Greetings,

Middle finger (trigger hand), has been getting hammered by the guard on my #1 500 NE. This has ocurred somewhat sporadically.

Spent some time analysing what I was doing right sometimes and what I was doing wrong sometimes.

The recoil pad is a Pachymar 990 designed for the hard hitters. The pad has a lot of cush to it with it's ventilated sides.

Finally figured out that my finger was safe from impact when I sucked up the rifle/pad tight to the pocket and initiated a bit of pad collapse. If I simply acquired moderate contact, bam goes the trigger guard.

Now if I must slighlty compress the 990 pad before discharge, am I not losing some of the recoil absorption?

A test was in order.

I carved a Pachymar Decellerator, Old English style, and a 1/2" rubber spacer to fit the Ruger. This combo gives the same LOP as the 990 w/o the spacer.

Loads fired were all 570 Woodleighs at 2160 fps.

Testers included myself and two other experienced medium bore shooters.

I fired a couple with the 990 and my associates followed suit. We then swapped the 990 for the Decellerator and we repeated the 2 round volleys. Swapped back to the 990 and repeated.

The rifle was noticeably easier to control using the Decellerator as pocket contact was better and more consistent with the firmer pad. The 990, even when compressed and tucked tight, still allowed the rifle to jump in a manner that just wasn't right.

Next, I tried the test at the bench using traditional bench techniques. Neither associate was interested in participating further in this portion of the test after they discharged their first two rounds.

I repeated the initial volley strings from the bench and the results were even more dramatic. The Decellerator, a much more firm pad, allowed better rifle control under recoil and did not incur any additional shoulder discomfort as compared to the 990.

This test was most unscientific and your mileage may vary.

And, yes Atkinson, I know.... you told me so

Regards to all.

~Holmes