Recoil from my Bobby Christian Fowler

[scroggwe]

This past weekend I fired my .62 caliber Bobby Christian American Fowler for the first time. I was shooting a .600 ball with a .010 Wonder Patch in front of 70 grains of Ffg Goex. I was shooting from a benchrest at 25 yards. The first two rounds were very low, until I figured out how to aim without a rear sight. The next three rounds were clover-leafed in the 10 ring. I was firing from a benchrest while shooting and the fowler was abusing my cheek pretty bad. When I fired the last shot in the 10 ring, the Range Supervisor told me that I was bleeding! The last shot had caught my cheek with the pointed end of the flat on the left side of the stock where the sideplate is mounted. Man, it hurt! I’ve been shooting BP and modern guns for 35 years, so it was a little embarrassing. The next couple rounds went wild because I started flinching. I decided to call it a day. When I got home I realized that I was sitting too high over the fowler while benchrest shooting. The last couple of rounds that I had fired were offhand and perceived recoil was much less, but it was too late, as I had already started flinching anticipating the heavy recoil. I was really surprised that 70 grains of Ffg produced so much recoil in this fowler. I have a Pedersoli Brown Bess that I regularly shoot 80 grains of Ffg in and it doesn’t kick like the fowler.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

The Bess probably weighs two or three pounds more than the fowler--unless you have an outrageously heavy fowler. So recoil may be a bit more noticeable. I have a 20 bore fowler of English style that weighs around seven pounds which is actually a bit on the heavy side. I use the same load that you are using and shoot all day with no discomfort--either from the bench or freehand. I wonder if the stock's comb might not need a little work to soften its edge?

 

[Capt. Jas.]

I have been busted quite a few times shooting slugs on modern guns from the bench. Even if the gun halfway fits you it cant fit you very good shooting off a bench.

How much does it weigh?
Where was your cheekbone in reference to the comb when you fired?

 

[RC]

I've got a 62 smoothie with 42 in barrel the weighs 6 1/2 lbs, shoot 80 gr. 2ff goex o/p wad patched 600 ball and it don't kick at all! i think its the bench shootin,that hurts..,, i can't(i can't do it well...) ..but do it better with this than other guns...just me... :thumbsup:

 

[rabjr]

My New England Fowler weighs in at 6 lbs 9oz and I can shoot a .715 ball on top of 82 gr of 2F Swiss all day with no problems what so ever. I made sure it had a cast off and the stock design fit me. I can't stand cheek slap and made sure I wouldn't have that problem with mine.

 

[tg]

I like to satand up with a rest useing a tree or whatever I can find to steady the gun when sighting in, this works better for me than from a bench.

 

or over the top of a mini-van. :haha:
I am 6'3" and I still have to stand on a concrete block.

 

[scroggwe]

The fowler weighs 7.4 pounds. I think I had my cheek too close to the stock comb, because I was hunched over it at the benchrest. It didn't feel as bad when shooting offhand, but by that time my cheek was real sore and I had started flinching. I'm gonna try it again this weekend.

 

[JWP]

You've got to admit Bill - Bobby makes a sweet gun. I can't get over how smooth he is able to make the trigger pull :thumbsup:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Well, first I'd ask what kind of birds you 'expectin that need a single 0.600" ball from a fowler?

Seriously, fowlers are light birding pieces designed to be fired while standing. Your body rocks and absorbs the recoil. From a bench it has nowhere to go but your face and shoulder.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Move the forestock rest on your bench BACK, so its right against the trigger guard, or, if you insist on holding the forestock with your forehand, then put your hand all the way back against the trigger guard. Raise the rest up so that your head is in an upright position, as if you are shooting standing up. Use boxes, and sand bags to help you hold the buttstock up that high and at the same position for each successive shot. If your head is up, you are more likely to lay your cheek on the side of the stock, and not on the top of the stock. Your cheek will also be back from the point of the come( at the wrist) and away from the knuckle on your trigger hand as it wraps over the wrist, if you forget to lay that thumb down on your trigger finger, and alongside the wrist, rather than holding it over the wrist. I beat my onw cheek raw and sore with the knuckle of my trigger hand shooting a stock that was too short for me, and the knuckle hit the cheek and my glasses frame, driving that little nose piece into my nose. Now, that was fun! NOT! :youcrazy: :rotf: :cursing: :surrender:

So, please accept this offered advice from one who learned the hardway just what you are experiencing and how to go about fixing it. That load is not a bad load. But if the gun does not fit you, or you hold it incorrectly, it can still hurt, as you have found out. You haven't told us the lOP, or the drop at comb, and drop at heel, much less the pitch on the stock, so Its not possible to give you any suggestions about stock fit. I would have to know how tall you are, your body build, the distance from your colar bone to your cheekbone under your shooting eye, etc. to even guess what might need to be changed with the stock to help you further. If you hae alocal gunsmith, or gun builder, go to him with the gun and get his advice on how to hold the gun properly, and after shooting it HIS way for a few months, then, go back and see what he thinks may need to be changed, if anything, with the stock, to make if fit you better.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Just me, but I have found that when shooting from the bench or rest, make sure the rest is high enough to get me into a comfortable upright position. Felt recoil when hunched over low and into the gun can be a real puncher. The body cannot give and absorb the shock, it is just hammered directly into one.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

My normal rest is off the hood of a full size Jimmy using a thick and firm foam rubber pad. :thumbsup:

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Well, first I'd ask what kind of birds you 'expectin that need a single 0.600" ball from a fowler?

Seriously, fowlers are light birding pieces designed to be fired while standing. Your body rocks and absorbs the recoil. From a bench it has nowhere to go but your face and shoulder.

:thumbsup:

 

[bwhoffman]

sittingat a bench, your spine is now angled forward to meet the gun, thus lowering your head to do same, as opposed to standing and shooting which gives a more"heads up" position. the bottom of your eye socket is a bump that when at the bench is now down and forward, when standing, your gun typically fits in under that, and I would gander that thats where you were leaking from!

You can try using a higher rest or bags to get thegun higher on the bench to get it more inline with your body, or try a lower chair!

 

[Bob Christian]

Bill, sorry you got smacked. I agree with some of the others it may be from shooting off a bench. I have a fowler I built that has the same drop and weight as yours and I never notice the kick, but I have never shot off a bench. I shoot either standing or kneeling with a rest of some sort.

If I can help anyway give me a holler.

 

[Mike Vach]

I know for a fact that they got Pterodactyls in Texas. A .60 roundball is considered a sporting load for 'em. :shocked2:

 

[Runner]

Had a Navy double 20 that would swell up the whole side of my face. Powder helps if the gun has a slick finish because it slides instead of hammering you as bad. The double 20 stomped me a few times and then got traded for a third model Dragoon. Sweet little gun that I don't miss getting beat up by.
My current gun is very light and turkey loads are saved for turkey season only! The rest of the time I use 60-80 type loads and it is a joy to use in the woods. You still don't want to shoot them very much off a bench unless you really like that sore place high on your cheek!

 

[scroggwe]

JWP, I bought this fowler last November from TOTW. It is my favorite gun now and you are right, it has a very smooth trigger. Bobby did a beautiful job when he built this one!

 

[scroggwe]

Thanks to everyone for their helpful replies.

Paul & Tanstaffl - I am gonna try the fowler again this weekend. I'm gonna use more sandbags and lower the stool on the bench. I'm pretty sure I was sitting too high behind the gun. I am trying to sight this gun in at 25 and 50 yards. Once it is sighted in, I will normally shoot it offhand. this fowler has a length of pull of 13 1/4", which fits me perfect. I have several guns with length of pull between 13 1/4" and 13 3/4".

Bob Christian - If you are the original builder of this fowler, thanks for your great work. It's a beautiful work of art. You probably know which gun I bought. Could you give me a little background on the time period that this fowler fits into? Also would like to know the region that would have seen fowlers of this type.