Have a Winchester 70 xtr with red rubber butt plate that is dented from standing in corner too long balanced on one part of the recoil pad. Can I heat the rubber in hot or boiling water and reshape it?

Replace it.

Pre USRAC red rubber pads appear to be pretty hard to come by. It is just dented on one corner, otherwise great shape.

Can't really repair those . Somebody has been making the replacement red pads for quite some time, but I can't remember who or where to order them... try a Google search...

Bob

The question is, can you live with it the way it is? You are not likely going to find an original WRA pad. Contrary to what some think, there was/is not a company making these:


Correct me if I'm wrong. I'd do like pal suggested and replace it, if it bothers you that much. The best replacement would be a red pachmayr. You could always keep an eye out on ebay and maybe one will pop up, but not likely. Good luck with it..

For what it is worth, I got irritated replacing recoil pads so now I store my rifles muzzle down on a rubber mat (to catch oil), result is no more damaged pads and no oil under/in action.

Yep, I do the same usually. I just bought this one.

Yep, that is the pad. Maybe I will get lucky and spot another one one of these days. Not the end of the world if I don't.

Connecticut Shotgun has these:

https://connecticutshotgun.co/winchester-patent-date-style-recoil-pad/

Try to locate a beat up takeoff or broken stock of the period.

That's a good question, and it does not look like anyone has written back to definitively say "No, you can't."
Sheister came closest in writing "Can't really repair those.", but did not specifically outline any harm that trying your idea might cause.
I have not done a full search about the hot water bath option but seem to recall reading something about that.
I'm just thinking through what harm could come by trying.
I imagine the pad is kind of hard, so the holes through which the screwdriver goes might be a bit crumbly and end up looking worse.
If you submerge it in boiling water you might separate the black base from the rubber pad (maybe - I don't know)
If there is a steel plate between the red and the black that could get some rust if not dried out well.
But overall I'm thinking there's no harm in trying. I would take the pad off, screw it to a block of wood cut so it can be lowered into a pot so as just to submerge the dented portion of the pad in the hot water. Before putting the pad in the water, I'd bring the water to a boil then take it off the heat, then let only the dented portion soak in that hot water for a while, and see if it softens up a bit, maybe enough to be kind of "kneaded" around and coaxed back close to it original shape.
If you can't stand it as is it's worth a try - might work fine.

Rex

An exercise in futility.

All my rifles with pads go in the safe upside down to save the pads from this fate.

I thought about trying some version of this. I still might. It is fairly small dent though I and I may just live with it.