doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Recoil pad weight

Has anyone else considered the weight of recoil pads? I see numerous older American guns with late model Silvers replacement pads ...even 1-1/2" pads. These have got to add a bunch of weight and really affect the gun's balance, while not providing much recoil reduction. I for one, use pads mostly to adjust LOP and like thin pads when possible. In fact, most of my sxs's have a buttplate or checkered butt...no pad. How much do Hawkins, Sunburst, and other vintage pads weigh?

I never weighed one. My long-armed Father always used a lace on pad on his old 2-frame Parker Bros. waterfowl gun. To make things "look nicer" I had Keith Kearcher fit a Silvers pad. Definitely moved the balance point rearward!! Other pads such as a Jostam Anti-Flinch or a No-Shok don't seem to add as much weight.

Some pads can add 4 ounces or more when stock is not cut or drilled to remove weight. Bobby

Like Little Creek my SxS's all have butt plates or checkered butts. I once put on a Galazan slip-on to try and couldn't believe how much it altered the gun's balance. I'm gald he brought it up because it's something I've never considered.
Karl

When considering whether or not it causes the gun to become "out of balance", it should be considered first whether or not the gun was built and left the maker with one. I have an AE 30" 16 ga. Fox that was shipped with a Silvers pad. It does not have it now, but the old pad was replaced somewhere along the way with a hard rubber buttplate. It will be going back to the way it was originally built soon, and I fully expect it to handle perfectly.

But, yes, thick solid rubber pads are heavy. I have no accurate scales on which to weigh any of my stash. I have a couple of new London Silvers on hand, and they are noticeably heavy. The ventilated ones ...... Hawkins, most of the Jostams, etc. will be lighter than the Silvers style, usually. You would have to remove a fitted pad from a gun and weigh it. Weighing a new, unground pad would be erroneous.

SRH

Not a vintage pad, but there was a Kick-Eze pad on the 26" SKB 200E 12 ga. I picked up this winter. It weighed 7.5 oz. on my digital scale. On this gun I replaced the beavertail forend with a splinter and that Kick Eze with a microcell pad. It went from 7 lbs. 2 oz to just under 6 lbs. 8 oz.!

Worse than just the weight is the fact that being on the end you get a leverage effect. If the pad was at the hinge pin, or normal balance point, it would only make the gun heavier, not change the balance. Being on the end of one arm of a leverover a fulcrum it has maximum effect on the other end. We feel the change. To rebalance you can either remove weight from the butt stock or sometimes add weight to the barrels. Trying to make things simple you could look for a light pad but most of the time we are either looking for a proper period type pad or one for length which restricts our options.

Dave you probably really appreciate the microcell pad now that you've lightened your SKB. I have a 6 pound 8 ounce 12 ga Francotte and have been shooting low pressure 7/8 ounce reloads in it. I did fire a 3-3/4 dram hunting load in it...once. I couldn't believe the recoil...I won't do that again!

Litte Creek,
I've done the same on some of my light SxS's. They tend to knock me into last Wednesday!
Karl

I just received a Micro Cell Ultra Light Recoil Pad - Medium .91" and it weights 2.5 oz on my postage scale and I also received a Micro Cell Ultra Light Recoil Pad - Thick 1.26" and it weighs exactly 3 oz.