Head Lifting
There are three basic causes for a shooter lifting his or her head off the gun as the shot is executed.
The first, and least common cause, is anticipation of recoil. If your gun has a pitch problem (the angle of the butt pad in relationship to the rib) this can cause excessive muzzle jump, a bruised cheek and a tendency to lift the head in anticipation of the recoil.
The most common reason for head-lifting is excessive “drop-at-comb”. The comb is the part of the shotgun stock that runs parallel to the rib and is in contact with the shooter’s cheek when executing a shot. We gunfitters measure drop-at-comb from an imaginary line that extends along the top of the shotgun’s rib to the back of the gun. How far the comb drops down from the rib line determines the vertical position of the shooter’s eye when the shooter is fully mounted to the gun. The proper drop-at-comb for an individual shooter is determined by the facial structure of that shooter (the distance between the lower cheek ledge and the eye) as well as where the shooter positions the comb on the face when fully mounted. The shooter’s entire iris (the colored portion of the eye) should sit nicely atop the rib such that the shooter will see a bit of rib when looking over the barrel. If drop-at-comb is too excessive (the comb is too low), you may not be able to see the target over the gun. In this case, the involuntary raising of your head may be the result of your subconscious effort to maintain visual contact with the target as you look over a gun. To fix this, have an adjustable comb installed in your shotgun and raise the comb to enable you to see “the snowman”: the mid-rib bead appears immediately below the front bead when fully mounted.
The third possible explanation for your head-lifting is your choice of lenses in your shooting glasses. This problem gets worse in low-light conditions. Try changing to a lighter yellow lens when shooting in low-light or overcast conditions and to a purple lens when shooting against foliage. If you raise your head off the gun involuntarily, it is usually your subconscious telling you that you can’t see the target well.
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