Just got my No. 1-H in 450-400NE and I'm wondering how much weight would have to be added to the butt to shift the balance away from the muzzle and toward the action; I want the center of balance to be "between the hands" so to speak. Has anyone done this with lead or a mercury recoil reducing tube? If so, what weight did you use?

I'm switching the pad out to a 1" Decelerator anyway, so I'm going to have the stock off.

I did this to cut the recoil on a Ruger #3 in 45-70 but the idea is adaptable to your problem.
Remove the butt pad and find a metal tube that will slide into the hole in the rifle's butt. Close one end of the tube and fill with lead shot. seal the open end and insert into the rifle's butt and replace the pad.
Probably a better alternative would be to use a piece of PVC pipe, seal one end and fill it with bird shot. Then, cut and trim until you find the balance you prefer. Then, cap off the open end and replace the butt pad. The PVC might be a bit easier to work with.
Paul B.

My #1B has a fairly heavy 24" barrel in .405 Win. I took two empty 12ga shells, filled them with #8 bird shot, crimped them and taped the crimped ends together. Then I ground the rims off till it just slid in the hole in the stock and added a section of wooden dowel to take up the remaining space.

Seemed to help both balance and recoil.

Oregon: I used lead fishing wire sold to steelheaders for making pencil sinkers and wrapped it tightly around a dowel to come close to the diameter and depth of the butt stock through-bolt hole. I then wrapped the resulting coil in duct tape to make a press fit into the hole, and added a bit of dense foam under the Limbsaver pad to make it a firm fit. Helped a lot to rebalance a 1-H in .458 Lott.

I put a 16 ounce mercury recoil reducer in the butt stock through bolt hoe in my 1-H in 458 Win Mag. Rifle now balances perfectly for me.

quote:

Originally posted by TreeFarmer:
I put a 16 ounce mercury recoil reducer in the butt stock through bolt hoe in my 1-H in 458 Win Mag. Rifle now balances perfectly for me.

That is the best bet. Puts the point of balance right in the center of the action