I have a Whitworth .458 Win Mag with a decent walnut stock on it. The recoil pad is significantly smaller than my CZ 550 stock's recoil pads (and the rifle is also lighter). Suffice to say the felt recoil is increased, and I am done after 10 shots from the bench with it (standing I can go 20 shots).

I can add weight to the stock, but I can't enlarge the butt of the stock. I am thinking about replacing the recoil pad and flaring the pad out from the rifle butt to increase the pad's contact area i.e. spread the load.

The questions are: 1) has anybody done this, and how did it work for them? 2) what angle off the pad did they use for the flare? A transitional angle (~45 degree) from the hard plate of the pad to the soft and then 90 degrees to the shoulder contact area, or following tangent lines from the existing stock toe and heel angles back to the contact area?

This one probably should have been in the Gunsmithing forum not the Big Bore forum.

Rather than flaring the recoil pad - which would look horrible, a change in recoil pad material might be a better option. Some of the modern materials are much better at absorbing recoil.

With a recoil pad I would always follow the lines of the stock.

But I think most big bore shooters struggle to do more than 10 shots from the bench, or 20 shots standing. Additional weight is good for taming recoil, but could well affect the balance unless done carefully. It also has to be carried.

I would leave as is, sight it in from a supported standing position and limit yourself to a few shots at a time otherwise you will develop a flinch. And if you want to practice lots with the rifle, use a lighter bullet and reduced load, or use a similar rifle but in a much smaller calibre.

And if you need ten shots in the field, I don't think you will be worrying about the recoil.

I second what Heym SR20 had to say. Shots from the bench with a rifle generating substantial recoil should be limited to load development and sighting in.

Even those shots should be fired with a Lead Sled or its equivalent. Practice should be with mild loads, preferably with cast bullets, to keep the cost down and insure maximum practice shots for minimum expenditure.

My rifle for thick skinned dangerous game generates half again as much recoil as a .458 factory load, yet I never developed a flinch nor noticed recoil at all when firing at game. It has no recoil pad at all.

The rifle in question is 9 lbs 1 ounce without a scope or mounts. It is lovely to carry, but I would not mind if it were 10 lbs. My 416 Rem Mag is 9 lbs 12 ounces with a scope on it, and it is quite manageable. I have shot quite a few 1 MOA or less 5 shot groups with it from the bench, and it doesn't hurt me. My CZ 550 in 458 Win Mag also doesn't hurt.

The Whitworth 458 Win Mag gets ouchy after 10 shots from the bench which I think is both weight and the narrow recoil pad. Replacing the pad with a new softer one may help as may adding weight fore and aft. How heavy is the average 458 Win Mag or 458 Lott i.e. what is a good weight? I am guessing around 10 lbs.

Yes the whitworth has a small butt area. Narrow is the chief problem. For bench shooting; get a past recoil shield that you wear. You can choose from several models. In the field you never notice the recoil.

I would look at a slip on with limbsaver material and/or the past shoulder pad. I think limbsaver is softest (breaks down over time though).

Also, mercury tubes add weight and spread out recoil impulse, but change the balance point.

Porting (or a muzzle break) really works, but is loud. And I think muzzle breaks are usually ugly. Except maybe the VAIS style that continue the contour of your barrel. But then if you have iron sights, they look funny extending way beyond the front sight.

I'd get a .222 and enjoy shooting.

You can flare a pad if you want to. Flare it to the sides, but not the toe or heel to look right. Decellerator is the most common pad but the internal frame probably too wide. Terminator and Kickeeze good choices. Bad luck with Limbsaver pads for me.

As you and many find out, getting belted around at the bench or even when standing for practice on targets is not enjoyable. Shooting a big bore of any kind gives no joy if it hurts i.e. the heavy recoil and hurt that gives the African dangerous game big bore it's nostalgia defeats the purpose and fun of that nostalgia. Mild loads with cast bullets while still giving some recoil due to the weight of the bullet and some boom due to the case size and bore, brings back that nostalgia of owning and shooting a big bore.

For all intents and purposes shooting cast is exactly the same as shooting full power loads in terms of operation of the gun, the only thing missing is the built up of hurt and it is a hell of a lot cheaper and easier on cartridge cases and the gun. With reasonable cast loads you could shoot all day without any ill effects.

With this sort of practice by the time you get to Africa you should be a pro with your gun.

How does the current LOP fit for you?

Does it still have the factory pad on it?

The LOP is okay. Perhaps 1/4" too long for me, but okay. The pad is the original recoil pad that is now quite hard rubber. The issue to me is the narrowness of the pad compared to my other 458 WMs and my 416 RM. They all produce about the same amount of recoil, but the Whitworth has noticeably more felt recoil.

I can't widen the butt of the gun, but I figure I could replace the pad and widen it. It won't look good but it would increase the surface area of the area in contact with my shoulder.

The thread was to see if anyone has done something like that before. I'll give it a go with a Kick-Ezz pad, and see how it feels. My assumption is that increases in surface area directly correlate with decreases in felt recoil. A small lady in high heels stepping on your foot is going to hurt more than a large man wearing sneakers doing the same thing.

quote:

Originally posted by webfeet:
... The pad is the original recoil pad that is now quite hard rubber ...

Yes, you need a new recoil pad.
I am not one who believes that a steel butt plate or checkered wood butt face is best on a hard kicker.

quote:

Originally posted by webfeet:
My assumption is that increases in surface area directly correlate with decreases in felt recoil. A small lady in high heels stepping on your foot is going to hurt more than a large man wearing sneakers doing the same thing.

Not necessarily so, as the recoil velocity and energy are still the same. Sure it is spread over a slightly larger surface area on your shoulder but it doesn't change the velocity and energy.
A pad made of good energy absorbing material will help as some of the velocity and energy are absorbed in the pad material and then dissipated over a longer time interval. Flaring a pad won't alter the ability of the material to absorb recoil velocity and energy.

I had problems with the original ventilated rubber pad on my Mauser 404. It used to hurt when shooting off the bench and with some stiffer cast loads my shoulder would bruise, albeit I was shooting in summer with just a T shirt on. Fitted an Old English Pachmayr pad and much more pleasant to shoot.

I second the suggestion to get a PAST recoil pad. I got the one below, and I can literally shoot my .458 Win Mag indefinitely offhand, and perhaps about 20 rounds from the bench comfortably at one sitting. Only downside is the increased length of pull. That's why I didn't get the super mag plus.

https://www.midwayusa.com/prod...-shield-ambidextrous

Perhaps you have overgunned yourself, and need a .338 for instance..Ive shot many a Whitworth 375 and 458 and actually I like a thin, whittled down gun that's handy and fast, most stock are more like a stump than a stock IMO..

Try pulling the gun in tight to your shoulder. I have had some steel butt plates on some of my big bores, and held properly they seem to work, also a detachable muzzle brake can solve such problems..I like them and Im not at all recoil conscious except for my right hand due to an injury a couple of years ago..

A flared recoil pad will not change anything, nor will a huge recoil pad, that's just a stockmakers dream that's just wrong, but good salesmanship..A bench is a good place to get the snot kicked out of you, get a sissy bag, a shoulder pad and use them...

Some say you don't feel recoil when shooting at game, but a flinch is a flinch and its there no matter what you shoot at, and yeah you don't feel it, that's the rest of that story..

Just some options that may or may not work but worth a try, they have worked for me..

Well, I did it and after 10 rounds it feels different enough that I think it might work for me. I used a medium Kick-Ezze pad and fit it using a 30 degree taper on the sides. I followed the stock angles for the heel and toe so the pad lines extend as other one did. It looks unorthodox from above and below but from the side it doesn't look different. I am happy with the results thus far.

quote:

Originally posted by webfeet:
Well, I did it and after 10 rounds it feels different enough that I think it might work for me. I used a medium Kick-Ezze pad and fit it using a 30 degree taper on the sides. I followed the stock angles for the heel and toe so the pad lines extend as other one did. It looks unorthodox from above and below but from the side it doesn't different. I am happy with the results thus far.

As long as it works for you that's all that matters really. Might not be everyone's cup of tea but easy to put the old pad back on if you ever passed the Whitworth on.

Well WEbfeet that's all that counts, if your happy with it you made a good choice..

Okay, I shot another 15 rounds (25 total at this point) and for sure this Whitworth's recoil is much, much more comfortable now (500 grain 2125 fps load). I am sure the new recoil pad's composition has a good bit to how it feels now. For giggles I worked out the difference in new pad's contact surface area compared to the old one. The new pad equaled a 21.79% increase in surface area.

I think a 20% change even without changing the recoil pad composition is a difference you would feel. You can't change the recoil impulse or the total recoil energy, but you can change the way it feels because the load is spread over a larger area. The increase in contact area is actually going to be higher than 22% as the heel and toe of the pad are in less contact than the pad midpoint, and the midpoint is where the increase is greatest with the way I shaped the pad.

Anyhow, I trimmed the angle of the pad a little more for aesthetics, applied some WD-40 to give it a shine, and it doesn't look half bad. In case anyone wondered, the dimensional change in width at the widest point was 5/16" really isn't that much if someone has a rifle that just kicks the snot out of them. I might add a 1/8" Cheek-Ezze pad too and see what difference that makes.

Last thing, if anyone is going to fit a Kick-Ezze pad themselves, I recommend freezing the pad before you grind it. The rubber is really soft and it needs to be hardened to get a nice finish on it. Freezing hardens the pad temporarily and simply sticking the pad in the freezer overnight works well enough.

I would get a slip-on leather boot to fit over the Kick-Eez, to make it last longer.
I have had "one" of those in the past and lost a chunk out of it, they are kind of fragile to shearing on the edges and corners.
If you can find a ready-made Galco or similar slip-on that fits, with Velcro fastening, use that by removing any rubber in the butt, get it down to bare leather, won't increase LOP significantly.
Custom leather pad covering is not necessary for function.
I would make one for myself if nothing ready-made would fit,
using the leather-craft skills I learned in prison, for making wallets and moccasins and such.
Sure beats license plates.

Rip ...

Good idea on the leather boot. I may take it one further and actually turn it into a leather covered pad. I will have to reduce the size a bit more, but I have some thin leather that should do a nice job when wet and stretched. With a thin leather cover, it will shoulder better and should last longer. So I didn't learn my leather skills in prison, unless you consider prison spending hours watching YouTube and reading books. You probably have better stories from your experience than I do.