Well, I read and posted in this old thread on the subject of replacing the inadequate (at least for fairly heavy recoiling calibers) butt pad on the Ruger M77 with something much better for the job, such as the Limbsaver or KickEez.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=565472
Anyone looking at the pre-fit models those two brands or the Pachmayr Decelator will see that they are listed for the M77 MKII, but no mention about whether they fit the tang safety version that preceded the MKII.
The concern for people like myself, with my tang safety M77, is whether Ruger changed the contours of the butt end of their stocks from the tang safety to the MKII, making the pre-fit pads incompatible.
This is a very real concern, since the latest iteration of the M77, the Hawkeye, most definitely has had its stock recontoured, and indeed there already are pre-fit pads for it specifically.
Anyway, I finally just dove in and bought the pad I had read the most rave reviews about, the KickEez.
I was pleased to find that the pad was very close to the contours of my Ruger, with only a slight (less than 1/8") overhang on the underside of the stock that should be very easily removed with just a bit of careful filing and sanding.
The supplied stainless screws also turned out to be the exact same thread and size as the stock Ruger screws.
I didn't want to drill new screw holes in my stock, so the only other necessary modification to the pad was to allow the screws to match up with the existing screw holes in my stock.
Since the holes on the side facing the stock on the recoil pad are actually slots, I did this by removing some of the hard plastic those slots are composed of enough to allow the screws to match up with the holes in the stock, requiring that I only push the pad slightly downward to work.
I then snugged down both screws, and it all seems to hold very nicely.
I took it to the range, wondering how the experience would be from the bench.
My Ruger is chambered in .30-06, and shooting from the bench with the stock Ruger butt pad that way has gotten only more unpleasant, as the natural rubber in it has become hardened over the last 23 years, turning it into a butt plate, with a mere ten rounds fired that way leaving a definite bruise and soreness for the better part of a week each time.
Well, I settled in and leaned forward, deciding to maximize the effects of the recoil to see just how much the KickEez would really be.
Yes!
It worked much better than I had even hoped.
There was no pain whatsoever.
I fired ten with ease, all from the bench, with not a problem.
I even let a guy at the range try it out, and he was amazed, and he already wants to buy a KickEez for his own gun.
Anyway, I wanted to let anyone with a tang safety M77 know that the KickEez at least will fit with only slight modification, and the performance is a huge pleasant surprise.
Here is a closeup view of that slight overhang I mentioned (I haven't ground it off yet):
Here is the view of the entire rifle, including the newly installed KickEez recoil pad.
***Update***
View of this rifle before I added the KickEez recoil pad and Butler Creek scope caps.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=565472
Anyone looking at the pre-fit models those two brands or the Pachmayr Decelator will see that they are listed for the M77 MKII, but no mention about whether they fit the tang safety version that preceded the MKII.
The concern for people like myself, with my tang safety M77, is whether Ruger changed the contours of the butt end of their stocks from the tang safety to the MKII, making the pre-fit pads incompatible.
This is a very real concern, since the latest iteration of the M77, the Hawkeye, most definitely has had its stock recontoured, and indeed there already are pre-fit pads for it specifically.
Anyway, I finally just dove in and bought the pad I had read the most rave reviews about, the KickEez.
I was pleased to find that the pad was very close to the contours of my Ruger, with only a slight (less than 1/8") overhang on the underside of the stock that should be very easily removed with just a bit of careful filing and sanding.
The supplied stainless screws also turned out to be the exact same thread and size as the stock Ruger screws.
I didn't want to drill new screw holes in my stock, so the only other necessary modification to the pad was to allow the screws to match up with the existing screw holes in my stock.
Since the holes on the side facing the stock on the recoil pad are actually slots, I did this by removing some of the hard plastic those slots are composed of enough to allow the screws to match up with the holes in the stock, requiring that I only push the pad slightly downward to work.
I then snugged down both screws, and it all seems to hold very nicely.
I took it to the range, wondering how the experience would be from the bench.
My Ruger is chambered in .30-06, and shooting from the bench with the stock Ruger butt pad that way has gotten only more unpleasant, as the natural rubber in it has become hardened over the last 23 years, turning it into a butt plate, with a mere ten rounds fired that way leaving a definite bruise and soreness for the better part of a week each time.
Well, I settled in and leaned forward, deciding to maximize the effects of the recoil to see just how much the KickEez would really be.
Yes!
It worked much better than I had even hoped.
There was no pain whatsoever.
I fired ten with ease, all from the bench, with not a problem.
I even let a guy at the range try it out, and he was amazed, and he already wants to buy a KickEez for his own gun.
Anyway, I wanted to let anyone with a tang safety M77 know that the KickEez at least will fit with only slight modification, and the performance is a huge pleasant surprise.
Here is a closeup view of that slight overhang I mentioned (I haven't ground it off yet):
Here is the view of the entire rifle, including the newly installed KickEez recoil pad.
***Update***
View of this rifle before I added the KickEez recoil pad and Butler Creek scope caps.
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