I'm building a 416 Ruger. Although I'm not recoil sensitive, the arthritis in my shooting shoulder complains any more about recoil. Could I get recommendation on a pad that softens recoil and holds up to hunting use?

I like Decelerators.

I like the Kick-Eez pads.

two votes for Pachmayr Decellerators. Kick-Eze is soft, too soft and will come apart on you in not too long, with normal use.

Pachmayr F990 have one on my 500 A2
Best there is

I like kickeze for big kickers, but they melt over time

quote:

Originally posted by Bitterroot:
two votes for Pachmayr Decellerators. Kick-Eze is soft, too soft and will come apart on you in not too long, with normal use.

Number 3 for decellerators.

The biggest issue is extended range sessions and off the bench. Standing upright when shooting big bores helps a great deal

Irrespective of what you choose for the rifle a slip on Limbsaver for that and even just, or also, a thick hand towel folded a few times draped over the shoulder makes a big difference. At the bench you can use non-slip rubber on a butterfly type bag to allow the forend to grip the bag a bit which adds weight and reduced recoil. You could also wear a shooting vest with a padded shoulder.

Hunting is of course a different matter. One must bear in mind that many of my suggestions affect LOP. At least the number of shots fired hunting is a lot less for most.

I've used Decelerators and Limbsavers. If you can stomach the appearance I am starting to think that I prefer the vented pads for a combination of efficiency and longevity. Too soft hurts too.

All the best with that shoulder!

Won’t work for everyone, but if I’m sighting in from the bench, I wear a full waterski vest. 1” to 1 1/2” of good stiff foam, and it’s always in place.

Decelerator, but since I have really long arms I put a slip on Limbsaver over it when hunting or shooting then take the slip on off.

I have always used Pachmayr Decelerators. They work and are rugged.

I have decelerators and limbsavers and like them both.

quote:

Originally posted by delloro:
I have decelerators and limbsavers and like them both.

+1. Both are excellent. But I like Decelerators best of all.

I used a slip-on Limbsaver on my recent trip across the pond and really liked it. The gunsmith has the rifle now and is putting on the grind-to-fit version.

All Decelerators on my Medium and Large bore rifles.

At the risk of ticking some folks off, I suggest you try a metal butt plate and snug the rifle in tight with trigger hand and forend..I have a few high dollar big bores and I can't tell they "kick" anymore than a recoil pad of any kind, and they are too collectable to add on a pad..Held properly they Push as opposed to kick, not to mention they look purty-er..Just saying!

Try it before you post!

Ray you're just tougher than most of us, no lie. I shot my friend Marlin 47/70 with a metal butt plate, it hurt like hell!

Best Regards,

Chuck

Of course rifle weight can mitigate recoil. The heavier the better.

But I like light weight rifles to carry all day hunting Buffalo.

On my last hunt with Andrew in the Luangwa Valley for Lion and Buffalo, I carried an accurate 9.3x62.

My Dakota 404 Jeffery weighs 8.5 lbs. Love that rifle!

My CZ custom AHR 505 Gibbs weighs the same. Yes, it has recoil. I shoot 600 gr. Woodleighs at 2,150fps. I seem to be able to shoot it, but it would be nicer to shoot if it weighed 11 lbs., but it would be unpleasant to carry on a long Buffalo hunt. Plus, that level of power is simply not needed for hunting Buff, IMHO.

Carrying light rifles, which I prefer, it helps to have Decelerators installed on them. YMMV.

One thing not mentioned here; stock design and fit. I has to do with a lot of recoil tolerance.

quote:

Originally posted by chuck375:
Ray you're just tougher than most of us, no lie. I shot my friend Marlin 47/70 with a metal butt plate, it hurt like hell!

Best Regards,

Chuck

Ray was standing around on rocks, with his steel plated 505, waiting for dirt to be invented

I leaned towards collectable English and German big bores, double rifles and bolt guns with steel butt plates, Not about to cut them off and mount a pad!! Had to learn to shoot them, Held properly they have never been known to kill a shooter that I know of! nor injure anyone permently any more so than a silvers pad or whatever..

Trust me a soft pad gives any gun a running head start at the shoulder..

Now I can become sissyfied if the cheek is too high and the stock is a poor fit sometimes, but the human body can adjust to most guns with time and practice..

Stock it with a Hogue overmolded stock like the factory Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan. My 416 Ruger is really not that bad. The whole stock help dampen recoil.

My Rem XCR II in 375 Weatherby does the same. At 7.5 lbs with scope shooting 375 H&H factory loads kicks significantly less than my 10 lbs (with scope) CZ 550 in 375 H&H did.

!886 45-90 shooting Ele loads 450 grain solids at 2150 fps -- very deadly on Ele and all African game.

Good example of why we got tougher than the rest CR, can you imagine cutting that stock and putting a soft, suger titiepie on it.

Hey---I like sugartitties!

Hip

I fitted a Pachmayr Red Old English Decelerator pad to my Mauser 404, made a big difference to felt recoil compared with the ventilated pad previously fitted to the rifle. Grind to fit the small size Pachmayr so the butt area is relatively small and felt recoil with the 9lb rifle (scoped and mag full) was not overly pleasant when shooting off the bench. The Decelerator soaks up recoil nicely. Couple of images below of mounted pad. Don't butcher the screw holes through the pad, or allow a gunsmith to do so. Done properly the screw holes are invisible as per second image below (a pet hate of mine).

I'll second the love for the Decelerator pads; I have a few I've installed over the years and no complaints. Out of a sheer desire to try something different, I installed a few Hogue grind-to-fit pads on some shotguns and they're equally impressive. They don't have a metal skeleton in them, so there's no danger of hitting it while grinding (though if you're paying attention it's not an issue anyway). From the aesthetic side of things, their "brown" pad leans slightly red in color. It's a great replacement for the factory pads Remington put on their shotguns back in the 80's and 90's.

Key to recoil management is a properly fitted stock, and length of pull is probably key dimension. And make sure its straight with minimal drop and that it fits well around the face. And make it fits with respect to choice of sights.

A short stock with lots of drop will slap you about. Add a scope so your head is held high and gives even more of slap in the face.

Then technique, and a firm grip with the forehand on the forend with a reasonably straight arm soaks up a lot of recoil. A longer forend may be needed. The old English style of very short forend is not so good.

And but the front sling swivel out on the barrel so it doesn’t bite you hand.

As others have said the Pachmyer Old English style are very good. Leather covered are beautiful but probably not for a working rifle.

Good comments above. Straight stock, minimal drop make a big difference to me.

Here is a trick for a working rifle that I do. It really works. Get a grind-to-fit Decelerator pad or a Limbsaver Nitro pad (My favourite.) and sand it down flush, top and bottom but not on the sides. Leave the sides of the pad much wider that the original pad, especial on the right side looking forward. ( It gives a bit of the feel of a a cast-off stock ) This wide but plate makes a huge difference on felt recoil at the shoulder. ( its about a total of 3/8" to 1/2" wider that original pad. It looks stupid but it really works. If you can't stand the appearance or you want to sell the rifle then grind/sand it down flush or re-install the original pad.

You will be surprised how it takes the sting out of the shoulder. I tried it it on my 577NE single shot and was pleasantly surprised.
I also did it on my little/light TC Encore 500-110 Win. and 500S&W
and it worked like a charm. When I am in the bush putting the sneak on a cape buffalo herd I don't care how it looks.

well let me be the first to admit to being a candy ass. back in 2002, i was at a gun show in Tulsa, Oklahoma. as i was leaving i saw a real eye catcher on a table near the door. it was a Remington 700 with a truly gorgeous wood stock chambered in 458 Win Mag. the rifle came from the Remington custom shop and it weighed right at 9 pounds and it had a solid black "recoil pad". the vendor wanted only $700 for it so i snatched it up as quick as i could drag my money out. plus it came with a box of ammunition with only one round missing.

anyway...off to the range. i got settled in on a shooting bench, sat as straight upright as i could and touched off a round. sweet Lord, my entire life flashed before my eyes. my ear muffs, hat, and glasses headed south in a hurry with me and the rifle close behind. fortunately i held onto the rifle and it didn't get damaged. or at least not as damaged as i was. i sat there for a short while trying to figure out what went wrong. nothing i had ever experienced felt like that. finally i decided that i must have not been holding it tight enough. so...i got re-settled in to go for a second shot. this time i really leaned into it and held it like what was left of my life depended on it. and i will be damned. i didn't think anything could be worse than the first shot. i was wrong. that second shot was absolutely devastating. i got packed up and headed home. all the drive home i kept thinking...Boy...this...was a bad idea.

when i got home, i went to my trusty computer and accessed a software i use to see what was the actual recoil. that 9 pound rifle shooting a 500 grain bullet at 1950 fps was generating an unbelievable 56 pounds of recoil. for reference, a 30-06 using a 180 grain bullet going 2700 fps in a 9 pound rifle generates 18 pounds of recoil. hmmmmm. the next day my shoulder felt like i had been beaten with a hammer. it was truly an unpleasant feeling. i wasn't sore. i felt like i had damaged something...besides just my ego.

i had some work done on the rifle over the next couple of years. most of it was cosmetic. i certainly don't want to be seen as argumentative with some of the other folks on this forum. but i am convinced that no matter how much stock correcting or weight adding or shooter betterment i have done, nothing helped like a proper recoil pad. in 2004, i had a 1 inch thick Kick-Eze pad installed. today, while still pretty ferocious, that rifle is completely manageable. i have used that pad for the past 19 years. i've shot maybe 2,000 rounds in the rifle and the pad shows no signs of degradation of any type. it has been a vast improvement.

so...what kind of pad...my recommendation is Kick-Eze without a doubt.

bill smith, Good story! I learned my lessons about recoil the hard way too. Sounds like you got it sorted out. Good job. Brian

That is a Neidner pad and you will find them on some mighty high dollar rifles in rather large calibers..Ive used a number of them on y custom guns, as have many top gunsmakers..

As a ranch raised kid, low combed Mod 70s and 54s and 99 SAVAGES were popular and designed for iron sights with low combs and steel butt plates. I grew up shooting them, then Bill Weaver hunted on our ranch and gave all of us a new weaver scope and mounts..Shot those low comb stocks with scopes from then on and still do. Never bothered me..didn't know better, and I was blessed. they look a lot better to the eye btw..I suspect many of todays hunters and shooters just read a bunch of BS gun mags and spread the word without trying another option..the english and African rifles were iron sighted and steel butted. Many added a scope and still do..as one told me, all my hunters need to do is put the X on the shoulder and go bang!! All the rest is "malarky" amen!

BTW those two screws have no ill effect to recoil, none at all.

It is a beautiful pad Ray hope you're doin well

Gett'en better every day..Thank you. Love these hot conversations!
RAy