Recoil Pad Meltdown

P

Picher

New member
I have a Rem 700 Light Varmint Stainless Fluted rifle, bought used. Lately, the factory Limbsaver recoil pad has "melted-down", becoming sticky.

It was surprising to get on the Limbsaver and find the exact match for the pad from a list of factory rifle pad numbers, so I ordered one (not cheap). I thought I'd have to buy the closest match and grind to fit.

We'll see if they still have that model pad and whether it will actually fit well enough to not have to grind. I'm not sure whether Limbsavers grind particularly well, due to the softness of the compound.

I'll let you know how it turns out.
 
Last edited:
I had the same issue with a 700. The factory pad is famous for the problem. Mine was only 4 years old and it became a gooey mess. The Limbsaver pad worked great, no grinding necessary.
 
I'm not a rubber engineer but the problem of rubber sometimes deteriorating after some years goes back to at least the 1950 s !! It wasn't too common until more recently off shore companies supplied things , especially China ! :(
 
Unfortunately, this is a common issue with LimbSaver pads (to a lesser extent HiViz pads as well). They are very soft, which is accomplished by adding a large amount of plasticizer to the polymer during manufacturing. The plasticizer of choice used to be epoxidized soybean oil. Like all oils, it moves towards non-polar materials (such as the exterior coating of the pad itself) and oxidizes (making it sticky in the process). As it moves out of the foam pad, the pad collapses upon itself as well, leaving you with a sticky, gooey mess. This is why I no longer install LimbSaver pads in my shop. They work really well when new, but don't hold up over time. Reportedly, LimbSaver has addressed this problem with their newer pads.
 
The factory pad was a Limbsaver and instead of finding a pad to grind, I just went the easy way and ordered one to fit my relatively "different" Remington 700 Varmint Stainless Fluted. If this one dies, it will be replaced by something else.

I'd never seen a rifle like mine until finding it in the "used" rack at LL Bean. It's a nice rifle to carry when going down to the big fields behind the house. I keep it near the back door to take care of pests and handy to take with me when checking the blueberry fields.

We have plenty of coyotes and other pests around, but after shooting a "family" of skunks too close to the house a few years ago, I let them pass.
 
The new Limbsaver was ordered yesterday, so it's a done deal. If it ever goes bad, I'll get a different brand and grind to fit.

The other good thing about getting the same pad is that the screw holes line up with the ones in the synthetic stock. That's a big plus!

Thanks for all the advice.

Picher
 
When I was doing a lot of repair work on guns, the opposite situation was more common...pads were becoming hard as a rock, so they completely lost their intended function. Neither extreme is acceptable on my rifles/shotguns.
 
Received the Limbsaver Precision-Fit pad for my Remington yesterday. It fits well and it only took about 15 minutes to install it, including putting a small dab of epoxy near both heel and toe, like the factory did with the original.

I like it better than the original pad's rear end and may get new pads for some of my other rifles.
 
Factory replacement

I made a joke about the rifles being stuck to the bottom of the gun safe. Called Remington. The rep apologized and owned a problem with a run of recoil pads. It happened here on an older Model Seven and a 700 SAS. The pads were becoming a gooey mess. The pads were replaced. Installation was not a problem. The fit was satisfactory. Remington was willing to make it right fast. All this was some years back. No problem to date.
 
Received the Limbsaver Pre-Fit for my Rem 700 Light Varmint and it fits the rifle really well. I added a couple of epoxy dabs near the top and bottom, like the factory did and the pad was installed in about 15 minutes.

Combined with a new firing pin/spring/end cap, it's like a whole new rifle. Shoots great also. Just fired a couple of quick groups at 100 yards and a three-shot group was 0.5" and a two-shot group was 0.15". I'm running a bit low on my good handloads, so didn't shoot any more. If the two groups were on the same bull, and considering the two scope clicks between the groups, they'd have made a .5", 5-shot group, including the first shot from a clean bore. The new firing pin assembly made a big difference in impact and bolt lift ease. I still am ticked-off about the "Factory Authorized Rem Repair Center" in NH. They did nothing to it, declaring it an "unsafe rifle" due to excessive headspace. Idiots!!! The headspace is exactly the same as a brand-new .223 Remington 700 ADL .223 I bought recently; both checked by a master gunsmith.
 
Last edited:
When the Limbsaver on my rifle started to melt, I called them up. On their request I sent the whole stock back & they installed a new grind-to-fit pad for me. Perfect job & 1 week turn around. All I paid for was one-way shipping.
 
The original pad on my Sako Finnbear became rock hard[1963 manuf.] I replaced it with a Pachmyer "De-Cellerator"[?] grind to fit pad. Works and came out looking good.
 
I've put Decelerators on several rifles/shotguns and like them. They last about forever and aren't sticky at all.
 
I wish they'd just go back to checkered steel butt plates and a stock with a correct LOP. On everything too.

First thing I usually do is take them off. Unfortunately these days, the makers dont offer a buttplate option, so you have to go to Brownells, and fit a generic buttplate tot the gun.

Once the gun fits you right, its amazing how much more comfortable they are to shoot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top