At what point/caliber is a recoil pad necessary vs a steel butt plate?

I like hate big butts and I cannot lie...
~ Sir Mix-A-Lot

For personal reasons I can't really justify, I have always hated the look of big recoil pads on the butts of rifles. Metal, plastic or thin rubber is the only thing I have on any of my rifles. The largest round I shoot with a metal butt plate is my Winchester 1885 Traditional Hunter in 405 Win. It weighs 9# / 4kg so that helps mitigate the recoil a bit so I find it a pleasure to shoot.





When I rebarreled a LH 1999 Ruger M77 MkII from 7mm Rem Mag to 458 Win Mag, I left the firm factory recoil pad on it. I've shot about 60 rounds through it with minimal ill effect. The one session where I shot it 16 times I had some interesting purple hues on my shoulder the next morning but most of the time I don't shoot it quite that much. Shooting a few rounds to stay in shape every couple of months is more common & is never a problem. I never seem to feel recoil when I'm hunting.



Having said that, if you're recoil sensitive or shooting a particular rifle is unpleasant, do whatever you need to make it more enjoyable. My criticism of thick butt pads is simply a personal aesthetic bias. For me, the thinner the better!

Noah Hutchens said:

Truly just for the fun of it. I am interested in all the calibers and it is cheaper to buy a set of barrels then to buy another full double rifle down the line. I like to collect and shoot different caliber rifles and this is probably the best way to do that for the money on these specific calibers.

Also, though I am not nearly as knowledgeable as most of yall I feel like the 500/416 and 450/400 do offer a lot more use cases, compared to the 500 and 470.

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I feel like the 500/416 or the 470 is about perfect for just about everything, but that’s just me.

I use a recoil pad whenever possible, just to soften the blow. I have a tender shoulder and use a pad most of the time. The only guns of mine without pads are .222 Rem and down. All shotguns except 28ga have pads.
Use what you like and what your body can tolerate.

If it came down to butt pad or cartridge trap, I know which way I would go. Cartridge traps are borderline dysfunctional. Makes more sense to carry ammo on a belt slide or in my pocket. Much easier to get at and reload. No fiddling with the rifle flipping it over, opening the trap, pulling out bullets, close trap, flip it over again, and with a bunch of shells in hand try to start loading my magazine. As I understand it with a double rifle and trap on belly of stock (which is where most traps I have seen are located), one would need to leave the gun closed with fired chambers while it's being flipped over to access the trap and then try to break open the gun with two cartridges in hand. It would not be much if any easier to reload if the ammo was behind a butt plate trap. Just because some guys from the dawn of civilization who were impressed with their own wealth chose to load their guns up with useless do-dads is no reason I should do the same. Mind you, I'm not heading to Africa (or anywhere else!) with some butt ugly plastic-and-stainless steel MSR from the Klingon home planet, but I can create a beautiful rifle that is wonderfully utilitarian and still not too far removed from "classic". Personally, I think quarter rib three-leaf express sights and barrel band sling swivels are beyond useless, especially in this day. Why does anyone need three leaves for a gun that's only going to shoot at animals less than seventy yards? And why have a sight that has to be adjusted with a file when you can have one that can be changed with a screwdriver to accommodate any new load? Barrel band sling swivels put the gun too low on the shoulder. I have trouble sometimes with my conventionally slung rifle (i.e. forward swivel in the fore end) hitting me in the butt. I can't imagine how unhandy it would be having my rifle hanging ten inches lower where I'd be kicking the stock all the time. Maybe that's why all the wannabe Stewart Grangers opt for no sling and African carry? The horse has been beaten to death arguing about that cosmetic foolishness. Anyway, we have now evolved to a point where a 1940s Model 70 is considered a classic rifle. I see no point in leaping any further back in time just for the sake of filling some grand peoples' perceptions of bygone days grandeur. A gun can be a useful tool and still a work of art. But I would shoot for American Arts and Crafts vs European Baroque.

To answer your question, the only rifle I shoot that has a hard butt plate is, oddly enough, the one I shoot the most, my 30-06 Springfield 03A3.

But I made it to hunt in snowy mountains, not hot Africa. So I'm typically wearing at least a couple of layers (even during RSA winters). Sometimes I shoot it in shirtsleeves at the range. Never been bruised but it knocks me back. I know I would not want to shoot anything with more recoil that was similarly equipped. Absolutely cannot imagine shooting a big bore with steel butt plate. My 404 is almost intolerable with a quality one inch butt pad and that caliber is known to be on the very low end recoil for a large bore rifle.

Another reason to not opt for steel butt plate. Ever try leaning one against the wall like in my above photo? Unless you're standing in dirt or on a carpet, the gun will fall over VERY easily. Sometimes as fast as your fingers leave it. Ask me how I know! My primary shotgun for hunting and range is an old A5 that wears a slipon recoil pad for added length of pull. I prefer Pachmayer Decelerator. Great pad with just the right firmness. However, they have incorporated a smooth hard rubber top edge in the design to reduce drag against clothing when the gun is mounted quickly. Good idea but it also reduces friction against the floor when gun is leaned upright while cleaning etc. Crash!

So much depends on the rifle, the right weight for calibre as well as stock design. Given these things my view based on my own experience, if one wants to just make a general rule-of-thumb for the more commonly used calibres, would be anything north of .30-06 and anything magnum. I have a .30-06 carbine with a steel buttplate i've shot up to 220 grain bullets with and recoil is evident but not unpleasant sans the pad. My .375 H&H on the other hand, i expect i could handle it without a pad but if it didn't have one i'd be putting one on there for sure. Ditto the .45-70 i used to pack around - happy for the pad.

As we're 1/4 of the way into the 21st century, I can't help but wonder why any shooter would feel the need to make the experience any less user friendly than need be.
I shoot up to a .416 Rigby, but anything bigger than a 30-06 now has either a suppressor and or a nice sorbothane pad.
With those combined, my .375 ruger kicks not much worse than my .243, which means I can comfortably shoot it a LOT more ... and as the old saying goes, practice makes perfect.
Adding these few modern touches will make your ears and shoulder thank you!

HSands said:

As we're 1/4 of the way into the 21st century, I can't help but wonder why any shooter would feel the need to make the experience any less user friendly than need be.
I shoot up to a .416 Rigby, but anything bigger than a 30-06 now has either a suppressor and or a nice sorbothane pad.
With those combined, my .375 ruger kicks not much worse than my .243, which means I can comfortably shoot it a LOT more ... and as the old saying goes, practice makes perfect.
Adding these few modern touches will make your ears and shoulder thank you!

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All good points. The Silvers pad used on classic double rifles was introduced in 1874. Steel butt plates are contemporary with a minie ball.

I use recoil pads on anything 300 mag and up. All it takes is one session over doing it without a pad on a heavy recoiling rifle and you won't be enjoying heavy recoiling rifles anymore. I have a relatively lightweight 308 with a steel Butt plate, its tolerable, and it looks really cool too.

Seems like many on this site treat heavy recoil like it's some sort of trivial issue and they are immune to the effects on their body and brain. Kind of like a boxer in his prime that thinks he can take unlimited punches. It's all pretty impressive until it's not. I recall in one of the many books I've read from the old timers they mention how nice it would be to have some padding....James Sutherland if I remember correctly talks about how after a banner day of shooting elephants with his 577 how he would have to take days off before he could even shoulder the rifle.

HSands said:

As we're 1/4 of the way into the 21st century, I can't help but wonder why any shooter would feel the need to make the experience any less user friendly than need be.
I shoot up to a .416 Rigby, but anything bigger than a 30-06 now has either a suppressor and or a nice sorbothane pad.
With those combined, my .375 ruger kicks not much worse than my .243, which means I can comfortably shoot it a LOT more ... and as the old saying goes, practice makes perfect.
Adding these few modern touches will make your ears and shoulder thank you!

Click to expand...

I date from mid 20th century but do not feel I need to be bound by "my time" when hunting. However, I draw the line at the above innovations designed for comfort. Suppressors are, as far as I know (and my knowledge is limited due to lack of interest) still illegal here. And for good reason. As a property owner I would want to know if someone else is shooting on my land. Noisier the better. Any advantage a noisy gun affords the game is a small advantage they deserve compared to our immense technological advantages. I'm also opposed to using drones for spotting or hazing for the same reason. Noise on the range can be limited without the need for suppressor. If I turn off my hearing aids and add muffs, I can shoot half a box out of my 404 at the range under a shelter and return home without my ears ringing. I shoot clays and skeet low gun (gun down and then mounted after target is pulled) because that's the way I shoot when hunting uplands or when shooting at running game. Similarly, at the rifle range I shoot with unmitigated recoil because that's the way I hunt in the field (no, in the conditions I hunt I'm NOT dealing with an unwieldy barrel booger attached to the muzzle). The utility of "practice, practice, practice" with live ammo at the range is a subject that has been and always will be hotly debated. I get my rifles zeroed for the load and range I expect to shoot when hunting and put the ammo away. I will continue to practice mounting, loading, dry firing, etc in the comfort of my home. The skeet range provides best skills training for hitting moving targets. Those skills are greatly useful when shooting my rifles at moving targets in the field, even though recoil and report are significantly different. We all acknowledge that felt recoil and noise are typically not noticed when concentrating on the quarry at hand ... unless one has been preconditioned to notice it due to too much range time with an unpleasant gun. It seems my "less practice" at the range technique has proved adequate enough. Last month I shot seven animals, most with one shot. Impala was at the limit of my 30-06 and PH offered me his 300 Win CZ. That was a mistake that should have been clear before I pulled the trigger. Scope magnification was jacked up too high and trigger pull was way too stiff and not at all crisp. Quite a surprise as I had shot two animals very long range with his previous CZ 270 WSM and the trigger pull was MUCH lighter. I hit it low but we did finally get him. The warthog I shot the previous day was flattened with the first shot from my 30-06 but amazingly got to its feet again just before we got to it. She was dead but just didn't know it. I put another bullet into her but turns out not really needed. Eland was the first animal I've taken with the 404 I built in 2023. That poor sick old warrior absorbed three rounds in the boiler room before finally toppling over. At 196 meters (for first shot) he was at the outer limits for those big 400 gr Barnes bullets and they obviously didn't open up well. All three exit wounds, even one through opposite shoulder were no bigger than entrance. Didn't have an opportunity to examine trauma as he was badly infected from several fighting wounds and in terrible condition. The carcass was left in the field. The point being this was a gun that I'd barely shot one box of shells through at the range (I have fragile retinas) but in the field I still shot it very accurately (and truth be told, the stock on it now doesn't fit me that well). The following day I shot a buffalo laying down at 110 meters with that rifle (1-4x scope). She ran less than thirty yards before tipping over dead (not even a death bellow). Then the next day I made a perfect shot on giraffe through heart and lung at 136 meters. It maybe ran a bit further but those things have a helluva stride.

I have a acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis and am getting surgery on 9/16
So I bought a slip on Kik ezz pad for anything over .308 win and .303 British.
And limit my bird hunting to a 20ga . And leaving for a dove hunt today
So I will be testing the doctors advice.
Recoil is very subjective imo depending on make model, design of the gun
User depenant ( so only the shooter can know what the limit is)

I never paid much attention I guess. My 30-06 and 270 both have a steel butt plate and I don’t mind. I am glad the 375 has a decelerator on it though.

Anything with a stock on it. Recoil aside, it keeps the butt from slipping when you lean it up in the corner.

My .22 has a plastic buttplate and it will be replaced with a thin rubber one when I find one that fits.

Noah Hutchens said:

Does anyone know if the Large bore double rifles of the early 20th century typically come with a recoil pad or just a buttplate? Something along the lines of 450,470,500,577?

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I had several Victorian era bore rifles with steel butt plates, 8, 10, and 12s. They were all of proper shape/curve and quite comfortable to shoot many times. Those rifles were all nice and full through the butt, so the enhanced surface area certainly helped. Additionally, the plates were all finished 0.030 - 0.060 proud about their circumference and wonderfully protective as far as chipping the butt might go.
As stated above, the old Silvers pads are darn near equally hard.

I think alot of this is going to be personal opinion vs personal opinion. Does a classic checkered steel butt plate look fantastic on a nice piece of figured would? Absolutely. Does it tend to slide around more on clothing and do nothing to mitigate recoil? Absolutely. I believe that with proper technique an experienced shooter will notice little difference between a steel plate and a rubber pad. A novice is going to get the piss pounded out of him and develop bad habits. Now that said a rubber pad is not the end all be all of recoil management, but it helps. Now if you were to ask me to pick on for a field ready rifle of my own it would be rubber. That has some to do with recoil management, but more to do with ensuring it doesn’t slide or jump around on clothing especially during recoil it will stay a bit more stable to help get back on target.

I had a Mannlicher Schonauer Model M in 458 Win Mag with a hard plastic butt plate on it. That was brutal.

Noah Hutchens said:

Does anyone know if the Large bore double rifles of the early 20th century typically come with a recoil pad or just a buttplate? Something along the lines of 450,470,500,577?

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I believe most did. My antique W.J. Jeffery has a butt pad that I believe to be original (hard to be sure). It is long dried out now and very hard.

But as I said before, it doesnt really matter. Even with a hard recoil pad the gun is fine to shoot. Would it be better with a soft pad? Maybe, but I don't feel the need to find out.

@Tdsmith517

Thanks for all your comments, I appreciate the insight and advice.

I like a pad if for nothing else when you want to set the gun down. Being in Arizona 99% of the time it’s going to be on rock.

These are just three of the numerous rifles I shoot with steel butt pads, my 30-06, 8x57 and 303 are steel. My 280nitro may as well be steel as it’s 1/4” thick and as hard as a rock . The "big" rifles I have are rubber pads and the common hunting/culling rifles are as well as comfort is, to me, more important than ego when using them, though the 404 could use a better pad( I’ve got a silvers for it, just haven’t fitted it yet) Stock fit, weight, and holding it properly are probably more important than a nice pad anyway
Gumpy