How to Install a Rifle Recoil Pad
New rifles have a hard metal or plastic butt plate attached to the stock for aesthetic reasons. This hard butt plate offers no relief from heavy recoil and may intensify it, making it uncomfortable to fire the rifle. Installing a rifle recoil pad helps reduce the "kick" from a rifle by absorbing some of the energy and reducing the painful results felt by the shooter. This reduction in recoil allows the shooter to comfortably fire more rounds at the range, improve accuracy by mitigating the anticipation of heavy recoil and reduce the fatigue associated with absorbing heavy recoil.
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Instructions
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1
Unload the rifle and ensure that no round is in the chamber. Place the rifle across your lap, remove the butt plate screws and pull the butt plate free from the stock.
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2
Position the new recoil pad against the butt of the stock, where the butt plate was removed. Check for a good fit, ensuring that the edge of the recoil pad matches the rifle stock. Gently sand the edge of the recoil pad to produce a smooth transition from pad to stock, if needed.
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3
Attach the recoil pad to the stock by inserting the butt screws through the holes found in the recoil pad and tightening them. Ensure that the screws are recessed into the recoil pad and that the recoil pad is held tightly against the butt stock with no gap between the stock and pad.
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Tips & Warnings
Recoil pads come in different sizes, so you must match the recoil pad with the rifle stock. Remove the butt plate and take it with you when you purchase a recoil pad, for size comparison.
Adding a thick recoil pad for rifles with heavy recoil may require removing a small amount of stock material, to ensure a proper, safe length for the shooter. Remove ¼- to ½-inch of stock material with a saw if the recoil pad increases the length of the stock to an uncomfortable length.
Ensure that the recoil pad screws are recessed deeply enough that heavy recoil will not drive them into the shooter's shoulder.
