I recently acquired a Cogswell and Harrison 12 bore. I got it at a really reasonable price largely because it had a 3/4”acrylic extension that had some chips and no butt pad. It is cast for a lefty which I am. I shoot it well when I remember it has more than one trigger. It looks great other than the extension.

It fits me well at the current LOP so I am leaning toward an NECG brown 3/4” quick mount pad to replace the extension. Would this be appropriate for an English double? Your thoughts.

The NECG pads are really nice and look great too. I believe they are sourced from Germany. I’m not a fan of brown colored pads.
I think your Coggie would look great with either the red or black pad. I like the color of the NECG red pad…..I have them on some Brit guns and a few vintage winchesters & Remington’s. NECG has had some issues as of late with getting the red colored pads in stock. I waited 6 mos for the last one I bought.

Original Silver or Griffin and Howe Silver repro (no longer easily available) ground down to your length and finished as you wish. No other proper choice.

Any pad, which does not have a white lie in it, is a start in the right direction. Those I hate on anything. I have been buying a small supply of vintage period pads at gun shows and on line. There are some out there but not many. Buy what you like. It is your gun and anything has to be a step up from a plastic extension.

Dustin, do you have any experience with the NECG quick change pad mount? Specifically, does the channel mount have to be inlet into the butt? I'd like to see some pics of guns with a pad mounted on this "kit".

https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...ms.cfm?gun_id=102019380&watch_list=1

SILVERS

I see that Francis Lombardi is offering original Silver pads on gunsinternational. The right pad for you.

Thanks gentlemen. I had thought the Silvers were not available anymore. Good to know they can be had.

Yes. A friends Citori has that system installed. Dennis Earl Smith fitted it up. It’s a pretty neat system, really positive locking for all the pads fitted. The locking system is two pegs/studs that the pads bases slide into….very positive, no movement at all and very easy to change pads. My friend requires an extremely long length of pull and has pads fitted for both summer and winter shooting.


And to the guys recommending silvers pads….while I’m all about traditional etc, bottom line is silvers pads suck. They’re hard and do absolutely nothing for recoil management (if that’s what you have a pad for, some people just install a pad for a longer lop….in that case, it doesn’t really matter).
And which silvers pad is more traditional? Orange? Brick red? Nub or no nub? How polished should it be? All Silvers pad installations aren’t the same….I’ve seen some really poorly shaped, polished silvers that did not look right. And a silvers pad will cost more to install over other types of pads. All of this should be considered.
Some of the finest guns out there are fitted with pachmayr old English and NECG pads. Nothing “un-proper” about it.

a rubber pad will add weight and change the balance of the gun...as you do not like the plastic, replace it with scabbed on wood?...

Thanks but no thanks. The scabbed on wood extensions are almost as unattractive as the plastic extension. At least to me. I’ll fit a nice looking pad and deal with the ounce or two difference. If there is any.

A pad doesn't change balance enough to matter one bit.
JR

dem rubber pads are heavier dan sin...plastic and wood weigh less than rubber...

here is an example...

https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...-quot-.cfm?gun_id=101970435&cdn_bp=1

dat condum adds about half pound to the weight of this otherwise fine gun...plus the balance of the gun has been altered...

Lots of folks I know like these. They weight almost nothing. Some folks cover them in leather:

https://www.hastingsdistribution.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=338

Before you choose a pad based on weight you need to determine the center of balance (CoB) as well as determine what your preferences are reference gun balance. Experimenting to determine what your preferences are can get involved. Note that the CoB is just part of handling dynamics equation. Others can better enunciate on the various factors than I.

As noted by previous posters heavy rubber pads can significantly effect gun balance. Use of lightweight microcell pads can be a good alternative to heavy rubber pads. They require a title more care and the correct grit sand paper belts to install.

A source for such pads as Tut notes include Hastings https://www.hastingsdistribution.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=60

With some effort they can be found in black, brown, and red brown.

A side note on center of balance, rather than express it in terms of the hinge pin, I find expressing it in relation to the forward trigger on your gun is more useful. I have found my side by side preferred CoB around 3 3/4 inches in front of the forward trigger.

I’m no expert but here is what H&H is putting on guns these days:

For reference:

Jostam HyGun - 7.1 oz.

Hawkins Repro Straight slots - 7.2 oz.

Hawkins Repro Trestle (hearts) - 5.7 oz.

Hawkins Original Trestle (hearts) - 5.5 0z.

Jostam No-Kick Coming - 3.7 oz.

Leather Kick Killer Lace-on (Large) 4.8 oz.

I have several Silver brand pads on hand but haven't weighed any of them yet.

Note that these are out-of-box weights and that much of it will be lost due to grinding down to fit.

IMO, anyone who worries over changing the balance significantly by adding a properly fitted pad needs a shrink, and shooting lessons, and might be a trapshooter, too.

The actual pad underneath that leather is a pachmayr old English btw (if that pad was installed in the states).

You know your stuff… exactly right.

Black looks so good on that gun, spring. Was it done at H & H, NY?

Thank you, Stan. No, Guy Davies, their fellow at the H&H store in Dallas handled it for me. Guy used to run their NYC store for a while before moving to Dallas 20 or more years ago. Really nice guy.

Perhaps I am a little balance obsessive. That said, Testing with my Holts gun balance adding 1/2 ounce to the butt of my gun it moves CoB 1/10 of an inch. The pad I removed from that gun after I brought it, weighs 4.7 oz. It’s replacement roughly 1.6 oz. So reducing the pad weight on the gun by more than 3 ounces moved the CoB more than 1/2 inch. On a gun that was muzzle light because of cut barrels it moved the CoB to about where it was when new, when compared against the maker’s records. I could feel the difference.

OC, I don't argue that it changes things, a tiny bit. But, if you shoot the guns as much as you should your muscle memory takes over and it becomes non ipsum amet.

If I'm wrong, how can one explain "first times' a charm", when you shoot a gun for the first time and can't miss.

IMO, if you're obsessing over that minute a difference you're never going to shoot your best.

flatlanders dont seem to appreciate the importance of gun balance and weight...

are there any other old time mountain hunters left here...if so, you know how a gun becomes heavier in the afternoon, after spending a morning hiking up an down the ridges, in pursuit of "old ruff"...where quick, instinctive snap shooting is the norm...no time to think about it...no leads here...its a game of point and shoot...either you are on the bird or you are not...with a light, balanced gun in your hands, you have a chance at hitting 'ruffus grousus rocketanus...

You're gonna try condescension now, eh? Well, maybe you never heard of walking through briar patches and plum thickets for wild bobwhite all day, or the thick swampy tangles that woodcock often prefer here. There are other obstacles besides elevation that can tire a man. However, it is my opinion that most men today are not the men that their grandads and uncles were, physically. The preferred gun of choice down around here when I was growing up was an A5 Browning Sweet Sixteen ......... not exactly a light weight wand. And, they wouldn't dare make the excuse, for missing a shot on a flush, that their gun was imbalanced or too heavy.

Blame everything but yourself, eddy. That's your way.

"ruffus grousus rocket-anus"?? So, you mean a partridge with a bottle rocket up its ass?"" Interesting indeed. RWTF

I like the repo Noshoc Galazan had. Or use to. Just for adding length.

and then there are light weight slip on leather pads...

https://www.orvis.com/leather-recoi...4577541788648911&utm_content=Hunting

they are handy for early season use, when it is warm and one can be comfortable wearing just a tee shirt and safety vest...later on, when it gets cold and one wears more clothing, then, the slip on pad is put away until next fall...grouse guns are about length of pull, weight, balance and magic...

Stanton, I see your point. I know guys who can shoot a round of skeet with a 28in M101 then switch to someone’s 24in Citori upland special and get equally good scores. My Dad could do stuff like that. I am not that guy, never will be.

Your ability to tolerate the variables and hit does you credit.

I agree with you that I am obsessive about balance, and much much more than is worth listing now.

That said when I go down a gun table and lift six or twelve different guns to shoulder when I feel what I like, experience has shown me I will shoot it well.

Once I started messing with fit it really changed my shooting for the better.

Amen, brother. Proper fit is huge. An ounce here or there, not so much ....... for me.

Shoot well, my friend.

I am a trapshooter,
I care about pads on my shotguns. I will shoot 200 targets in a day. My 27 yard handicap gun is set up with a KickEzz all black, the all black looks good with the AZMEX Mesquite stock and the Turnbull color case on the 70's TM1. I shoot 1 1/8 oz loads cause that's the most allowed.
My EELL Beretta is set up for doubles with a KickEzz although I shoot 1 ounce I absolutely hate a pad that slips or slides on my shoulder. My old Remingtons Pigeons/FE are mostly Hawkins pads sanded for no-slip. Had a Silvers pad but it was hard as an adobe block. I shoot my guns and don't worry about the weight of the pad, I like just a little Butt Heavy, I think I have a roll of nickels in the Beretta?

For recoil attenuation the Kick-Eez is hard to beat. That's what's on my MX8 and always will be, as long as I own it.

Edd so will putting shells in it

Edd .try chucker hunting out west. your grouse hunting will seem like a nice Sunday stroll

Are you talking about Spear Chuckers, or maybe wood-chuckers???....


(I'm a bit perplexed. I never heard of chucker hunting.)

.... or are you simply butchering the spelling of "Chukar"???