Yep, I'm a sissy.

If anyone at the range ever asked, you could always truthfully say that it keeps the butt plate from getting scratched up when you are loading.

Some_Mook said:

If anyone at the range ever asked, you could always truthfully say that it keeps the butt plate from getting scratched up when you are loading.

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Or take off the pad, load it with a hot load and let them shoot it.

Some_Mook said:

If anyone at the range ever asked, you could always truthfully say that it keeps the butt plate from getting scratched up when you are loading.

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Yep, that too. No need for the mat I was using.

I admit to having a measure of sissyhood as well. My methodology when shooting inanimate stuff is to reduce the charge in my rifle. A .54 caliber patched round ball atop 30 grains of powder will still explode a soda can just fine without dislocating your shoulder... and you don't use as much powder.

There are brands of leather strap on pads that work well, too. I put one on my unmentionable old German shotgun and it looks period correct, sort of.

Not with a muzzleloader but a modern 300 win. mag after 3 shoulder surgeries. Great rifle but just got to the point I could not take the recoil, got to the point I thought about selling the rifle, so put a break on it and a recoil pad, Still ringing steel out to 600 yards. Guess the point is do whatever it takes to keep shooting. And don't care what others may think.

Dale Allen Raby said:

I admit to having a measure of sissyhood as well. My methodology when shooting inanimate stuff is to reduce the charge in my rifle. A .54 caliber patched round ball atop 30 grains of powder will still explode a soda can just fine without dislocating your shoulder... and you don't use as much powder.

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I like the idea of less powder as well. So far I know I don't need to go higher than 53 grains so I may start experimenting with even lighter loads. In my quest to invent my "own" wheel I seem to be doing things backwards.

My favorite rifle is a Cabelas "Sporterized" Hawken.
Comes with a factory installed rubber butt, I made a leather cover and stitched it over the top.
Nobody has ever questioned, ever..

Using my decades-old "P.A.S.T." hunting/shooting vest for decades. He also made pads that strapped over clothing as well. Inventor was an officer/competitive shooter on the Columbia, Mo. P.D. If shooting is painful, it ain't fun. Advantage to pads - only need one and works for almost every gun. Disadvantage to p.a.s.t. pads - they add a bit of bulk to clothes.

sheriff john said:

Using my decades-old "P.A.S.T." hunting/shooting vest for decades. He also made pads that strapped over clothing as well. Inventor was an officer/competitive shooter on the Columbia, Mo. P.D. If shooting is painful, it ain't fun. Advantage to pads - only need one and works for almost every gun. Disadvantage to p.a.s.t. pads - they add a bit of bulk to clothes.

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I have a PAST pad I bought 20 years ago when I used to shoot 100s of rounds through bolt action rifles like Turk Mausers in one sitting

Good for you.

Funny thing. The older we get, the less appeal the phrase; "Hold my beer and watch this" seems to hold.

Whatever keeps ya shootin’.

I have a C. Sharps 45-100 and when loaded up with a 500 grn lead bullet and a 100 grns. of 3F, after shooting it I always asked why I did this. I loaded 10 rds of that load and there are 8 left for the men to try. Never had one ask for seconds. They make them bigger but this one is big enough for me.

Pardon the digression into unmentionables, but here goes. I love old double unmentionable shotguns. Many, maybe most, of the ones I have were made with 2.5 inch chambers. Buying cartridges for them can be a struggle, but wow is it worth it. If you can shoot ? Those stubby cartridges will kill your game for you. And they will not hurt you into the bargain. In some circumstances, they will make you become a better hunter. Snow geese comes to mind.
There is no legitimate game bird or small game on this NA continent that requires a 3.5 inch magnum shot cartridge. But there are a lot of players in the sporting arms businesses who want them badly.

My loose shooting shirt just happens to have a long thin pocket sewn into the inside up next to the shoulder (I put it there myself).Some sort of padding like an old insole or something can rest in the pocket and no one is the wiser.

While shooting blanks out of my Long Land Pattern King's Musket doesn't generate the recoil in that heavy musket to be annoying, I have found that my 36 SMR is much more pleasant to shoot and the holes made by the 36 are just as satisfying as the holes from my 54's. No shame in conquering recoil in any fashion that works.

It's a muzlle loader soooooo.....install a muzzle brake

I used a slip on recoil pad and a shoulder mounted sissy pad when sighting in my 58 caliber Hawken for a hunting load. Still ended up with a bruised shoulder but the group looked good. Shooting heavy loads off a bench is tough on old skinny bodies.

You are not alone, I use a magnum PAST recoil shield (sissy pad) for my .54 TC Hawken with the heavy mini balls, you never feel recoil hunting in the field off the bench is a different story.

I cut that evil Cresent plate off and put a limbsaver on. That Hawken with a 400 gr bullet will get your attention.