Picked up a Bansner stock for a Remington 700 in 30-06. Looking for a fairly lightweight recoil pad that will be easy to grind for a novice. Recoil mitigation is secondary but if it helps with it, all the better. Any recommendations?
Flip fop?
Did one on Tikka, bonded it to thin aluminum to fully support it.
My recommendation is always a Pachmayr Decelerator.
You just bought a nice stock…so put something nice on it for a recoil pad…Pachmayr Decelerator.
It’s the easiest pad to grind and make look good whether you’re a novice or a pro, IMO. Plus, it’ll soak up recoil really well too.
I think the 1” pads are the best but you could go with a .8”or .5” pad to save a little on weight.
Also, somebody(I don’t remember who) used to sell the Decelerator specially made without the steel insert to save on weight. Check around and see if you can find one.
Quote:
DakotaDeer,
“The Pachmayr pads have a steel plate actually inside of them near the plastic part. It can be removed for weight reduction, and you can (could?) buy such a neutered plate from Brown Precision.
They also sell a half-inch "youth" pad that does not have the steel plate inside of it at all. Their catalog lists some the specifics.”
Good luck,
Leftybolt
On a few of my Bansner's stocks I did the flip flop and they worked great.
Instead of flip flops, I use pieces of that interlocking floor pad. One piece of black padding yields about forty pads. If you want to double up to make a 1" pad you can. It is very effective at recoil absorption, practically weightless, and beyond cheap. The downsides are that it will compress if the rifle is stored butt-down and it will degrade from UV light over time. I use this on rifles where weight is a real concern, but for a custom rifle where appearance is high on the priotity list, I agree with the choice of the Packmayr decellerator. They are a good looking and very effective pad. The base material grinds well and the pads are long-lasting. I have one one a rifle I built in 1986, which has seen a lot of very rough usage, and it stills looks and works great. GD
Seems to me that you can buy (or used to be able to buy) a Decelerator without the steel insert.
I got a couple a few years ago. Might even still have one down there.
Decelerators are the easiest of what I've shaped myself (Kick-eez and Limbsavers). I know lots of folks like to do it on a belt sander, but I actually get the best results with an oscillating spindle sander. Especially if you're using the installation fixture.
Hastings micro cell or a flip flop. Flip flops are the cheapest (I buy mine for $1 at Walmart during the summer) and lightest but they can compress over time and tear easily.
The micro cell are the next lightest and get rid of these problems.
I still use a flip flop epoxied directly to the stock when weight is the only concern (weighs roughly 1/2 ounce that way)