I am not a big fan of the No.5 rubber butt pad.

At the hunt camp I have seen more than one No.5 used for hunting fitted with a No.4 butt stock. When I asked, the owners still had the take off butts put away or binned.

The No.4 butt plate having a larger area and makes perceived recoil more manageable.

The intention of the design of the rubber butt pad on the No.5 is to protect the butt end against damage from beating it against the ground, not to make a nice squishy cushion for the rifleman's shoulder.

One chap took a commercial black rubber recoil pad and cut it to fit the no.5 butt plate frame. It looked like it should have been there but it was functional and absorbed recoil.