Forget porting on a muzzleloader. Get a Caldwell Lead Sled.

Don't know what the color of your rifles barrel or furniture is, butthe owner (John) at October Country can make you any size ramrod you want out of saolid brass or stainless steel...$20 delivered.

I had him make a solid stainless foran MK85 I had years ago...puts apound ortwo right out under the barrel and it greatly tames recoil...also improves accuracyas the extra weight just makes the muzzle 'hang' on the target.

Have had solid brass ramrods made for all my Flintlocks since then too.

Buy the Sims recoil pad. You will not be sorry.

I have shoulder problems, my shooting shoulder has had 4 operations to date so needless to say I don''t really like heavy jarring recoil anymore. Most of my CF's wear a recoil pad such as the Simms Limbsaver or Pachmayer Decel which has made them more pleasurable to shoot on the range by reducing felt recoil. I would suggest you look into either one of these options first, they really do work. They have pre-fit and slip ons for over the counter models. If neither of these quite work you can have a gunsmith do a grind to fit for not much more. Simms has a template that you can print off which will allow to compare it to your butt plate for their pre-fit models. The original recoil pad must be removed to get an accurate read on this template for holes and over all size. The other option is take the recoil pad off and take it to your local gunshop(most should sell these pads) to see if they can hook you up.

Another option is buy a slip on shoulder pad for when your at the range, as I doubt you have problem in the field. You could also see if anyone in your area teaches the mechanics of shooting.A lot of people fight the recoil making it worse by simply re-learning proper shooting technique you can also curve that felt recoil some by going with the jar vs trying to hold up to it.

Good Luck

This may sound stupid but it worked for me. Though I have to admit it wasn't exactly by design. Recoil used to be something I cared about until I got serious about Turkey hunting. Turkey loads kick like a sonofstitch. My suggestion is to go to the range with a shot gun and about 30-50 rounds of magnum turkey loads and have someone teach you proper shooting form. Once you get through those 50 rounds successfully there won't be much out there you can't handle.

Tom

You didn't say what model ML you have but my vote is also for the Sims Limbsaver pad. I bought the custom fit one for my Encore and I love it. I have shot 50 rounds of 130+ grain loads with no problems at the range.

I have put the slip on limbsaver recoil pad on all of my guns since my daughter shoots with me and they greatly reduce the felt effects of the recoil. I have not yet put one on my Omega but will when i get to shoot it this week.
I see that bullet weight was brought up on the original post. Although PSE does not want to change, how much difference would there be in going to a 200g shockwave from a 250 shockwave?

I did not feel much difference at all going from 250 to 200. I shot both with 130 of Pyrodex pellets.