When deciding on an important element such as a stock, we are faced with a dualism between traditionalist shooters and those more avant-garde. In particular, the choice is between adjustable or fixed stock.
The former prefer balanced wooden stocks customized by hand, while the latter rely on Italian artisanal innovation, which has met the growing number of shooters’ needs by creating wood-aluminum stocks.
These are much more practical than traditional wooden ones, capable of having the same qualities but adapting more easily to each shooter’s different physical characteristics, activity, and shooting setting.
The stock is a fundamental element of the shotgun; it links the shooter’s body and their shotgun. However, in the case of shotguns dedicated to shooting sports, this element represents much more for the qualitative and technical content that it must contain, which are necessary to improve the performance, settings, and balance of the entire shotgun.
Those who practice shooting sports with smooth-bore shotguns know that the stock greatly influences the shooter’s proper and profitable performance. Thanks to this part of the shotgun, the shooter will feel like the shotgun is an extension of their body and be able to balance it correctly and align their eye with rib and front sight.
Moreover, they will have greater cushioning from the recoils and, above all, after shouldering their shotgun, will have the possibility to get ahead of the target.
The fixed stock
Choosing a shotgun is not an easy task. And this is not only for the intrinsic ballistic qualities that it must possess but above all because it must be equipped with a stock that allows the shotgun to adapt perfectly to the shooter who buys it.
This is true whether it is made of walnut and solid wood, produced in a standard way in new shotguns, or adapted for the previous owner in used shotguns.
The concept of “adaptation” refers to the stock’s intrinsic ability to transform the shotgun into an extension of the shooter’s body.
Therefore, the shooter doesn’t have to change their settings to adapt to the shotgun; the shotgun adapts to the shooter.
This aspect is fundamental, not so much for those who intend to buy a shotgun for the first time, but most importantly for those who want to practice clay pigeon shooting in any discipline at a good competitive level.
For this reason, new high-target shotguns, which are offered with stocks that are still untreated, are often finished according to the shooter’s needs and build.
After many test sessions with adjustable stocks, master artisans will identify the right length, the correct deviation, the nosepiece, and the pitch angle necessary so that those who use that shotgun, now customized, can carry out their shooting activities in the best possible way.
Fixed stock: advantages and disadvantages
The advantage of this choice is having an element created specifically for and fully adapted to your physical conformation, chest, shoulders, arm length, neck, and target settings.
This will allow the shooter to have an advantage not only in the aiming and swinging phase but very often also with the targets.
The disadvantage of a traditional customized wooden stock lies in how long it takes to realize it because there are numerous tests that the shooter has to endure.
We must identify the right walnut root, which, thanks to the correct grain, is able to absorb the shots’ repercussions, and identify a good craftsman who will do the job.
Not only can it be a waste of time and money but also a limit in terms of adaptability. For example, if the shooter’s physical structure changes (because they are a growing teenager or are losing/gaining, for example), they will change their shotgun or decide to start other skeet shooting specialties.
In these cases, they will have to repeat the whole process to get a customized stock because the previous one will be unsuitable.
The adjustable stock
In opposition to the traditionalists, as anticipated, some are largely satisfied with having an adjustable wood-aluminum stock mounted on their shotgun.
A choice like this, concerning both the production and the end-user, must be considered as a necessary reinterpretation in a modern and fresh way of doing clay pigeon shooting that cannot fail to highlight elements that denote this modernity and that show changes step by step while respecting tradition and the rules.
And what better than a wood-aluminum element, especially if we are talking about an important part of the shotgun, such as the stock, that can underline this concept of novelty and modernization?
It is a wise and balanced combination of a natural and traditional element, wood, and modern and technical aluminum.
The wood is inserted in the handle and on the Montecarlo, which are in direct contact with the hands and face. And the aluminum, thanks to its versatility, offers multiple solutions for adapting and changing settings quickly in the field and at no cost, as well as giving it the essential aesthetic aspect of a modern shotgun.
The advantages of the adjustable stock
Therefore, the practical advantage that this type of stock offers the shooter lies in the fact that, despite being an element with a solid and resistant structure, insensitive to external factors, it provides ease of changing the settings in terms of length, bend, deviation, lift and pitch.
In this way, it allows you to find the most appropriate customized solution for your physical conformation and shooting setting.
Furthermore, thanks to the different degrees of cushioning and the rubber buttplate, the wood-aluminum stock guarantees an exponential reduction of the recoil effects on the shoulder.
It is a suitable solution for those who have a thin physical structure or have sensitive muscles and reduces the shotgun rotation between the first and second shot, making it more manageable and controllable in the recovery phase.
Therefore, it is possible to recover those fractions of a second necessary to reconnect and hit the second barrel target without detaching too much from the line of sight.
Since the wood-aluminum stock can be easily customized, it has become a very suitable solution for adolescents approaching this sport.
As they grow, they will not need difficult, expensive, and frequent tests to adapt the stock measurements. These changes can be made directly at the shooting range with a few simple maneuvers.
Another advantage of the wood-aluminum stock is the possibility of adapting it to different shotgun models. When changing the shotgun, it is sufficient to remove the stock to reassemble it on the new one.
Conclusions
Another aspect that should not be underestimated is that shooters can devote themselves to different disciplines thanks to the ability to easily change the shotgun’s advance, passing from the Olympic pit to skeet and vice versa.
The only customizable fixed element that is not easily variable is the wooden handle, whose size must respect the size of the shooter’s hand.
Thus, the equipped shotgun will have a modern, attractive, and younger aesthetic appearance, which could be the only negative aspect detected by the most uncompromising traditionalists.
In this context, one cannot fail to mention the Futur-K6AM stock, fully adjustable with an innovative recoil absorption system.
The choice is yours!