however, all this business about cast, pitch, drop at heal, drop at comb, etc... well, it just seems to be much to do about very little...
If you don't hunt seriously or shoot clays at a good competitive level, then that assessment holds good for Good. However if you go out of your comfort zone and change your experience, then so will your perceptions be changed.
The mass produced guns that come out of the factories are by and large a reasonable fit for Mr Everyman, who is not shooting serious competition or into game shooting big time.
That however doesn't stop the likes of Beretta selling their semi autos with a set of adjustable shims to alter the parameters you mention, and including an extra different length butt pad in the deal. They are meeting a customer requirement.
Nor does Mr Everyman always find the standard stock to his liking. Although I have the body, carriage and gait of a Greek God, virtually no "ordinary" gun allows me to see anything other than the bump of the action when my cheek is on the stock; no foresight, no rib, nowt. So
all mine have to be twiddled around, they'd be useless otherwise.
I've shot a fair bit of driven game, and believe me a properly fitted gun is a help. Ditto wood pigeon when I was shooting 3000 of them a year, and geese with a 3" magnum; good fit makes heavy loads and multiple shots more bearable.
Your experience is what your experience is, but it isn't that of anyone else.
Eug
