Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Straight English Stock

Hey gang,

How does a straight English stock help the shooter. I came across a Remington 1187 with one today. Just wondering what advantage, if any, it gives the shooter. I’m considering it for a 4-H clays gun for my son.

Tim,

You will find them to be exceedingly rare on the sporting course. Way back in the day, straight stocks had a minor following on the trap fields.
Experimenting with one now, and should eventually get OK with it, but I find little advantage with a straight stock. For myself, it feels most comfortable on a high driven clay. Something the Brits regularly do with their game shooting. However, we do little of it here and today from pics, it seems most of the Brit driven shooters are using pistol grips.

Some feel it quicker to mount, however quick doesn't take the place of a controlled smooth mount.

However, they sure do look nice on a SxS and with practice one should be able to shoot both examples equally.

I would rather carry a straight grip hunting gun than a pistol grip gun on long days hunting behind the bird dog. Just more comfortable, especially when one handing it by the grip. In my experience there isn't anything that carries better than a straight grip, Side Lock, double trigger, round body SxS.

As far as shooting goes....it is hard to beat a nice pistol grip stock...unless I am shooting a twin trigger SxS, where I prefer the straight grip.

Agree completely, and this matches my experience. In the target games, the pistol grip gives more precise control over the gun and is an advantage. I also find a minor advantage to the pistol grip in shooting game birds, and find that an open pistol grip, known generally as a Prince of Wales grip, is about perfect for me. I have a 30” barreled 28 gauge built to my specs with this grip. When I pick it up the angels sing.

The advantage Kurt52 points out for the straight grip is in the carrying, not the shooting.

Thoughts on shotgun stocks from those who perfected the object.

https://www.gunsonpegs.com/articles/guns/s/shotguns/understanding-types-of-shotgun-stocks

For clays? He will shoot overall better scores with a pistol grip. If not so, more of the pros would be shooting straight stocks.

Thanks for the input, fellas!!!!!

Follow the science like the present CDC does. Well,…it would be impossible to eliminate all the variables in this problem of straight vs pistol grip to really make it purely objective. Even with two absolutely identical guns with the two different grips. Even with the same shooter. Ever.

But, I do also think that the pistol grip in most hands, most of the time, gives a bit more control with less severe bending of the wrist, and less severe closing of the ring and little fingers.

That said, a straight grip > Prince of Wales > pistol grip > some of those severely closed pistol grips Browning puts out. Aesthetically! For me.

Might cost me a bird here or there, but in the uplands it’s not about going 25/25 or 49/50. 🙂

I have a RBL, 20 ga with a straight stock with XXXX wood, it is for sale. I find it hard to control. Prefer a Prince of Wales.

I might experiment with my M12 Winchester 16 ga pump. Have a later (1959?) factory stock with a "modern" pistol grip and a High Plains aftermarket stock with an English "straight" grip. Both are 14" LOP and 2-1/4" drop at heel. Might be a good test, except I don't shoot many perfect skeet scores...usually 23 so it wouldn't tell me too much. Would be fun though! Could sort out 23's from significantly lower rounds anyway. Already know which will carry the best

For me, I prefer a straight grip stock for hunting. I could care less about scores on the range. A straight grip hunts better in the thick nasty crap I hunt in. It comes up faster for me and I'm not swinging through birds with the hunting I do. It's snap shooting.

On the right firearm, a straight stock is awesome!
To me, they are best on fine, 20 gauge S×S shotguns with a splinter foreend.

For upland game I really like my straight grip sxs's, for clays I like pistol gripped sxs's. Waterfowl it is pretty much pistol gripped sxs's unless I'm ump shooting ducks on the creeks but that's pretty much like upland hunting. I have a set of Hungarian FEG sxs's that are matching except for the grips so I've had a chance to test the theory out.

I do have a 5 lb 15 oz 12ga sxs with a straight grip that is my favorite to carry and it kills like lightning, sometimes I have birds on the ground before my partner can shoulder his semi auto.

That is most likely an indication of you vs partner...than straight vs pistol.

Actually I think it is more to the fact that my shotgun is 2 lbs lighter and fitted to me than an off the shelf long barreled heavy semi auto.

Some are definitely quicker than others….However, if his shotgun is heavy to the point not allowing him to react….you have Birds on the ground, and he hasn’t even shouldered… then again straight vs pistol is not the issue.

I’d advise him to not take up gunfighting as a second career.

5.5 pounds with a pistol grip. Doubt I would be very far behind.

Since most straight grips are going to be SxS’s…. Two triggers or one?

Keep in mind reliability is no longer an issue with modern day SxS’s

Two for me....choke choice on the covey rise. It was easy for me to adapt to them and go back and forth with single trigger guns. Plus reliability...we had one single trigger SxS...it was problematic, either would double or not fire at all and not fixed after 4 tries with quality gunsmiths. No more of them for us for us. My wife got really tired of a 5.5# 28 ga doubling with hunting loads.

What brand and how old?

Bill Hanus Birdgun, which was an AYA 453 boxlock with single trigger. Probably a 2001 or 2002 gun. We replaced it with an AYA #2 sidelock round body twin trigger gun and have had zero issues with it, or the other two we bought afterward. Also have a Grulla twin trigger sidelock with zero issues.

The Bill Hanus gun made two trips to John Rowe in Enid, OK as well as two to David Yale in CO repairs. In all cases it started either not firing or worse, doubling within two boxes of ammo. John Rowe finally told me to replace it with a twin trigger gun and solve the issue. At the time he was AYA's US factory warranty gunsmith as well as one of the 5 or so importers.

Once burned, based on that info, I would not touch another single trigger SxS no matter what anyone says!

Amen, one barrel, one trigger-two barrels, two triggers.