Drop

Drop - The distance from an imaginary straight line of sight extended along the rib of a shotgun rearward towards the butt---to the top of the stock at the comb or the heel. (In British: Bend). With the straight-edge resting along the top of the rib (avoiding interference with the front bead) the drop at the heel is the distance between points A and B. The drop at the comb is the distance between C and D. The amount of drop determines how high or how low a gun will naturally point.

Browning, in its infinite wisdom, considers that 2 3/8" drop at the heel will best fit the broadest range of shooters for field use. This measurement can therefore be considered "normal." A gun with less drop will shoot higher, while a gun with more drop will shoot lower for a given individual. When the gun is comfortably mounted with the cheek snugly on the comb, the drop is about right when you can see the front bead and just a little rib over the standing breech. Trap guns usually have less drop because they are supposed to shoot a little high in order to hit an almost universally rising target. Standard wisdom indicates that the drop is about right for a mounted trap gun when the front bead seems to rest just on top of the middle bead like two parts of a snowman, or forming a figure-eight.

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