Recoil Pad Installation On Synthetic Gunstocks

It doesn’t seem so long ago all you could find was a walnut or laminate gun stock. Now there is a good chance you would walk away with the money if you bet that more than half of today’s target and hunting rifles are synthetic. Invariably, these stocks are equipped with some kind of rubber or composite recoil pad or butt plate. It seems modern shooters got tired of being kicked around by the butt end of a gun covered by steel or plastic. For various reasons some of these butt plates and recoil pads may be replaced.

Stock length-of-pull, better recoil absorption, or just plain aesthetics are among the reasons for such changes. Sometimes the color is just a little off. Before taking on such jobs, it will be to your advantage in knowing just what you’re dealing with. Some synthetic gunstocks are made up of a shell of fiberglass or other material over a less durable filler that wouldn’t even hold a gun screw. Most are made of fiber-filled synthetic polymer or woven fiberglass and carbon fiber.

Regardless of the nature of construction, hollow or solid, we are dealing with materials like fiberglass, graphite, resin, and the like, sometimes finished with some pretty fancy paint styles. It would behoove anyone to first try to determine the make up of the gunstock and how the pad to be replaced is attached. Some pads are bonded in place and others are attached with screws. Cutting into the hidden, hardened screws while shortening a stock will mess up a saw as well as the stock.

Consulting with respective gun or stock manufacturers could prove helpful before we take on the job. Synthetic gunstocks are often pre-finished with a special proprietary or camouflage pattern. Disruption of this finish may involve anew paint job or special repair few are qualified to perform. The other option is to live with the mistake. This is particularly true if a gunstock is being shortened for new pad installation.

Removing Recoil Pads Having determined if screws alone are used to attach a recoil pad to the stock, it can be removed. Pads are normally attached with Phillips screws but some are attached with the square, slotted type, either fillister or round head. A trial run should indicate the type and size screwdriver to use. If pads are both screwed on and bonded, removal can pose a problem. This is particularly true when re-use of the pad is anticipated, as may be the case if only shortening the stock is planned.

If a recoil pad is bonded into position with plans to re-use the pad, on a shortened pad you’ll be faced with cutting this pad off flush with the stock and cleaning the pad surface before re-attaching it to the altered stock. In this case two cuts will be made. Cutting a gunstock off is an exacting job, requiring careful attention and precise accuracy. Synthetic stocks are no exception. Failing to make a good, clean, straight cut is not an option.

In preparation for cutting off any type of stock, a precise cutline must be established which will assure a good, square, parallel cut, and must reflect those needed changes in the length, pitch, or angle of the stock. With the cutline determined, a protective masking tape or even a durable transparent tape is centered clearly to show the cutline. The tape, marked at center, serves as the exact cutline as it also helps in preventing the saw teeth from chipping the sometimes fragile stock finish.

Tape can be applied with or without removal of the existing buttplate or recoil pad. The method of cutting may include a table saw, band saw, or hand saw and miter box. I have used all three and tend to favor the miter box. Regardless of cutting method, the stock must be properly aligned and secured so the respective blade will precisely follow the marked cutline. In the process, the outer exterior of the stock must be properly protected to avoid scratching and abrading.

Some synthetic stock finishes may even withstand the cutting by the poorly skilled craftsman and show little sign of damage but don’t take chances. With the stock aligned and stabilized, make the cut slowly. A smoother, chip-free cut will be the usual result. I use a special saw blade in the miter box, which I made up from a super sharp length of com-

Above center: Pad removal reveals a hollow stock requiring installation of a wooden plug for new pad attachment. Both old and new pad are shown here. mercial hacksaw blade with the set of the teeth ground flush with the surface of the blade. This allows sufficient freedom for the blade while avoiding an overly wide saw cut. Don’t remove the stock from the Alternative methods of cutting include a table saw or band saw. The key is a perfectly square, clean cut. Below center: Stock shown squarely cut off.

Tape remains in place until final finish is completed. miter box, band saw, or table saw before completing the cut because exact repositioning is very difficult to achieve. If done with care, hopefully the freshly cut stock will reveal a nice

Above left and center: To properly mark a recoil pad for cutting it should be screwed in place before cutting. Cutting a recoil pad inside the line, as is purposely shown here near the heel, is an irreversible mistake. Always leave sufficient material for clean up when marking and cutting a recoil pad. The plug is tested for fit before being bonded permanently in hole. square, flat cut with little to no edge or border damage.

Well placed tape will have prevented, or at least minimized, any border chipping of the stock finish. At this point I check the cut to see if it is square and perfectly flat by placing the cut surface on a mirror or piece of glass. This quickly reveals any imperfections. If such flaws are minor or essentially absent, there should be no need to face the butt with a sanding disc or other means. I do, however, draw the surface of the stock squarely across a perfectly flat grit-covered surface of medium grit sandpaper.

This leaves a nice squared off and smooth finish. Below center: A finished recoil pad is shown here ready for attachment. Stock has been squarely cut and wood filler plug added. Note the perfect heel line formed with the stock. The removed buttplate shows the internal stabilizers used to align the buttplate. As recoil pads are replaced on cut down synthetic stocks, the gunsmith must be prepared to use some adaptive measures. Few stocks are exactly the same.

Stock Preparation Fitting and attaching a recoil pad or buttplate to a wood stock should be a routine gunsmithing job. However, this task can take on a different picture when working with synthetic

Any flaws or mistakes are hard to cover up as we combine many of our talents with this perplexing task. gunstocks of different materials and construction. I will cover some of these differences compared to wood. When some synthetic stocks are cut off, only a shell remains. Attaching a recoil pad requires installation of a plug to fill the hole for the screws or adhesive used in fastening the new recoil pad, much the same way as attaching it to a wood stock.

To simplify this task I trace the exact stock hole pattern onto a one-inch-thick piece of good wood, cut it out, and cement it solidly into the stock. As this plug is cemented into position, I place the butt of the stock squarely on a flat surface as the cement dries. This will form a perfectly flush fit with the surface of the stock shell. It may then require only minimal sanding.

Where the inner material of the synthetic stock is too fragile to hold a screw, a suitable plug must be installed as a means of holding the screws. Here I use a length of wood dowel and fit these plugs into drilled holes beneath the stock surface in line with the screw holes. If squarely cut, they will bond in solidly with the surface end of the cut-off stock. No further fitting should be required. Attaching The Recoil Pad So far we’ve prepared the synthetic gunstock for recoil pad installation.

If you’ve progressed this far without problem fitting the new recoil pad to the synthetic stock will be little different than those you may have fitted to a wood stock. First, establish screw hole position and fasten the carefully centered pad to the stock. Then, with the screws in place, marking the outer stock borders onto the pad is done using ascribe or other marker to define the cutline.

With the pad removed, be sure to cut along the outer margins of the line, leaving enough material for recoil pad clean up following cutting. How you cut the pad to size along the marked cutline is a matter of choice as long as it is cut squarely, being sure the cut leaves sufficient material to form the toe. I use a good quality coping saw for this job. At this point, with the pad re-installed, use a good, sharp file to take the edge off the pad right down to the tape. But watch it!

I then carefully remove the tape and inspect things to see how much outer finish the pad will need for a perfect flush fit with the stock. The skilled use of a sanding disc or belt with medium fine grit is sometimes used but it’s easy to hog in too deeply with power tools. Final fitting of the recoil pad flush with the stock can be performed with a good, sharp file as it is placed on and off the stock for fit and appearance. This is essentially the same procedure as fitting a pad to a wood stock.

Having removed the tape, the stock finish can be closely inspected for any flaws you may have created. Paint chip flaws are quite easily touched up by applying suitable paint with the end of a tooth pick or the like, just as the artists do. These may include something like paint marbling or spider web finishes, similar to touching up paint chips or blemishes on your automobile. Conclusions Recoil pad installations on synthetic gunstocks will require a careful analysis of the job at hand.

It can surely test the skills of the lesser experienced craftsman but should be on the doable list for those who can follow directions and are willing to pay close attention to detail. AG