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What is the Best after-market Recoil Pad

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35K views 63 replies 40 participants last post by  Canebreaker  
#1 ·
I have just come upon an older Browning Superpose 12 gauge, and I would like to set it up for Sporting Clays. It has a hard plastic butt plate that I would like to replace with a softer recoil pad that would be easier on my 80 year old shoulder. I have seen several major brands, but I would like to call upon the collective wisdom and experience of you forum members in finding the “best of the best.“ Any help will be greatly appreciated.

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#15 ·
Ditto if it just comes down to recoil reduction, but keep in mind the pads are very soft, and in a few years, will need to replace it as it start to goo apart from being so soft.

As for a low mount sport, might want to look at the SC100, since his high piece that will help to prevent pad stick on mount, or some other type pad that offers the same.
 
#3 ·
I have a mid 30's superposed and put a Jostam's Hy-Gun pad on it. For my gun, it seemed more period authentic, and was the same tone and color as the old one, probably original, pad that was on it. It was a very easy install and grind to fit. The screw spacing was the same as originals I didn't need to drill new holes.
I just put a Pachmyar F-325 on my 1981, Win 101, earlier this week. I went black on this.I'm not sure that I like it yet. It is forcing me to have a better, less lazy, mount though.
It was not as easy an install as the 'super, because winchester's original screw placement is "screwey" and required the original screw holes to be drilled and plugged and two new screw pilot holes drilled.
I've had both shoulders repaired, and while 'm not recoil sensitive, I know when I've been shooting. So far, both of these pads have worked for me.
I'm not a high volume shooter by any means, so you should take that into consideration.
 
#4 ·
There are several that are very good and it depends on what you want it to do. Kick-Eez are pretty good at recoil management, but they are very dense and heavy. A 1" pad added onto your gun will change how it handles. Pachmyars look great, but are just okay for recoil and moderately heavy. Cervelatti pads are lightweight - 1/2 as much as a Kick-Eez, and provide excellent recoil management. I just put a 1.25" Cervelatti Extra Soft pad on my K80 and love it. You can't go wrong with any of the above.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Kick Eez and Limbsaver are going to be #1 and #2…..and which one is #1 depends on who you ask.

Kick Eez tends to be softer and “stickier” material that wears faster. Limbsaver tends to be more slippery material and lasts longer so it really comes down to personal preference on how they feel. They both do a good job as a recoil pad.

both are pretty thick so they WILL increase LOP.

Ive had both on guns after the stocks were modified and would no longer accept the original pad. In my experience the Kick Eez pads start wearing down like a pencil eraser after a few years. The Limbsaver ones do not. Limbsaver also has a really good warranty- I had one Limbsaver that fell apart on me so I called them and they were able to identify it as having come from a “bad batch“ and sent me a new one.

All that said, when I got guns that actually fit me original Beretta recoil pad that came on my 694 felt much better than any aftermarket pad and with proper fitting recoil was not a problem and an aftermarket recoil pad wasn’t needed.
 
#55 · (Edited)
Kick Eez and Limbsaver are going to be #1 and #2…..and which one is #1 depends on who you ask.
Blarq is right.

Kick Eez tends to be softer and “stickier” material that wears faster. Limbsaver tends to be more slippery material and lasts longer so it really comes down to personal preference on how they feel.
I've used both brands and i think blarq has it perfectly reversed.

They both do a good job as a recoil pad. both are pretty thick so they WILL increase LOP.
Agreed.

Ive had both on guns after the stocks were modified and would no longer accept the original pad. In my experience the Kick Eez pads start wearing down like a pencil eraser after a few years. The Limbsaver ones do not.
Again, my experience is the opposite.

Limbsaver also has a really good warranty- I had one Limbsaver that fell apart on me so I called them and they were able to identify it as having come from a “bad batch“ and sent me a new one.
Again, agreed.
i've used both Kick-Eez and Limbsaver for 30+ years. Limbsaver for the win when it comes to attenuating recoil. The Kick-Eez pads wear like iron because that how soft they are.

I also have an X-Coil pad on my Browning Gold duck gun, only because Limbsaver didn't have a precision-fit pad for that gun when I bought it. It works quite well.
 
#35 · (Edited)
The big difference between ISIS pad and others - ISIS has more option in thickness and ISIS pad for Lefty and PAD for Righty as well. No other companies can offer this. After trying different versions - even Kick Eze - ISIS is the best.
They have an option with adjustable pad as well.
The price is not cheap - but when you trying to install the cheap pad on 10K$ shotgun - does not looks right to me. IMHO
 
#12 ·
I have just come upon an older Browning Superpose 12 gauge, and I would like to set it up for Sporting Clays. It has a hard plastic butt plate that I would like to replace with a softer recoil pad that would be easier on my 80 year old shoulder. I have seen several major brands,
It doesn't take much of a recoil pad to make a hard plastic plate look quite sad. The SC100 is my favorite. You are being redirected...

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#16 · (Edited)
1. {Limbsaver, Kick-eeze, Pachmayer Decellerator} Effective, easy to install, reasonable cost, attractive, grind for perfect fit.
2. Falcon Strike. Looks like you paid $200 to tape a motocycle innertube full of water duct taped to your shotgun with electrician's tape. Advertising claims are 87% more ridiculous than a Benelli shotgun barrel.
3. Pachmayer or other "rubber waffle pattern" butt pads. Softens fit to shoulder, grind to perfect fit, can absorb some energy, can be historically correct.
4. Hard butt plate. Can be inexpensive, good looking, historically correct.
5. Bouncy rubber superball material butt pat. Transfers the most energy to your shoulder.
6. Wood custom checkered... what you put on your super expensive sxs because Jeeves shoots your Purdy for you, what?

Butt pads modify lots of characteristics of the shotgun stock. It depends which you value the most.

Even a wooden pad can adjust your LOP and the pitch angle. A good wood pad will fit your shoulder pocket.

Soft pads are more forgiving about imperfect fit and design.

Some pads turn impact energy into heat. This plastic stuff generally called "Sorbothane" is a clever molecule that, when struck, converts much of the energy into heat in chemical bonds. It's soft, too. 1" of Limbsaver is about twice as effective as 1/2" of Pachmayer's stuff.. because.. there is twice as much of it.
Falcon Strike uses hydraulic fluid stuff, probably non-newtonian like the Sorbothane.
Beretta uses springs and shock absorbers

The worst pads would be super ball rubber. The would impart twice the recoil of the shotgun, in a sort of theoretical model. Pads that a ball bearing would bounce from are bad, the momentum of the ball bearing is doubled.. since the ball leaves with about the momentum it came with. Springs do the same thing but extend the blow to the shoulder out over time. A shock absorber is a different matter.

Rubber pads with waffle zones... the waffles crush and reform, which turns mechanical deformation into heat.

Then there is ease of fit. Limbsavers are a little harder to grind and I think only come 1" thick.. which can mean cutting wood stock, which I hate.
 
#30 ·
I agree with you on the looks of the generic small, medium, or large Falcon Strike but they do work better than the kickeez or limbsaver. I have tried all three and the custom Falcon Strike was the way to go for me. If you get a chance or opportunity to shoot one don't pass it up. I think you will like it.
 
#19 ·
Dani- I think of recoil pads as a wear and tear item. I replace mine every 3-4-5 years depending on how much that gun is used. Because they’re sticky I learned to mount by going to my face 1st rather than my shoulder , which works way better in low gun games.
 
#26 ·
No, I have not.
When a company makes claims like "80% less recoil energy", "converts recoil energy (up to 80%) into heat", "35% less muzzle lift", "25% less peak force", and "35% less rock back", they lost me as a customer. I have a degree in Physics and years of practical experience in mechanical engineering.

Their agreement says "Satisfaction Garauntee- less recoil or your money back." Sure, it will have less perceived recoil than a steel or india rubnber plate, but less recoil than what? Double your IQ, or no money back!

The pad costs $200 instead of $40, makes outlandish claims, only available 1 3/16" thick means I have to cut my stock, is ugly as sin, weighs 5.5-6 ounces (vs 4 or less for a Pachmayer) and I am not terrifically recoil sensitive anyhow.

That's at least 307% pure misleading baloney. Let me point some things out:

A butt pad doesn't reduce recoil. That would violate Newton's Laws. It spreads the transfer of momentum from the shotgun out over time. You'd rather have Bruce Lee push your chest than punch it, both actions making you take a few steps back.

Beretta has an interesting youtube video showing how their nearly-as-ugly-as-FS mechanical system spreads momentum transfer out over time. "Real" physics classes require the students to have a couple semesters of Calculus, because all this stuff inovolves functions over time. Forces cause things to move over time. The details of how they move over time is very important and described perfectly by Calculus. Example... Your chauffeur Jeeves accelerates the Rolls smoothly up to 55 miles per hour as you enjoy a cup of tea in the back. The next day, your teenage daughter Elona accelerates the Tesla up to 55 miles per hour using Insanity mode, snapping your head back and slopping tea all over your morning coat and tie. Both cars end up at 55 miles per hour. A recoil pad slows down the transfer of forces, like Jeeves's judicious use of the accelerator pedal.
Image

Note that the area under each curve must be the same. That's the total "recoil"... but it's much more pleasant to have that sharp white peak spread out over time.
Springs and shock absorbers or a hydraulic fluid... these are used in many places in industry. I just like less crap bolted to my simple shotgun. Crap fails over time (and I expect a shotgun to work for at least 70 years) or when least convenient.


"35% less muzzle lift" ... the butt pad doesn't reduce recoil. That would violate Newton's Laws. Muzzle lift comes from the force from the bore axis above or below the mount to the shoulder. Change the pitch angle of the buttstock and you can make the muzzle drop instead of rise. Just using no butt pad or plate at all.

"80% less recoil energy"... what is "recoil energy"??? Are telling me that if I put their pad on my 686, my 1.25 ounce target loads will suddenly feel ilke (1.00-0.8) x 1.25 = 0.25 ounce loads?
Really? Like shooting half a .410 shell? Really??? If that were true, we would have heard about it from anyone that bought one. 10 gauge goose loads are now powderpuffs?

"converts recoil energy (up to 80%) into heat". Double your IQ, or no money back! Copper is really good at converting mechanical energy into heat. Strike a penny on an anvil with a hammer 25 times, it will get very hot. Do not put your finger between the penny and anvil and hit with a hammer. Your neighbors will hear your scream of pain. Don't try padding your finger with a hockey puck, either. 4 inches of Styrofoam will protect your finger because the pressure curve is spread out. Yeah, heat... but it's how steep (d/dt and second derivative) that pressure is delivered that counts.

"25 % less peak force"... sure. Look at the Beretta graphs. The Kickoff peak is 40% less. That's good. I believe that. Smushing the peak down and spreading it out is how this recoil reduction stuff works. It's how a tube of mercury works, too, creating sloshes.

"35% less rock back" .. uh... They said there was 80% less recoil energy. Why don't you have 80% less rock back? Oh... they mean... recoil energy is the change in momentum over time, spreading out the time.. but that has to be constant because unless it's a nuclear reaction, energy is neither created or destroyed.. uh.. if your REALLY want to feel recoil, put your back to a brick wall, THEN shoot your shotgun! Ow! See what I did there, talking about smacking your finger with hammer on an anvil? Rock back of your body reduces perceived recoil!

So no, I have not shot with a Falcon Strike recoil pad. I expect they work about as well as the Beretta kick-off butt pad system, maybe a bit better because the hydraulics are nifty. But.. do they feel squshy? How long before that rubber dries out and mechanical flexing causes a leak? What about when it's really cold or really hot? I don't know. But I can post a picture of a Pachmayer pad that is 40 years old and still works well enough to shoot a round of clays.

I don't like the Beretta systems that put polymer plastics in my wood butt stock. Those will dry out over time. I have really nice 70 year old shotguns. I expect a chunk of wood to be working in 150 years. Replace a butt pad? No big deal.

But I am not cutting my beautiful walnut buttstock so I can install a 1 3/16" buttpad that looks like a chunk of motorcycle innertube.

If you want recoil like a .410... ain't nothing wrong with... a .410!

I am a liberal communist hippy, but I like conservative things like fine hardwoods, blued metal, scotch whiskey, home made beer. I don't need someone to mix fizzy water and vodka in a can for me, I know the recipe! Epoxy and acrylic resins are better than pine pitch, most of the time. I don't mind progress, I have a titanium hip I would reccomend to anyone as better than arthritis. But sometiems there are inventions looking for a problem to solve....

Rant off. Thanks for your attention. If you bought a Falcon Strike and think it's the best thing ever, cool. Tell us about it, but compare it to the Beretta Kickoff system... because the mechanical complexity matters to me. Remember.. my nice pads cost $40 and I have a belt sander and grind my own pads.
 
#28 ·
I am waiting for a new shotgun to arrive.. UPS says it's today! 1952 20 gauge Ithaca... with... pachmayer pad on it. That's 72 years old. I should make dinner, and then research what the period correct pad is. I wonder about the reproduction Sunrise pads! I hear they might be made of inferior polymers but look very pretty. A polymer should keep it's shape and not smush over time. I don't have confidence in the people selling the Sunrise pads.
 
#31 ·
The Falcon Strike and Isis are not recoil pads, they are actually recoil reducers. Having an Isis put on your gun will run $600+, but they do work. The Falcon Strike weighs 5.5 - 6 ounces!!!!!! If you are a gun down shooter that is going to markedly alter the way your gun handles. Might as well put a Gracoil or PSP recoil unit on your gun and get some outstanding recoil reduction.
I use all 3 pads I mentioned on guns. If I want it to be an attractive install on a hunting gun I use a Pachmayr, often in brown or red. If I want to add weight to a target gun on the stock end (muzzle heavy shotgun) I'll put on a Kick Eez because its heavy. If I don't want to alter the balance of the gun I'll use a Cervelatti.
We have lots of great choices today with products that help is in several ways.
 
#36 ·
Shotguns made in the 1890s are still serving their purpose. So they have to make up stuff to set one another apart. Look at all the lies the choke people tell. And all the t-rash posters say here.

use what you like. That works for you.
 
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