I have a John Wilkes takedown 7x57 which I bought several mounts ago. I am goig to shoot it soon at the ranch but the old red solid pad is slicker than snot on a doorknob! Most of the time when I shoulder the rifle the thing slips off my shoulder because of the slick surface of the original red rubber pad.
I am open for suggestions on what to do about this without messing up the value of the rifle and replacing the pad.
Can I just lighly sand the back of the pad or ????
Better tomorrows!

I would have a new softer red pad fitted and keep the original. I like the NECG pads. They look good but are much softer than the silvers.

Mims

Galco makes a leather pad that slips on to the buttstock.

Yes you can sand it to remove the slippery/slick surface. USe masking tape around the sides. I've done it w/ a wood file, but sand paper usually works to get the final "look".

Thanks for the replies and help. I think I will try and let the air out of a whitetail with it this weekend.

An alternative to sanding the gloss off is to use a wire wheel. Either on a mounted electric motor or a small one on a Dremel.

Good hunting. Post some photos when you're done. Maybe a new jacket will cure your pad slipperiness.

If it has turned rock hard like most old rubber, you won't hurt it by sanding the butt. And putting a modern pad on it will be best; don't sand the wood, but you know that. Please post some pics; I would like to see it and the TD mechanism up close,

I used sandpaper over top of a thick paint stirrer to finish a Silvers pad the smith left unfinished on a shotgun. I think I used 220 grit, yes it took a lot but for a guy who struggles to drill straight holes I didn;t want to be too aggressive. It left a smooth finish which I topped off with a few applications of armor all rubbed in. I found doing it by hand I could avoid hitting the wood rather easily. It left a satiny finish with some grip.

good luck.

Thanks for all the good suggestions.
I took it on a quickie deer hunt this weekend. Being as I had never shot it and had no idea when it was shot last I took some Fed. 140 grain ammo and firing off the wonderful picnic table benchrest :-) put two holes right into the shoulder of the 100 yard to scale picture of the deer 11/8th inch apart. I could not see need to waste anymore ammo. No telling how many times this rifle has been apart nor how many times the scope has been remover via the G&H mount. No telling when it was last shot.
It took several hours to get the stupid grin off my face.
Like many others on this forum..I have never learned how to post photos.
You take it apart by opening bolt, pulling back the take down lever at the rear of the forearm. Then it is only a matter of unscrewing the barrel from the action. The threads are not interupted.
The scope is an old Hensoldt 4x32 mounted in a G&H double lever side mount.
It is a beautiful John Wilkes Beak Street rifle and I wish I knew when it was made. The oak and leather case has seen some wear but the rifle had been very well taken care of. Wood and metal are still in great shape. Some slight wear on the back of the bolt knob(most likely from when in the case) and some slight muzzle blue wear.
I would have tilted a whitetail over had the day not been so hot. Saw four really big bucks guarding one lonely doe but never could get closer than 450 yrds. That is too much green felt between the cue ball and the corner pocket for me!
Thanks again for the suggestions. Think I will go find the 600 grit and a sanding block. It is just the rear end of the pad that I need to unslick.
Better tomorrows!

Harry,

PM Me and I'll be glad to host pics for you...

harry i,d like to see a pic of that ..wilkes couldnt of made that many ,,went to his shop in soho in 1996 nice place but im not sure if hes still there ...paul

Baxter B..thanks for the offer. Let me see if I am smart enough to send them to you in a PM.

Posting pics of a very nice rifle for Mims.

Most appreciated.
Sorry the photos are not as good as the rifle.
The funny rubber thing in the photo is a rubber finger cot that I put on all the bolt knobs to keep one gun from making an ugly on the rifle next to it.
The other objects are BIG feet.
I hope to get this rifle dated somehow.
Better tomorrows!

Err...they are MEANT to be slippery!

Here in England, where your rifle originated from, it was customary for many gunmakers to "dress" the recoil pad with shellac (aka French polish) to make it "slick" so that it came up well to the shoulder.

If it is slipping out of your shoulder you are:

1) Too tall for the gun stock length.

2) Not mounting it correctly.

I suspect that 1) is actually the problem and no amount of sanding or BRUSHING WITH A FINE WIRE BRUSH will solve the problem. The stock is, for you, simply too short.

On the British 303 Lee Enfield they had a brass butt plate. This was usually polished by the poor soldier. Image how slippery that was! Yet no problems, unless stock too short, historically reported with it "coming out of" the shoulder.

Heck I was using a Lee Enfield, man and boy, since I was fourteen years old and my father and grandfather before that. Nobody ever reported such a problem.

Wilkes is now closed and finished. It was one of the very last London makers (excepting Holland, Boss and Purdey who are still going) to close.

The so-called London makers such as Rigby, Cogswell, Churchill are all, in fact, re-creations of the name.

Wilkes was still owned and run by the same people, continuosly, until it closed.


http://www.craigwhitseygunmake...tml/john_wilkes.html


It is now a wine bar. If you search "Riflemakers" and "Beak Street" you'll get a picture of it as such.

http://www.riflemaker.org/s-Information

quote:

Originally posted by Harry:
The funny rubber thing in the photo is a rubber finger cot that I put on all the bolt knobs to keep one gun from making an ugly on the rifle next to it.

That is purest genius!

being in wilkes shop was like going back in time ,,it was a true workshop not a fancy showroom ,,i remember being there the gunsmith was waiting for a customer to pick up 5 shotguns laid out on a table (workbench),,a streched bmw pulled up they went in the trunk and left,,then we talked for a while about guns ,, the shop was in ,(like most there)a busy area ,,in america the gun shops are all tucked away ........paul

Beautiful rifle, nice info enfieldspares, and I like the finger cot idea. Mine are stacked in gun socks but still get more dings in the safe than in the field.