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Where others get Purple Hearts, I always get a "Purple Arm" after 3 boxes of light 7-1/2 dove loads: the inside of my arm near the shoulder gets a hematoma- a purple bruise which lasts for 2-3 days. This has happened for the last three years, since I got into dove hunting. No pain, not even when I'm firing my padded 12 ga Remington 870 pump. (Now, I know what real recoil is, for in contrast, my padded .308 Briish Lee-Enfield Ishapore bolt-action kicks like a mule- now, that is a beast!)

Funny thing is, even after 8 - 10 clips of Garand GI milsurp ammo, I don't get any mark at all, not even redness.

Shoulder fit? Length of pull? This is what I read from the article "Fitting a Shotgun":

"Length of pull is the distance from where your shoulder touches the stock to where your finger touches the trigger. Most shotguns are made with a factory length of pull between 14 and 14 ½ inches. This might be just right for some, but is often too long for many women or shorter men, not to mention youth shooters. On the other hand, the factory length of pull may be too short for taller shooters with long arms.

To determine whether your shotgun fits, bend your arm in a right angle then put the stock in the crook of your elbow. Lay the stock sideways along your forearm with your hand flat. Now line up your index finger with the trigger. The trigger should hit the first joint of your index finger, just below the finger tip. If this joint extends beyond the trigger, you may need a longer stock. If it falls short of the trigger, you may need a shorter stock. This test will give you some idea of your correct length of pull." http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/highlights/hig ... 709.html#2

Now, following above instructions with my right arm bent, I'm able to touch the trigger with the first joint of my trigger finger- NOT the middle of the first joint, though, but somewhat above that joint. To put it another way, the trigger comes to a bit below the tip of my trigger finger, but still above the middle of the joint. I guess that means that I have to extend my arm somewhat to fully hook the trigger. Could that teeny-weeny bit cause the stock to slap my arm with each shot?

By comparison, my trigger finger fully engages the trigger of my M1 with the same stance. Could that be it? Could I have answered my own question?

If so, then, what to do, huh, guys???

You may be getting the bruise from "snap shooting". Doves are such speedy little critters that you don't always have time to get a perfect shoulder fit when you fire.

Blindpig wrote:You may be getting the bruise from "snap shooting". Doves are such speedy little critters that you don't always have time to get a perfect shoulder fit when you fire.

I hear you!!!

Couple of times last time, I found myself flat on my butt as I whirled around to get off a shot as the birds flew at Mach 2 and I was outbalanced. (But I got 'em, hehehe...)

The nice thing about a well fitted shotgun is how it handles recoil. Yesterday my Perazzi doubled during a round of doubles. Unfortunately I was not using light loads 6 dram and 2 1/4 oz of shot. No bruises. Cleared my sinuses though.

Bruises are a good indicator as others have said of improper stock length or firing before your ready. Are you hitting your targets on a regular basis? Hitting low and or high can indicate the drop in the stock is not right for your build. With a Rem 1100 I shoot 3' under everything, switched to a Citori no longer a problem.

Here in Texas with the high winds (30+mph) we get at times those doves have the after burners on. I remember many times having to lead them 10'+. We took a coworker with us one time that had been shooting skeet for about 2 yrs. We soon learned that he just learned where to point/shoot when the cmd "pull" was given. So he had to learn how to judge speed and lead in the field. He went through 3 boxes of shell just in the morning hunt and only had 1 bird to show for it. He tried to tell use that they were dodging his shoots, but we know better. We just had to give him a hard time.

But there is nothing like a good day of bird hunting.....