I have a 1970s 700BDL in 270 that I would like to add a recoil pad to. It originally came with just a butt plate. Recoil isn't bad but gets old shooting it when I am sighting in or target praticing. Is there anything out there that I can add on that won't significantly change the length but will soften the recoil a bit?

Try the limbsaver air tech pad 70 % of recoil ruduced I have one on my 30-06. The slip on pad is what I bought but you could also buy the screw in one

Unless you take off that butt plate and shave some from your stock you are going to get increased length of pull with ANY recoil reduction pad. They don't add THAT much length, well MOST don't, but if you are at that "sweet spot" with what you have then you will need to shave a bit off to keep it at a length you like. If you don't want to do any shaving then you will just need to adjust your position to compensate for the added length. The Limbsaver pad that you install, not the slip on, after taking the original butt plate, will add about an inch to the original pull. Not that significant.

I use one of these for bench work.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/699...d-ambidextrous

Take a look at these;

http://www.pachmayr.com/home/recoil-pads.php

...............and yes, you will have to adjust for fit (LOP).


I think you will find that a lot of custom rifle makers use these also.

The past shoulder pads might be of interest. They're not that thick, but rather rely on a bit of stiffness to spread the recoil across more shoulder area. They're not real comfortable, and none-too-sexy, but they're incredibly functional. The .270win doesn't kick much, but a hard, narrow, unforgiving buttplate will get old - as you mentioned - so throwing a thin, yet relatively stiff pad on your shoulder might be just the ticket.

My wife is recoil sensitive even with her little 20ga. To fix that problem a shooting vest was bought with pockets to hold several different thicknesses gel pads like the beretta ones. With pads and vest was less than 50.00. Added bonus was the pockets in the vest that held two boxes of 20ga ammo.

http://www.berettausa.com/en-us/bere.../og8500010560/

http://gampsports.com/product/wild-h...t-navy-silver/

Al

I bought a simmons pre fit which works great. I didn't cut my stock down so it is a little smaller then the wood on the stock but not real bad. I am fine with the stock / recoil pad length and think I will leave it this way. There is a plastic shim on the wood that keeps the edge of the wood from being exposed to the elements.

If I was to cut the stock down how would I go about doing it without splintering the wood? Could I use my power miter box? This is a 40 year old gun so it's not real pretty but it's not in bad shape and I would hate to damage the stock.

You can cut the stock down with a power miter box. Make sure to use a fine tooth blade for fine cuts. Wrap a couple of layers of painters / masking tape around the stock. Cut right through the tape as it aids non-splintering cuts immensely.

Well for shooting off the bench you can go to wally world and buy a Limbsaver slip on pad. Then when you get you rifle sighted in you can remove it and shot another couple shots to verify POI.
Otherwise if you don't want to change your LOP and your not very handy I would suggest you take your rifle to a competent gunsmith and have him fit you up with a new pad.