I normally don't obsess too much about my guns but lately I've been shooting some of my nicer rifles less (Weatherby, pre-64 Win Fwt, custom Remington, ugly-ass A-Bolt with $$$ scope) and hence my thread for a "beater rilfe" to cover most of my hunting needs.

So I just got back from a gun show where I noticed those cheap package guns from Savage which come with some 3-9 or another handle a little nicer to me than an SPS and have some fancy new recoil pad on them. Supposed to be HUGE improvements (.30-06 kicks like a .243? Come on now, I'm not that dumb!), but I take marketing drivel with a grain of salt. Even so, if a $400 package in 7mm will only kick like a .280, I'd be thrilled!

So what is the A-R consensus on this fancy new pad? Does it work as advertised? The gun was nice and trim, detachable box could be useful if there's lots of driving involved, and the pad does feel nice and has good width to it. Also, it's lighter than the Vanguard package I was considering and no accutrigger (don't like 'em) means I can slap on a Timney.

are they using this as a material for the pad?

I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it's certainly got a weird, soft feeling to it that gets progressively more firm. Very broad, too. I can't find any literature about it anywhere on the Savage site (I'd think new recoil pads across the line would be a big selling feature) or anything on other sites, was hoping an A-R user had picked one up before me

I don't have an answer for you, but I hope someone has had experience with them. I have a light 30-06 with no recoil pad that has quite a kick. I'd like to tame it down if these new style pads work.

I saw a demonstration of a man dropping a raw egg from a 10 foot ladder onto a piece of foam material about an inch thick, many years ago. He climbed down, picked up the egg, and broke it into a bowl, to prove it was, indeed a raw egg. Perhaps this is what the recoil pad is made from?

No idea what it's made from. All I know is that there was a tag on the rifle advertising it had a "New for '08" recoil pad design where a .30-06 was supposed to be as mild on the shoulder as a .243 with a standard, vented-style rubber pad.

Feels like it might be but I can't find any info anywhere and it's driving me nuts! (it's a short trip )

I have one, but haven't shot it yet. The Savage pad feels like the Remington R3, and they do knock the recoil down. .30/06 to a .243 felt recoil level? Seems like a tall marketing claim.