Anyone try this gimmick?


Body Armour

Looks like a good way to develop a serious case of "sweaty tit syndrome" also known as the dreaded STS's.

Ridiculous.

Would they work on my knees?

Why insulate one's self from the experience? And, in the field where presumably this product would be used, recoil is not felt.

I suspect most of us have taken a shot in the field and later discovered a trickle of blood above our eye or bridge of our nose due to a scope hit we were totally unaware of.

Another hunting product I must have, rates right up there with uv wash

Hey Guys,

This is no gimmick, it really works and I tried it myself with a 416 Remington that only weighs 8 pounds to make sure. It was originally developed as for Little League baseball players who were getting killed from chest hits from 30-40 mph fastballs. Even such relatively slow speed pitches were killing 8-12 year old kids if hit in the heart area.

I never heard of this when I was in Little League, but it has been in the papers recently. The recoil pad is a fiberglas laminate that reacts to body heat and compression to mold itself to your body. There are several applications in other sports, such as shin guards for soccer, elbow pads, knee pads, etc.

When you take the recoil pad out of the foil container, you have about 15-20 minutes for it to harden. The shirt is made of a fabric that wicks the sweat from your skin and is tight fitting, and can be had in either left or right handed versions. The recoil pad can be washed without affecting it's properties and you can rotate it between shirts, so you always have a clean shirt on. The shirts are thin and easily wearable under a regular shirt without heat buildup. If you have ever worn Under Armour shirts, it is a similar effect.

I would not recommend anything that did not work, or that I had not personally tried. These things are amazing and I have shot with it several times with rifles in .416 Rem. and .30-378 Weatherby, as well as 12 and 20 guage shotguns. Scoff if you like, but once you try it, you will be singing a different tune.

Cheers,

Alan

If it helps guys shoot better then I am all for it.

And the vast majority of safari clients need to shoot better.

How comfortable is it in warm weather?

It's the Shitz!!

A guy at the range was using it, I tried it and was amazed.. I hadn't seen it since or where to get it or what name it goes by..

I don't understand how anyone can feel recoil when shooting at game. I have never felt it, even with the most powerful rifles.

So I don't see a need for it, at least for me, in big game hunting.

Maybe, though, this kind of thing would be good for high volume wing shooting.

I'm no masochist but the recoil is part of the experience. As stated earlier, I doubt any of us notice recoil when we're shooting at game.

On top of all that, once we start using "crutches" we lose our confidence when we don't have them. That's why I don't use those strap on pads at the range. In the summer I shoot the Lott wearing a T-shirt. I want to know subconciously that I can handle this brute well no matter how I'm equipped/dressed. That way it's one less thing in the back of my mind when I'm making the shot.

Finally, learning to master heavy recoil is a challenge. And as is the case with all challenges, once one succeeds in meeting the challenge, there is sense of accomplishment.

Just my two cents.

I'll buy one when I get my double rifle ported

Alan: I'll give you a shout when my Hein 450 Dakota gets here jorge

I agree with mrlexma. I don't feel the hit when I'm on game. Last year on cape buffalo I thought my 375 misfired the recoil and blast were so light. I was totally tuned to that bull.

I'll pass on the body armour.

I have a set of chaps, worn less than an hour, that I bought for snake protection while blue quail hunting years ago. That was the last time I fell for a gimmick.

Easy Tough Guy's.... Open up a bit.. Nobody said this was the latest greatest "HUNTING" gimmick... How about an extended shooting session at the bench.. The one I tried was owned by a 50BMG shooter.. I cranked off one shot with that thing and said screw this.. Thats no fun.. He then took off his pad and gave that to me for the next couple of shots.. Worked very well..

I have never heard of this product but am not so quick as some to write it off as a gimmick.
While the use in a hunting situation/shot, true it may not be necessary. But what about those multiple shot sight in sessions, or if doing a lot of wingshooting in Argentina for sure or one of those 50+ animal per day cull hunts in Austraila?? Also if this thing does nothing more than make sure your gun mount and shoulder placement remain constant it could be worth a look. Improper gun placement, especially on shotguns probably causes more misses than most any other thing I can think of. Probably 98% plus percent of MY shooting occurs at something other than an actual animal in a hunting situation so this kind of product might have a great deal of merit indeed. I'll try and search out someone who has some actual experience with this thing before a write it off.

Larry Sellers

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
I have never heard of this product but am not so quick as some to write it off as a gimmick.
While the use in a hunting situation/shot, true it may not be necessary. But what about those multiple shot sight in sessions, or if doing a lot of wingshooting in Argentina for sure or one of those 50+ animal per day cull hunts in Austraila?? Also if this thing does nothing more than make sure your gun mount and shoulder placement remain constant it could be worth a look. Improper gun placement, especially on shotguns probably causes more misses than most any other thing I can think of. Probably 98% plus percent of MY shooting occurs at something other than an actual animal in a hunting situation so this kind of product might have a great deal of merit indeed. I'll try and search out someone who has some actual experience with this thing before a write it off.

Larry Sellers

Aaahh... How calming the voice of reason..

I don't think I would use it for hunting, but I think it might be very useful for shooting sporting clays or skeet. I think it would prevent a lot of people from developing flinches.

I already use a cheap strap on pad for bench shooting which works just fine. I'm recoil resistant in the field so maybe when I'm 80 and they actually make it in a man's size.......don't like my hunting clothes too tight.

Just a simple question how thick is it ?
If you are going to use it at the bench to sight in your rifle wouldnt it play with your alignment when you dont use it ? Like having an extra 1/2" longer stock to normal ?

Just ordered one for purposes of testing....

Seems for all the bravado around how recoil doesn't matter, I can never find any volunteers to help when it comes time for load development testing with my 460 WBY.

I'm not terribly fond of my Pachmayr magnum recoil pad. It's too thick and slips around with each shouldering of the rifle. The only other effective alternative I've been able to find for load testing is a lead sled. And, using it's a little like shouldering a freight train.

stunt - Hopefully you will give us a "1st. hand" report on this thing? Count me OUT as helping with your 460 WBY tests!! You might try the Limbsaver pad as I truly think it absorbs and dissapates more recoil energy than any other pad out there. It also seems to stay put on the shoulder better. Comes in a slip on version as well so you can try it without a permanent application to check it out. Later

Larry Sellers

quote:

Originally posted by stuntpilot2:
Just ordered one for purposes of testing....

Seems for all the bravado around how recoil doesn't matter, I can never find any volunteers to help when it comes time for load development testing with my 460 WBY.

I'm not terribly fond of my Pachmayr magnum recoil pad. It's too thick and slips around with each shouldering of the rifle. The only other effective alternative I've been able to find for load testing is a lead sled. And, using it's a little like shouldering a freight train.

Mr.Stunt....Looking forward to your report on this device. After reading your excellent and well written post on bore cleaning, I know you will do a thorough investigation on this item as well.

Accurate innovations has a product that sounds somewhat similar -- I'm VERY pleased w. it. As for the tough guys... some of us have done ugly things to our bodies in our youth, and as such need all the help we can get now.

quote:

Originally posted by stuntpilot2:
Just ordered one for purposes of testing....

Seems for all the bravado around how recoil doesn't matter, I can never find any volunteers to help when it comes time for load development testing with my 460 WBY.

I'm not terribly fond of my Pachmayr magnum recoil pad. It's too thick and slips around with each shouldering of the rifle. The only other effective alternative I've been able to find for load testing is a lead sled. And, using it's a little like shouldering a freight train.

Had a chance to use it yet?

Apologies for the delay....Test complete.

I spent the weekend test driving the body armor using my 460 Wby and 375 H&H. Roughly 100 rounds of each across various shooting positions (excepting prone).

Observations: The shield definitely helped with the recoil. And, in a way that is different from my perception of how my magnum Pachmayr shield does. The latter seemed to help by giving me some extra "cushion" against recoil, the former spread it out across my body better. Not sure on the recoil absorption front one is hands down better than the other.

Recoil aside, the "shield in shirt" setup is much lower profile than any of my various Pachmayr recoil pads. Even the thin shotgun version. You can wear the armor under a golf shirt and few would notice. The shirt is made of a snug fitting lycra/spandex material, similar to an UnderArmor garment. The shirt does a better job of keeping the shield from migrating around your upper body versus the struggle I often have with traditional pads. And, I found the shirt's material reasonably cool, which was welcomed shooting in the Texas heat. The actual "armor" portion is a material that reacts with the atmosphere when you remove it from the hermetically sealed bag. After it hardens, the shield has a consistency of a soccer shin pad. Allowing the hardening process to take place inside the shirt, while you're wearing it leaves the armor "fitted" to your individual chest/shoulder contour. I found this to be a double edged sword.....It made the pad MUCH more comfortable to wear around while doing various physical activities. Hands down better than any kind of strapped on recoil pad from that perspective. But, since I'm somewhat "chesty", that meant my shield hardened in a convex shape. That was a bit of a hindrance when I attempted to "conform" my shoulder/chest to my rifle's butt stock, as one would normally do to shoot offhand or sitting. In assuming those positions, that same area of my body becomes concave around the butt stock. The lack of "give" in the armor pad in my transition from convex to concave meant that I often found myself needing to position the rifle's recoil pad on the inside edge of the plastic shield. The device still works, but you get the distinct impression your sub-optimizing it's recoil dissipating capacity. I do think the manufacturer has probably shaped the shield with this problem in mind and landed on a reasonable compromise. So, on flexibility to contour to changing body positions, traditional shoulder pads probably out perform.

In the end, I think I'd probably opt for this body armor set up over a more traditional strap on pad. But, the call to do so is close enough that I think the choice will come down to personal preferences. For me, comfort, profile, and minimizing change to effective length of pull would have me leaning slightly in favor of body armor.

Browning Reactar is an alternative:
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link....ng+reactar&noImage=0

Stunt,
You must be a scientist at heart. We can always rely on you for a careful analysis. Thanks!

Gentlemen,

I am going to get some of these and test them, and will report to you on the results.

Testing larger caliber rifles off the bench on an extended period is no fun, believe me.

And anything to help in that direction is a welcome addition.