Recoil Pad Stevens 311?

[Travis Bickle]

I picked myself up a minty 12 Ga Stevens 311A SxS a couple weeks back on the EE.
It's an awesome shotgun. What a beauty!
I took it out to test the spread pattern with the full and modified choke bores.

I fired a couple shells of no 7 shot. Not so bad. Awesome spread pattern even at relative distance. Recoil, manageable.

I then tried a couple shells of 00 buck. HOLY f**k I though Mike Tyson had sneaked out of the bush behind me and slugged me in the right shoulder!

Now I'm no smufty or stranger to recoil, I know about proper hold and positioning, I owned and fired hundreds of rounds through my old M44 Mosin.

But man! I can only describe the recoil of this beast as punishing!

Can anyone recomend/steer me towards a compatible recoil pad for the 311 Stevens?

 

[CoryTheCowboy]

I bought a grind-to-fit Pachmayr Old English Pad, I believe a large. My stock was just too big the smaller size. I got mine from Tradeex with nothing on there at all, not even a buttplate. I took it on a rabbit hunt and recoil was a bit...sharp.

As far as I know there's no pre-fit pads for the 311.

Love that old gun, I've shot everything from grouse to turkeys with mine in the far superior 16 Gauge

Cory

 

[hunter5425]

+1 on the Old English pad. I have a Franchi renaissance in 12 gauge that weighs sthan 6lbs that I fitted with one ( the stock was too long). I have shot 100 11/8 oz 31/4 dr eq shells on one outting with no problems ( other than missing a few clays.)

 

[Travis Bickle]

Right on.
I guess that means it's basically arts and crafts time then

I love the old Stevens 311 though. A relic of the good old days when things were actually manufactured in North America and worked!

It's about as bare bones as you can get for a SxS but that is what makes it appeal to me. No flash and all business

 

[CoryTheCowboy]

Right on.
I guess that means it's basically arts and crafts time then

I love the old Stevens 311 though. A relic of the good old days when things were actually manufactured in North America and worked!

It's about as bare bones as you can get for a SxS but that is what makes it appeal to me. No flash and all business

I fit the one above with a sanding drum on my Dremel It's wavy, the fit is poor and it looks ugly...but when you look at the rest of the gun and the shooter...it fits right in

Cory

 

[straightshooter]

Most SxS's are made with the uplands in mind. Purpose built, they tend to be lighter than guns that are intended for waterfowl blinds and target shooting, where the guns are not carried for long distances.

Felt recoil - the total energy that reaches your shoulder - is a factor of the load (the size of the powder load), the charge (the weight of the shot), and the weight of the gun. With no exceptions, the lighter the gun, the more felt recoil from equivalent shells.

Other than pheasant and sharptail grouse, most upland birds can be knocked out of the air quite effectively with light loads. You'll find them much easier on the shoulder, too.

My advice would be to avoid the use of buck shot, slugs, and heavy loads in general, in your 311. They won't "blow your gun up", nor will they likely cause any dramatic damage to your gun. But, in the same way that heavy loads kick hard against your shoulder, they also hammer the gun pretty hard. Over time, use of those kinds of loads will gradually stress the gun, potentially resulting in stock cracks and the barrels becoming off-face.

Pumps, semis, and the heavier U/O's are ideal for shooting heavy loads without stress to the gun or shooter, when the mood hits you.