Originally Posted by Jamie243AI
I have a new Browning White Lightening in 16ga and it seems to shoot low. When I mount it, I can’t really see the front bead. I only see a minimal amount of the rib. Is there an ‘easy’ method to help determine the amount of negative pitch necessary to get the point of aim up?


Yes, there is a very simple way to check the pitch of your gun.Start by standing the shotgun on the floor with the butt flat. Keeping the butt flat on the floor, slide the shotgun back until something touches the wall. If the muzzle touches the wall but the breech does not then the pitch is positive or up. Measuring the distance from the wall to the breech provides the amount of positive pitch. If the muzzle and breech both touch the wall then the pitch is zero. If the breech touches the wall and the muzzle does not then the pitch is negative or down. Measuring the distance from the wall to the tip of the muzzle provides the amount of negative pitch. From this discussion it's easy to see that a shotgun with 26" barrels has less pitch than the same shotgun fitted with 30" barrels and that the length of the barrels must be included when describing a shotgun in terms of pitch. Positive pitch is rarely encountered and zero pitch, unless your shoulder is shaped as a brick, will work for just about, well, no one. The majority of shooters find the correct amount of negative pitch, usually between 4 and 6 degrees provides the best shooting experience. Hope this helps! Hank


Yes, I did write a book. It's called "The Classic English Double Barrel"