Hi!

I have a rifle in caliber 458 magnum that have a badly recoil. I think that my recoil pad is to small for this rifle. My rifle weights is 9.25 pounds. I push a 500 grains Hornady soft point out at 2160 to 2200 fps with Accurate powder. Soon I gonna to write about my loading test with different powders in this caliber. There was no headexpansion or any other sign of high pressure on this load.

Now, I need advice from someone who knows about recoil pads and what kind of recoil pad that is the best for heavy recoil rifles.

Best regards
Karl-Erik Svensson

I have a Pachmayr Decelerator on my .416 Rigby and it works quite well.

I've tried many of the brands including some of the new ones such as LimbSaver.

The competition shotgun shooters have been sold on Kick-Eez for a while. I've used them on a couple big rifles and they are the best I've seen. Most stocks are too short for me anyway and there are Kick-Eez pads as long as 1.5" to add to LOP.

They don't look classic and are not very tough though. It's easy to rip or snag them, but if the corners are well rounded they'll last quite a while. I'm told it's "not supposed to be done" but I covered one with leather and it's lasted well.

Best of luck,
Kyler

1. The typical Pachmayr decelerator recoil pad (Old English or Presentation model) provides a moderate reduction in recoil but is not as effective as it could be. I personally find that the D550 trap pad works a lot better. Link http://www.midwayusa.com/rewriteaproduct/211449

Even more effective is the F990 pad: http://www.midwayusa.com/rewriteaproduct/486993

2. THe Kickeez work pretty well, but you need a new one every 6-12 months because chunks break off of them.

My first impression is that your rifle is too light. My .375 weighs as much as your .458 which makes it very pleasant to shoot. After working with heavy recoiling rifles like the .450 Rigby, I was able to easily shoot the .375 with no more protection than a thin T-shirt. My .404's recoil is more comparable to your rifle's than is either the .375 or the .450 Rigby. It weighs an even 10 lbs. and wears a Kick-Eze. It is easy to shoot over sticks or in field positions though if I'm shooting off a bench, I'll wear a padded shooting coat. However, as was stated above, the Kick-Eze isn't very durable through thornbush and hard country. Also, you will find that these soft pads deform and looked squashed after a while. Maybe Kyler's idea of leather coating is a solution to both these problems. So, what to do . . . First, I would have either a mercury recoil reducer put in the buttstock or enough lead/tungsten/whatever to bring the weight up another 3/4 lb. Then, get a Kick-Eze and have it covered in whatever color of leather you think is suitable. I am beginning to favor red, myself, though all my pads currently are black. Then, once you have the beast sighted in, GET THE HELL OFF THAT SHOOTING BENCH!!! Instead, shoot over sticks, leaning up against things, sitting, offhand, and squatting. Basically, the same way that you shoot when after elg is what you will use in Africa (sorry to be so obvious but Americans, at least, are so addicted to their benches that I sometimes wonder if they think they're going to carry one into the woods). This should make your DGR more comfortable.

The pads do deform and look squashed after a short time in storage, but there's a little trick to make your kick-eze or decelerator last a little longer. When you store your rifle long term, hang the rifle in a rack lengthwise or, if you must store it vertically, do so upside down with it resting on it's muzzle. The weight of your rifle on the squishier pads eats them up rather quickly, and keeping the weight off of them should double or triple the storage life of those pads.

And, as previously noted, get away from the darned shooting bench. I picked up my .458 Lott this year, put 250 rounds through it in 5 months, took it to Dande North and filled out my buffalo and plains game tags with it without firing a single round from the bench. You won't have one in the field, so don't bother practicing from it. Make a set of shooting sticks and use them to zero your rifle, then learn to use them (yes, they're simple to use, but simple isn't the same as foolproof). Practice from offhand, sitting, kneeling and from a post rest, but stay away from that bench. Your shoulder will thank you, as will your PH.

Yes, I think you have right about the bench shooting. I�m right now looking for a good recoil pad and a mercury recoil reducer too. I have a 458 Lott too very soon and that one is built on a Sako rifle with a new stock that is maded to take up the recoil. That rifle gonna to weigh 11 pounds with one mercury reducer.

I plan to use 500 grains bullet in 458 Lott and 400 grains bullet in my 458 WM. My 458 WM is for hunting in Sweden, and it�s no need for heavier bullets here.

Thank�s all of you for all helping about this.

Best regards
Karl-Erik

I'll take a slightly different approach here. There's still load development issues, etc., where bench shooting is preferable. In order to do this with a heavy kicker I finally made a poor man's recoil reducer. I bought one of those game slings for bird hunters and wrapped every attachment around a 25# bag of lead shot. The sling wraps around the butt of the rifle and absorbs a LOT of the recoil.

With a decent front rest you can still snake the sling around the butt and not interfere too much with the rear rest. Get the rifle on target roughly, drag the lead bag as far forward as you can without dragging the rife too far off target, readjust the rifle to the target by primarily dragging it backward (against the force of the lead), and then fire. 25# of lead on concrete REALLY reduces the recoil.

I've done a fair amount of this with my 404 Jeffery, my Savage Muzzleloader where I'm launching 300-340g bullets at up to and exceeding 2800fps. I haven't done it with my 338/416 Rigby (12.5# without scope) but I HAVE shot that rifle off the bench to give you some idea of my recoil tolerance.

Another option is the lead sled for about $100-$120 or so. It's kind of the same principle but better refined through manufacturing.

Once you have things sighted in, loads developed, etc., THEN you can shoot offhand in all the normal "field" positions. In other words, no sense introducing any more error then absolutely necessary when sighting in or developing loads.

Good luck,

Reed

Karl-Eric,

There has been a lot of good information posted here to your question. I have one strong piece of advise..........

DO NOT PUT A RECOIL REDUCER IN YOUR GUN IF YOU ARE GOING TO USE A SCOPE!!!
I am seeing too many scopes 'go down' on rifles with recoil reducers in the stocks. This includes the favorite American & European brands. Yes, these are big bore guns, but the same guns or others guns of the same cal. and make of scopes are not loosing the scope with no recoil reducer in the stock.

There are those who naturally have not had a problem like this YET, but I caution you against it. The opposite force of the mercury or a spring works against the way a rifle scope is designed. It's the same principle as using a regular scope on a piston air rifle. The scope won't survive.
One may get many rounds shot or very few before it happens. You never know. It won't last. If you want more weight or better balance, just add lead in the stock.

If you are not going to use a scope,.............never mind.

All the best,

Sam
eclemmons@hotmail.com

Oldsarge is fully right. One must be at ease with a rifle. First of all, your rifle should not be light : 416 and 458 12 pounds or more. My 375 is weighting 11 pounds, hardly any no kick. And I am using it in quite any circumstances, especially driven hunt. Think about this :
� Thoughts From a Guide That Nobody Wants to Hear
I guided hunting for two years professionally and was so
generally disgusted by the pathetic level of marksmanship
displayed by a large percentage of the clients I guided that I
quit guiding hunting. Anyway, here are a few thoughts that no
one wants to hear from a guide's point of view.

Marksmanship

Can you put three shots into an 8-inch circle in less than 90
seconds:
1. Prone at 200 yards
2. Sitting at 100
3. Offhand at 50 yards

If you can, you are a bit better than average in my experience.

Can you put three shots into an 8-inch circle in less than 90
seconds:
1. Prone at 300 yards
2. Sitting at 200 yards
3. Offhand at 100 yards

If you can you are better than 75% of the clients I ever guided
and better than most of the people I routinely run into at the
rifle range before hunting season. I would consider the first
standard as a minimum to go afield, the second as competent.
Decrease the acceptable group sizes to 6 or 3 inches to settle
the dust.�
. I was told of the jelly-filled recoil pad of Beretta, have a look.

One of the best solutions to the rifle weight problem is to have two stocks...one heavy for the bench and one light for the field. Weight in the forend counts more than weight in the stock, as it prevents muzzle rise.

In addition, recoil pads that you wear are more effective than those on the stock, as the recoil is distributed over a much larger area and the edges of the butt are eliminated.

A 12 lb 458 with a premium pad that you wear will cut your perceived recoil in half.