Holmes
.300 member
Reged: 01/12/03
Posts: 159
Loc: Wyoming, USA
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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
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475Guy
.400 member
Reged: 22/08/03
Posts: 1088
Loc: Kali, US
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H, you just learned one hard lesson. The softer pad gives the gun a running start especially when you pre-compress it. Whereas with the hard pad, it resists the backwards movement and keeps the gun from coming back at you as fast. I think of shock absorbers. The softer, the more give; the harder, less give. I personally prefer hard red pads as they contrast with good wood better and just keeps me from getting beat-up with so much fun.  
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Lo do they call to me,
They bid me take my place among
them in the Halls of Valhalla,
Where the brave may live forever.
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AdamTayler
.375 member
Reged: 22/03/04
Posts: 688
Loc: B.C.
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I take it the gun grouped better as well with the new pad?
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It's the journey, not the destination.
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mickey
.416 member
Reged: 05/01/03
Posts: 4647
Loc: Pend Oreille Valley, Idaho
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That's why I insist on steel buttplates on all of my big rifles.
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Lovu Zdar
Mick
A Man of Pleasure, Enterprise, Wit and Spirit Rare Books, Big Game Hunting, English Rifles, Fishing, Explosives, Chauvinism, Insensitivity, Public Drunkenness and Sloth, Champion of Lost and Unpopular Causes.
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475Guy
.400 member
Reged: 22/08/03
Posts: 1088
Loc: Kali, US
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Mick, you must be one of those REAL MEN. The only time I liked a steel butt-plate was on 03A3's, M1 Garands, and on M-14's.  
--------------------
Lo do they call to me,
They bid me take my place among
them in the Halls of Valhalla,
Where the brave may live forever.
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mickey
.416 member
Reged: 05/01/03
Posts: 4647
Loc: Pend Oreille Valley, Idaho
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Believe it or not I have a friend that had a 577 3 1/4" Jeffery Hammer Rifle that had a Rosewood stock and a checkered wood butt.
I don't remember it being particularly worse than my 577 with a Silvers pad.
After the 470 they all feel the same anyway.
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Lovu Zdar
Mick
A Man of Pleasure, Enterprise, Wit and Spirit Rare Books, Big Game Hunting, English Rifles, Fishing, Explosives, Chauvinism, Insensitivity, Public Drunkenness and Sloth, Champion of Lost and Unpopular Causes.
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475Guy
.400 member
Reged: 22/08/03
Posts: 1088
Loc: Kali, US
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Man, you're starting to make my rotator cuff ache something fierce. I think I'd flinch like hell if one of those non-recoil pad monsters was foisted on me. Now, I like big stuff as much as the next guy but I draw the line on outright pain.
--------------------
Lo do they call to me,
They bid me take my place among
them in the Halls of Valhalla,
Where the brave may live forever.
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Dark_Helmet
.333 member
Reged: 09/01/04
Posts: 399
Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
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my shoulder hurts just reading this thread!!!! I conplain about my 8.5# 375!!!
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_________________________________________________________________
When someone says a rifle is "ugly," what they really mean is "push feed."
-me
(long live the Mauser 98!)
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bonanza
.400 member
Reged: 17/05/04
Posts: 2335
Loc: South Carolina
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I had 3 Ruger No1's 300Win mag, 375 H&H tropical, and 45-70 light sporter. The 45-70 recoiled ferociously with max loads (400gr at 2150fps). I installed a kick-ease recoil pad and did not notice a bit of difference! I traded my entire arsenal in on a new merkel double in 375 H&H which does not have a pad and I'm not putting one on.
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"Speak Precisely" G. Gordon Liddy.
"Life is absurd, chaotic and we must define its purpose with our actions" Abert Camus
"I''m the dude playing a dude disguised as another dude."
"Yo! Mr. White"
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atkinson6
.375 member
Reged: 26/01/04
Posts: 678
Loc: Idaho
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Mr. Holmes,
When the trigger guard starts hitting your trigger finger, that is 99% of the time a stock that is too short, the addition of a thicker recoil pad to lengthen the stock might cure the problem, Try a slip on and see if that works, If it does then I suggest you get a Silvers Pad or one of the Brownell knock offs from Galazans..
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Holmes
.300 member
Reged: 01/12/03
Posts: 159
Loc: Wyoming, USA
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Howdy Ray,
I would agree with your analysis when normal recoil pads are be compared.
In this instance however, I think the 990, and its extreme rate of collapse under recoil, actually gives the effect of shortening the stock.
Using a firm pad with the same LOP does not result in trigger guard trauma. I've been shooting the rifle rwith the new pad regularly since my original post and I've had no troubles.
That 'running start' you have elaborated upon numerous times is obviously the culprit. By the time solid contact is realised with the stock under recoil with the soft pad, the effective LOP has been shortened to a degree that allows guard contact.
An experiment I have no need of repeating! 
Good huntin' to ya.
~Holmes
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