Looking to replace the factory (THIN) recoil pad on my Merkel 140AE to something a bit more forgiving. Is this something I'm best of sending out to someone like Champlins to have done? Or simple enough for a DIY project? I'm thinking a 1" decelerator in red.

Do not try this at home unless you are very skilled with a belt sander. The 1"decelerator is a good choice. For finished stocks, I grind them off the stocks. I only do them mounted on unfinished wood. So, yes, you can do it at home if you are good.

Thanks, dpcd. I was planning on doing it off the gun as I don't want to venture into stock refinishing on such a nice piece of wood! I may give it a go on my own before going through the hassle of shipping it out somewhere.

Well, jumped on a sale at Midway and ordered a Pachmayr 752 B in red for a whole $27. I'll practice on that one and see how it goes....

Love the red pads....they really bring out the hues in the wood.

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Love the red pads....they really bring out the hues in the wood.

Agreed. I just like the red pads in general. If this goes well, I plan on replacing the one on my CZ kevlar stock with one. Probably paint that stock brown with black webbing, also, but I digress...

Ok, you can do it; screw the pad on, (have to flatten the pad first as they are never cast flat). If the screw holes interfere with the original ones, you can plug them with dowels and re-drill. Trace around the pad, and take it off, and grind the excess off, being careful to get the tow angle right. If you are careful, you can get it as if it was ground on the wood. Finish the rubber with Armor All. that is what I do.

every pad I have ever ground (hundreds) I have ground on the gun. It takes some practice but I feel the best results are achieved with this method. I do my final grind on a leather covered pad on a jig but even those are brought down to the wood level while mounted.

I do it both ways, but if the gun is mine I insist on sanding the wood to the pad or visa versa, for a perfect fit, then refinish the stock completely. If I can feel a edge with my fingernail I don't consider it a proper fit.

But that sure costs more unless you do your own work...

If I fit a pad to the original finish, I basically do as stated above with a belt sander, but I do finish the job by hand with 6 grt. paper to 220 grt. going around the pad and holding at the very edge of the wood, but I do this no matter how I do it, and its a slow process and takes a lot of time.

Proper fitting of a pad is considered the most difficult task a stockmaker can do according to some of the best stockmakers around..

Thank you all for the advice. Project has hit the back burner for a few more weeks while we get settled into the new house (with dedicated gun room!). I'll report back when I get this going.

Just to update, ended up finding a smith in my area that was recommended by a good family friend who used to run Winchester's custom shop when it was in New Haven. Nice little shop off the back of the Ruger factory building in Southport. Brought the rifle and the pad to him, as well as my CZ 375 to have a red silvers pad fit to the CZ aramid stock. Was quoted about a 10 day turn around time. I'll report back when I receive my completed guns.