Recoil Pad for 30 06?

[Coltdriver]

Do any of you have a suggestion for a recoil pad for a 30 06?

I just tried mine out last week and it is too painful (for me) to shoot with a steel buttplate. I was just shooting 125 grain loads and can not imagine what a 180 grain load would be like.

 

[Art Eatman]

I was 16, about 5'-10" and 123 or 130 pounds when I got my first '06--an old 1917 Enfield. That steel butt plate liked to beat me to death!

According to gunrag articles, the "KickEez" (spelling?) pad is the way to go. It is supposed to be about 25% better than Mr. Pachmyr's finest.

An '06 weighing in around eight pounds with scope and ammo and a decent buttpad is plenty good for hunting with any weight of bullet. For doing a bunch of casual shooting, either load with less than max 110-grain jacketed bullets or with the ancient standby of 20 to 25 grains of 2400 behind a lead gas-check or very-hard-cast lead bullet of around 150 to 170 grains.

Art

 

[Marshall]

Ditto



I have an '06 that I swear beat me up worse than my 300wsm, surely it's my imagination?

 

[Art Eatman]

Well, there is always the issue of the fit of the stock. When you mount a rifle to your shoulder with your eyes closed, upon opening them you should be looking right through the sights/scope.

Then, the angle of the comb is important. Upon recoil, it should slide away from your cheek, and not into it. You don't really need an extraneous left hook from a Mike Tyson.

Art

 

[SquirrelNuts]

I have two .30-06 rifles. The Rem 700 kicks pretty hard, but is still light when compared to my Mossberg 500 and Maverick 88. My M1 Garand is much lighter than my Rem 700. If you want a light .30-06, get an M1 Garand.

-SquirrelNuts

 

[Roadrunner]

You need to let us know what type/model rifle you have. I installed a Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad on my 30-06 Rem 700 BDL, it has made a big difference. If you don't want to install a recoil pad, you could get a Past recoil shoulder pad.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

I put a Pachmyar Decelerator on my 25-06 just because it looked cool (the extra thin one). I've shot the thing on my collarbone during prone shooting with no problems.

 

[Ledbetter]

Shotgun pad

I built a sporter out of an 03A3 barrelled action (no, it's not drilled).

I used a Pachmeier "White Line" shotgun buttpad and it's a lot easier on the shoulder than the steel one that the originals wear.

 

[Coltdriver]

My 06 is a 1949 Model 70 Winchester. I am the second owner and got to meet the gentleman (he was 90 years old) who bought it new.

It is just a standard model but it is in excellent shape.

I bought it last year and just got around to shooting it this past week. It has a steel butt plate and from a bench I could not get 20 rounds out of it before it hurt so bad to shoot that I wanted to sell it.

I've qwelled the hateful thoughts of selling it but I gotta do something

The 2003 Big Game brochure just came in the mail and I am feeling feverish but the way this thing hurts I'd almost rather be the deer

 

[Dan Morris]

Not trying to be Mr Macho......all my pre 64's have original steel butt plates.......fireing them does not bother me......only thing I have ever shot that did, was a ole Rem mod 30......on that one I put a slipon on it...wanted to leave it original.Guess I've just been lucky.
Dan

 

[DeBee]

I've been studying this matter for some time...

For years, I had a Rem 760 .30-06 with the plastic buttplate. I shot it quite a bit and could easily burn a box of 20 180 grain without any major discomfort. Then I was struck by the accuracy bug and dumped it. I had to have a bolt gun.

Sometime later, I ended up building my infamous Springfield Express Rifle .30-06 in a classic style stock of rock hard walnut with a decellerator pad. The gun weighs 10 lbs loaded. It also kicked me so painfully, I though I had something wrong with me. I thought the chamber was cut too tight. I thought a screw from the recoil pad was stabbing me. I shelved it with it's half box of ammo...

One night, I happened to glance in the mirror while hunting leopards in my den, and noticed the recoil pad of that rifle was sticking 2/3 of the way OFF my shoulder... Only the toe was in contact with my body- less than 2" really...

Art has it right. It's the stock fit. I am on a quest to have a properly fitted stock. Some guys are lucky, they have close to the average dimesions all stocks are being made. I ain't.

You may notice all the old time guns like Original Mausers, Rigbys, H&H, et al, had steel buttplates for calibers like .375 H&H and more but these rifles were fitted to the individual.

I think you can handle a .30-06 with a fitted stock easily...

P.S. I've tried two gunsmiths near me and that was a total waste of time- you start throwing around terms like pitch and drop and cast off and they look at you like you are crazy and suggest you get a boyds stock and measure your forearm bent at 90 degrees... The quest continues.

 

[Blackcloud6]

I use one of the shoulder pads you strap on you body.

One thing you may want to do is pull the rifle into you when you shoot to make sure you have solid contact. You want the recoil to push you, not kick you.

 

[RTownsend]

It sounds like DeBee and I had the same problem.

I was close to buying a $60.00 recoil pad for my Savage Scout when I ran across a post by Ronin308 on TFL. You can see it here.

After following his instructions I have shot my lightweight .308 forty times in a session with no discomfort. Before I was in pain after 10. I did have to drop my head more than I was used to but now it feels normal.

If you mount the rifle above the collar bone I bet that is the problem.

Hope this helps

 

[cdbeaver]

Recoil pads

I installed a good rubber recoil pad on my Remington 721 .30-06 shortly after I acquired it in the early 1950's. Shot it thousands of times with no recoil effects.

That was 50 years ago. Last summer I was doing some bench shooting with it and the recoil seemed unusually severe. I checked the recoil pad. The rubber had hardened and become as stiff and unyielding as a piece of blue steel.

It now sports a new rubber recoil pad (at a total cost of $60+) and is again a pussy cat.

Edited because I hit the wrong key earlier.