eyes and mounted the gun, then without changing the cheek position, placed the bead on the target to fire. Both barrels, with very tight chokes, pattern the shot completely above the point of aim. So I then added a 1/2" slip on pad to lenghten the LOP to 15.1". Repeating the same procedure at 20 yards, the pattern was lowered about 12 inches to place it completely below the point of aim. This is to be expected. It is only geometry, after all. Nevertheless it is a dramatic effect. So with the lower dimensions the fitter measured, I should look straight down the rib with only the bead and the muzzles visible. If I need to adjust the vertical positioning of the pattern, I can raise it by shortening the stock. The guns ordered will come with removable wooden buttplates which will facilitate LOP adjustment if the fitting isn't perfect. I found two more guns in the racks with 15-1/4" and 16" LOP, respectively. Now I'll have to try those to see what happens.
