Shoulder recoil pad

[Jez931]

Having suffered an injury to my right shoulder some years ago it has reared its head again and now I am in constant pain - does anyone have experience of using the shoulder worn recoil pads,wish to continue shooting for as long as possible really before I go down the surgery route to have it repaired.
I know after a few boxes with the 12g I can barely move it.Rifle not too bad.
Just want to ask before I order another useless piece of kit that will stay in the cupboard forever.
Thanks

 

[Foxyboy43]

Having suffered an injury to my right shoulder some years ago it has reared its head again and now I am in constant pain - does anyone have experience of using the shoulder worn recoil pads,wish to continue shooting for as long as possible really before I go down the surgery route to have it repaired.
I know after a few boxes with the 12g I can barely move it.Rifle not too bad.
Just want to ask before I order another useless piece of kit that will stay in the cupboard forever.
Thanks

I use one for fb rifle range days and they do help especially if the rifle has a good quality recoil pad though you do
have to compromise on rifle fit.
As an alternative for the 12g - have you tried a 20g - I switched 35 years ago and a 20 really will do all you will ever need.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

I gave one of those sorbothane padded thingies to my pal as I had never used it in 25 years (a Cabelas nice to have ) he has the same issue on his right shoulder and he has not complained anymore so I assume it is helping.

 

[Dickie]

I use one for fb rifle range days and they do help especially if the rifle has a good quality recoil pad though you do
have to compromise on rifle fit.
As an alternative for the 12g - have you tried a 20g - I switched 35 years ago and a 20 really will do all you will ever need.

That’s down to the cartridges used, a heavy load of 20 bore in a light gun is just a punchy as a 12 bore.

 

[Sika98k]

I confess to being a recoil whimp. I shoot a Webley & Scott 700 in the summer at pigeons or crows over crops. Generally I would just wear a shirt or T shirt. However a few boxes of 28grm 7’s starts the hurt.
I found a Beretta gel pad which is designed to slip into a skeet vest. Now I’m not going to shoot pigeons wearing a skeet vest ! I found a shooting vest with shoulder pads. I opened up the stitching, pooped the pad in, sewed it up and happy days.
Alternatively think of putting a Silvers Pad on the stock and having it left wide at the butt thus spreading the surface area over your shoulder.

 

[Foxyboy43]

That’s down to the cartridges used, a heavy load of 20 bore in a light gun is just a punchy as a 12 bore.

Of course. I never got the heavy loads thing in 12 or 20. 25 gs. of lead (there I’ve said it) sees off pretty much anything short of geese.

 

[weblyish]

I've always found the shoulder pads you wear end up with me occasionally getting bad positioning of the gun and either bad shots or causing more recoil because the butt doesn't connect properly or is caught up out on my arm rather than in the cleft of the shoulder

Unlike some people who can take down planes with half an ounce of number 7 apparently I'm obvs not very good as I find 36g of lead is useful on some days and need a bit of protection for a day shooting that

I've instead got slip on pads on the ends of my guns and have taken the butt down an inch
Works for me

A keeper I used to know had a flexible thin sheet of plastic he had cut and attached straps to which spread the load out. Same sort of pattern as a worn shoulder pad but just in stiff plastic

He swore by it. You may want to try making something

 

[ofbiro]

Jezmoore, if you don't mind using semiautos, the Benelli CrioComfort recoils a bit more than a .22.

 

[ofbiro]

Correction, Benelli Comfortech 3 is the most recent product line.

 

[GlennUK]

Of course. I never got the heavy loads thing in 12 or 20. 25 gs. of lead (there I’ve said it) sees off pretty much anything short of geese.

I have shot my B25 for 20 odd years, and although its multi choke i very very very rarely change them or change the shooting order of the barrels because of them. When i shoot i pick one appropriate cartridge for the job i'm doing, be that clays, or live quarry.

I have often seen shooters at clay stands changing chokes/cartridges for different clays, fundamentally it seems to me that if one points the shotgun in the right location at the right time, with appropriate swing, then that's the overwhelming factor in whether or not the clay breaks.

mostly they're, and my problems lay not in the cartridge or the gun, but not pointing in the right place, etc.

That's not to say there may be exceptions as per your geese case.

Similar arguments/debates take place over barrel length/calibre as well.

 

[Mr. Gain]

I find a gel pad slipped into the shoulder pocket of a vest, if it has one, or stitched in behind the shoulder patch, if it doesn't, is a better solution than the PAST strap-on pads, especially for shotgun use. I have a green Beretta vest with a pad pocket that I use for warm weather decoying and it provides good protection, a snag-free mount, and some useful pockets.
Probably the biggest difference to felt recoil you can make, however, is to ensure your gun fits you. If yours already does, then that's great.
Light loads and semi-autos obviously also help.
My main recommendation, however, would be not to delay your surgery of at all possible. Get the underlying problem fixed if you can while you've still got plenty of good shooting years left in you!

 

[tackb]

i use a pad that straps round my back and has a belt loop to try and keep it in place and this seems to work with my 45/120 with cresent steel but plate (why!) but for shot gunning it moves around too much as do most i've found ?

if recoil is that big of an issue there is a cushion system that can be fitted to a stock along with using a backbored gun with long forcing cones and 21g loads and that will get the recoil down about as low as you can

The Gracoil EZ Recoil Reduction Unit

The Gracoil EZ or GCEZ is made for convenience. It is made with an undersized butt plate and a pad plate that is pre-fit to an 02 or medium sized kick eez pad. This will allow gunsmiths to install our EZ unit in less time as well as let a shooter interchange pads on their Gracoil unit by simply...

graco-corp.com

 

[ahenry34]

I had my shoulder stabilised following a bike accident and for even a year following the surgery I was very tender, 21g loads helped but most of alll was changing to a limbsaver recoil pads. I also shoot with a semi as much as I can and only use a O/U when it’s essential

Have limbsaver on my GRS rifle stock as standard too which makes shooting a 308 very tolerable

 

[HonestJohn]

Change to a 20g or 28g and with a good stock fit and limbsaver pad, you could even have a mercury tube installed to take recoil out. Surgery, I’d leave as last option personalky.