Tell me about your butt pads...

OK...building me a hunting rifle...woods here in Virginia, foot hills in the Shenandoah valley, out west in Idaho and Montana on longer business trips and maybe a South Island New Zealand trip too.

So I bought a stock blank from GPC (Numrich) in my quest for a old school M40'ish style rifle.

Plan is to get a LA, a heavy 308 or 30-06 barrel, CDI DBM and a really nice scope. Barrel will be cut down to 17.5" to shave some weight, but keep stiffness.

I chose this stock for a donor # 1228490A

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/pub/Prod...ge/1054020.JPG

My plan is to shave off the cheek pad to make the stock symmetrical while keeping the Monte Carlo cheek rise. I will also flatten the sides of the stock along the fore end so that I can epoxy glue two pieces of walnut onto the stock to re contour the fore end to a flat and wider beaver tail style bottom. Fore end will be 2.75 to 3"" wide when finished. I am looking for a stock equally adept at shooting offhand or off a small pack. It will have 3 embedded flush QD sling swivels, one on the left side toe of the stock, one on the bottom of the pistol grip and one on the bottom flat of the fore end. It will also have a small Picatinniy rail for mounting a bipod if needed.

Barrel channel will need opening up as well. Stock will be glass bedded once all mod's are done and after final fitting.

SO...I need a Butt Pad...any recommendations? Links would be nice...something rounded is what I think I want, also something that might soak up a little recoil too...

Target weigh for the rifle and scope is sub 9lbs

Limbsaver for the Savage wood stock. Got mine here....great price and a very good recoil pad.


http://www.opticsplanet.com/sims-vib...ood-10601.html


Have both the Pachmayr and the Limbsaver and if it's recoil reduction you need go with the Limbsaver. If you just need a really nice looking butt pad that has some recoil reduction properties go with the Pachmayr.

Looking for an end product similar to these...

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e202/Winny308/023.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...pcwhisper1.jpg

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...m/IMAG0164.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ps4fe4835a.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wbm

Limbsaver for the Savage wood stock. Got mine here....great price and a very good recoil pad.


http://www.opticsplanet.com/sims-vib...ood-10601.html


Have both the Pachmayr and the Limbsaver and if it's recoil reduction you need go with the Limbsaver. If you just need a really nice looking butt pad that has some recoil reduction properties go with the Pachmayr.

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I like that one...thanks

I am a DIY kind of person. I have tried Limbsaver, KickEez and Pachmayr Decelerator pads over the years. I've never found a Savage pre-fit recoil pad that you don't have to grind on to get a perfect fit. The KickEez and Limbsaver are the best for felt recoil reduction. I found the Limbsaver grind-to-fit was a pain to work with without the proper tools. The KickEez was easiest to find a close fit using the online templates. But it degraded and deformed with age. My favorite to date is a small, grind to fit Pachmyar Decelerator pad. It is easy to shape with a dremel tool and final fit with a sanding block. And it has a more classic look with walnut IMO. The picture below shows a 1" Pachmyar Decelerator pad installed on a Savage American Classic stock.

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps18a292e3.jpg

I'm sure your aware that adding a recoil pad adds length to your stock. When I added one (Limbsaver) to my rifle I had to cut the stock by 1 inch. Getting back to your OP, I like the Limbsaver brand.I have a thin one on my 30.06 and a one inch one on my 338.06, both are grind to fit.

I like Limbsaver....they work great IMO

Need a limbsaver? I upgraded my stock from 111 in 30-06... Have it laying around

I know I am not directly addressing your question, but I'd like to add the following suggestions related to your project:

Whichever pad you choose, put it in your freezer before you sand it. That helps a lot.
Do your sanding outside if possible because the little bits of rubber will go everywhere.

I invested in a Miles Gilbert recoil pad jig from Midway USA and have used it successfully on two rifles so far with Pachmayr Decellerator pads. They look great and feel fine to me...but I can't compare them with the other brands as I have not used the others in a side by side situation.

You might not need the jig, since you will be fitting your pad to a stock before refinishing it, but the jig allows you to take off the excess rather quickly since you can use a larger benchtop belt sander. Keeping the pad frozen is the key to having a good looking finished product as it keeps the rubber from "tearing" from the heat of the sanding.

I've got a Limbsaver prefit on my 110 and it made a WORLD of difference in felt recoil. 100% better than the hard factory pad.
No, it's not an exactly perfect fit, but the overhang is nearly negligible IMO, so I'm not gonna worry too much about it unless I refinish the stock, again. Yes, it did increase the LOP, but I think I kind of needed it a little longer.