MeanBone
Member
I originally posted this at Pistolsmith.com, but there seems to be more activity here. Hope some of you don't mind the redundancy.
I wanted to put the Limb Saver Recoil Pad by Sims ( www.limbsaver.com ) on my Benelli M1 Tactical 12 guage (mine is the regular stock, not the pistol grip). The model I thought would fit is too large (Model 10401). I contacted Sims and was told there are no plans to make one for the M1 Tactical. However, it did fit my Benelli S90 20 guage so here goes.
I had been told that the Limb Saver Recoil Pad by Sims would not increase the length of the stock. However, as you can see this is definitely NOT the case. The Benelli is on the left.
This is a picture of the Limb Saver on the gun with the Benelli below.
The pad was easy to install. There were two holes in the Benelli pad (and the LS) through which I inserted a Phillip's head screwdriver to access the concealed screws. Remove the Benelli pad and screw on the Limb Saver. Simple. Easy.
I found that the screw holes lined up exactly, but the fit around the stock was just a tad large. It's not much. In fact, it doesn't even show in the picture, but you'll see it when it's in your hand. It may have been done on purpose since it fits several Benelli models and would leave some room for fitting if there is some variation.
Here you can see the screw holes at the base of the stock.
The LS comes with a white spacer (which I decided not to use) and a template for drilling screw holes on a wood stock.
The Limb Saver has received great press in the gun mags and I was eager to see how it performed. I understand that Remington will be putting them on their shotguns.
. . . and yes it does work. At least, it outperforms the Benelli to a noticable degree.
I started with no recoil pad at all . . . and quickly concluded I don't like shooting shotguns that way! Wearing a t-shirt I could feel all the sharp edges. Really well! (OK, it was stupid but I needed a baseline . . . right?!)
Next came the Benelli pad. A noticable improvement . . . thank you!
Then the Limb Saver. Again, a noticable improvement. This is all very subjective, of course. With the LS the muzzle seemed to rise a little less than with the Benelli pad. The only way I can describe the recoil felt at the shoulder is that the impact seemed to be spread out over a larger area and the impact seemed slightly softer.
I've heard people say that shooting the Benelli with light target loads or shooting at hip level may lead to jams because the Benelli needs a stiff load and a solid shoulder to recoil against to insure the action cycles. I had a concern that the LS might change the recoil impact at the shoulder enough to affect cycling the action. However, I fired 40 rounds of 2 3/4" - 2 1/2 dram - 7/8 oz - 7 1/2 shot (not exactly what one would consider a heavy load) with no stoppages. That's not a lot I know, but so far so good.
For me it's a keeper. I'm leaving it on my gun. I've had to compensate for the longer stock by bringing the gun a little farther away from my body before placing into my shoulder. If I don't I tend to catch it on my clothing. If this were my M1 Tactical I might reevaluate that decision. However, this gun's for hunting and I like the reduced recoil even on the 20.
MB
I wanted to put the Limb Saver Recoil Pad by Sims ( www.limbsaver.com ) on my Benelli M1 Tactical 12 guage (mine is the regular stock, not the pistol grip). The model I thought would fit is too large (Model 10401). I contacted Sims and was told there are no plans to make one for the M1 Tactical. However, it did fit my Benelli S90 20 guage so here goes.
I had been told that the Limb Saver Recoil Pad by Sims would not increase the length of the stock. However, as you can see this is definitely NOT the case. The Benelli is on the left.
This is a picture of the Limb Saver on the gun with the Benelli below.
The pad was easy to install. There were two holes in the Benelli pad (and the LS) through which I inserted a Phillip's head screwdriver to access the concealed screws. Remove the Benelli pad and screw on the Limb Saver. Simple. Easy.
I found that the screw holes lined up exactly, but the fit around the stock was just a tad large. It's not much. In fact, it doesn't even show in the picture, but you'll see it when it's in your hand. It may have been done on purpose since it fits several Benelli models and would leave some room for fitting if there is some variation.
Here you can see the screw holes at the base of the stock.
The LS comes with a white spacer (which I decided not to use) and a template for drilling screw holes on a wood stock.
The Limb Saver has received great press in the gun mags and I was eager to see how it performed. I understand that Remington will be putting them on their shotguns.
. . . and yes it does work. At least, it outperforms the Benelli to a noticable degree.
I started with no recoil pad at all . . . and quickly concluded I don't like shooting shotguns that way! Wearing a t-shirt I could feel all the sharp edges. Really well! (OK, it was stupid but I needed a baseline . . . right?!)
Next came the Benelli pad. A noticable improvement . . . thank you!
Then the Limb Saver. Again, a noticable improvement. This is all very subjective, of course. With the LS the muzzle seemed to rise a little less than with the Benelli pad. The only way I can describe the recoil felt at the shoulder is that the impact seemed to be spread out over a larger area and the impact seemed slightly softer.
I've heard people say that shooting the Benelli with light target loads or shooting at hip level may lead to jams because the Benelli needs a stiff load and a solid shoulder to recoil against to insure the action cycles. I had a concern that the LS might change the recoil impact at the shoulder enough to affect cycling the action. However, I fired 40 rounds of 2 3/4" - 2 1/2 dram - 7/8 oz - 7 1/2 shot (not exactly what one would consider a heavy load) with no stoppages. That's not a lot I know, but so far so good.
For me it's a keeper. I'm leaving it on my gun. I've had to compensate for the longer stock by bringing the gun a little farther away from my body before placing into my shoulder. If I don't I tend to catch it on my clothing. If this were my M1 Tactical I might reevaluate that decision. However, this gun's for hunting and I like the reduced recoil even on the 20.
MB
