Help with my dad's old Stevens.

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LibShooter

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My father gave my wife his 12 gauge Model 311A. It's a hammerless SXS with 24" barrels and 2 triggers. After decades of sitting in the guncase... we took it out to shoot some skeet.

It did that well. However, it tried to kill us both!

After one box of cheap Walmart shells, we had big bruises and sore shoulders. My wife wants use this great old gun for home defense. Can we find a custom recoil pad anywhere? It had a pink rubber slip-on that had been welded to the stock from the WD-40 Dad sprayed on EVERYTHING. (There are still globs of rubber on the butt.)

Any other advice on the gun?
 
After one box of cheap Walmart shells,
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Funny, I didn't know WalMart made any shells... or any ammo.

Anything you purchased from WalMart was name brand, as that's all they carry. The ammunition you purchase at WalMart is not second rate or anything special that is sold only to WalMart.

I hate to be a bit harsh, but WalMart often gets a bad name from people that buy ammo from it. WalMart gets the same ammo that gun stores get.
 
MP3Mogul said:
Funny, I didn't know WalMart made any shells... or any ammo.
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Uh, dude, you're reading way too much into one sentence fragment. He knows that; it reads as "cheap shells from Walmart." Tone down the pompousness. :rolleyes:
 
Lib,

My first SXS was a 311 it beat the heck outta me too, If you look on the hunting acessories shelf there at wally world you'll find those slip on pads, but they will lenghten the pull on the stock and that is usually the reason they stomp so hard.

The length of pull is the distance from the trigger to the butt plate if that distance is greater than it should be for your shooting style or body conformation , it will cause problems with recoil. If the fit is not correct or your if cheek weld is in the wrong place it will cause cheek slap and thumbing youself in the eye, excessive recoil to the shoulder, and adding length with a recoil pad will just aggravate the problem. Plus the older models usually have more drop at the heel, causing the gun to recoil up more than back.

If one person only shoots the shot gun you may be able to have the stock modified to fit that one person, but I doubt any two people will have the same shooting style.
 
Since the shotgun was given to your wife, find a local gunsmith who knows how to fit a shotgun make it fit her. It may require cutting the stock to shorten it, but then you can have a proper pad such as a PACHMAYR DECELERATOR added. Fit and the recoil pad should help immensely.
 
Thanks dogs for the help.

Upon reflection, I'm pretty sure the length of pull is too long for thr Mrs. And now she's a little "gunshy."

Since the outing with the Stevens she fired her cousin's Charles Daly 20g. pump. She's talking herself into one of those. Before we get the stock cut down, she may just want a new gun. The CD or Remington may be less costly than quality gunsmithery.

We asked Dad, and he's fine if she decides to re-gift the gun to her husband. :)

Riverdog, that pachmayer pad looks like just the thing. Thanks. Do they have to be modifed to fit a specific gun? If so, is it a do-it-yourself job?

Has anyone else had trouble with the slip-on recoil pads melting to stock? The gun won't be coated butt-to-muzzle with WD40. I use Hoppes on the metal and a silicone cloth on the wood.

BTW MP3, I didn't mean dis Wal*Mart. I should have said "Inexpensive ammunition I purchased at Wal*Mart." Just trying to save bandwidth.
 
Has anyone else had trouble with the slip-on recoil pads melting to stock?
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Yep. Bought a Marlin 30-30 a few years back that had one and after it came off it took a lot of work. I ended up refinishing the stock to fix the discoloration. Don't like slip-on butt pads,
Remington may be less costly than quality gunsmithery.
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Yep, spare stocks can be had for cheap OR you can get a semi-custom stock such as those from Wenig (go to Styles and check out the New American Style).
. . . Most shooters--Trap, Sporting Clays, Skeet, or Field--need a Monte Carlo type stock with an offset parallel comb, closer grip, and toe out. . .
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You get a rough stock from Wenig, do the final shaping and smoothing to make the stock fit the primary shooter, shorten the LOP to accommodate your butt pad of choice and you end up with a stock that really fits. The offset parallel comb, closer grip, and toe out does a whole lot more than just a butt pad. I did this with a used Rem 870 field gun and it was worth the effort. I took off a lot of wood, the palm swell fit my hand and the cheek piece gave me a near perfect cheek weld with my eye directly in line with the barrel. The toe out design allows the butt to fit into your shoulder much more comfortably; downside is that the stock is totally asymmetrical. As well as that 870 fits me shooting right-hand, it would not in any way fit me shooting left-hand.
 
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