One of the most common and challenging jobs a hobbyist may face is the installation of a new recoil pad on a finished rifle or shotgun buttstock. There can be any number of reasons for replacing an existing recoil pad--the old pad may be too long or too short, it may have hardened or deteriorated with age, or you may simply want a new style or color.

For inserting the recoil pad screws for the new pad, use a flat punch to raise and stretch the rubber on the face of the pad prior to slitting it with a sharp razor knife.

As a gunsmith I much prefer to install a new pad on an unfinished stock. This is done by grinding the sides of the pad down close to the surface of the stock and then finishing by sanding the surface of the stock and the pad at the same time. This results in a single, smooth, even surface for both the pad and stock. The pad is then removed, and the finish is applied to the stock.

With a finished stock there is a bit more of a challenge. When fitting the recoil pad you have to be extremely careful that you do not scratch--or even touch--the finished wood, yet you still want to have the surface of the pad as perfectly even with the surface of the stock as possible.

Recently the owner of an old Browning Citori 20-gauge over-under skeet gun decided he needed a new recoil pad. The original factory pad was worn, hardened with age, and had developed a fairly slick face that allowed the gun to slide and slip a bit on his shoulder. A new Pachmayr Decelerator pad would resolve all of these problems, but the owner was in the middle of his shooting season and, though the stock also needed refinishing, he could not afford to lose the use of the gun for more than a day or so. Consequently, I had to fit the pad to the finished stock. The owner may not have the stock refinished in the future, so there could be no blemishes on the stock finish from the pad installation.

Before you begin to fit the new recoil pad, wrap the buttstock with two layers of masking tape to protect the finish.

Basic Points
While this is a challenging job, with a bit of care and patience almost anyone can do it. The only specialized equipment needed is a disk or belt sander. Almost any size sander can be used. In fact, I once watched a fellow fit a recoil pad using an abrasive sanding disk mounted on an electric hand drill clamped in his bench vise!

There are a few basic points to keep in mind in order to have a properly fitted pad. You absolutely have to have a pad large enough to allow for the extension of the toe and heel line of the stock. When placed on the end of the stock prior to fitting, the pad should overhang the sides and heel or top of the stock by at least 1/8 inch. Down at the toe, or point of the stock, the pad should generally extend about 1/2 to 3/4 inch beyond the stock. You need this extra pad material to account for the angle of the toe. If you don't have excess material down there, you'll end up with a flat spot on the tip of the finished pad.