Everytime I've ever tried a soft pad, it would just get a good running start at me. One time I was shooting somebody else's 375 RUM on a converted Mauser, I became almost crippled for a week. It was because of the soft recoil pad that allowed complete compression and I felt the wood stock at the bottom of the compression. Talk about taking dope, I had to get Cortisone shots and the biggest Motrin horse pills they had to get mobile again.