doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Were the Germans Wing shooters?

Looking at the nice gun Lape has offered for sale, I see that it has a cheek piece.

Every time I see such I wonder if the Germans were wing shooters, as we typically define wing shooters. I have never been to Germany and know little about what and how they hunt, particularly 75 or a hundred years ago

The fact that they put cheek pieces on so many of their shotguns I wonder if the used them like a rifle, aiming at their game as I imagine one would do shooting boars or hares.

I wingshoot with my old relics with checkpieces, I find them an aid to a consistent cheek placement - hey I didn't know any better ?

Same here.

I thought that the cheekpieces were a way of making stocks lighter, making the entire stock, with the exception of the cheekpiece area thinner.
Steve

Assuming a conventional (without cheekpiece) stock tapers in plan (dorsal) view from grip to butt and includes the material at comb that constitutes the "jelly roll" of the cheekpiece, it seems to me that the only real thinning would by and large be below the cheekpiece shoulder or shadow line or whatever. The "entire" stock, as a result, would be of lighter weight but not necessarily thinner all over. I guess my real question is this: Does the cheekpiece being raised above the "ground"-- which is the stock face below the cheekpiece shoulder or shadow line--encourage the illusion that it also protrudes beyond the normative surface of a wingshooting" comb?

I've never noticed anemic proportioning or abrupt transitions on an old Fajen sporter stock on an 03. For example, a thinner grip might not fill the palm of Mr. Averageman. Perhaps the offside face of the stock is of flatter section but I've never noticed that either. To me it boils down to either the cheekpiece creates a fatter comb or it doesn't and that comb is cast or it isn't or for shooting IFOs you're either locking your cheekbone or you're leaning over the top of the thing. I realize this is just a quibble with language and thinking out loud. I've never sighted down the side of enuf cheekpiece stocks to really know whether they provide a true platform for the wingshooting backsight or not.

jack

Was it Bob Brister who said he preferred his wing shooting guns to have cheek pieces? Makes sense to me......

I have 4 or 5 doubles with cheek pieces and I personnaly like them. As mentioned, I find they help in cheek placement. But like anything, I suppose they don't work for some.

Maybe it was that they used the one gun that they owned for all types of hunting, birds, hares, boars.

Nice cheeks pieces are great on women but are ridiculous on a shotgun...

The Sempert Krieghoff 16 that was just knocked off on the sale area has lockplates engraved with deer left and fox right. No birds nor dogs. Also has the cheekpiece stock. But for that GP stockpot gun, you'd think rifle shotgun combo or drilling, wouldn't you?

jack