THE TECHNOID PADS THE ACCOUNT... Just about all of us have some. They
are usually piled into a cigar box down in the cellar somewhere. Pads
that is- used recoil pads taken off long gone guns. You may have often
wondered what makes the Technoid different from you and me. Well, it is
these pads. While you and I may have a few extra recoil pads laying
about, the Technoid has boxes and boxes full of them.

Why so many? Because altering the recoil pad is one of the easiest and
most effective changes that you can make to a shotgun, that's why. A pad
change is one of the first alterations that the Technoid will make. Just
by swapping a recoil pad he can alter the balance, recoil, face slap,
and fit of a gun. The best part about it is that he gets to experiment
at great lengths without really permanently changing anything. In the
hog heaven of the Technoid, this commitment-free testing is an
overflowing trough! The Technoid will now proceed to tell you more than
you ever wanted to know about the elastomer end of your shotgun. Pull on
your boots and jump on in.

Addition of a recoil pad can make the shooter's life easier in three
ways. A pad will:

1) attenuate recoil 2) adjust stock length and 3) keep the gun from
slipping around.

Do recoil pads really absorb recoil? Yes and no. They may actually
increase it. Mathematically, the only way that adding a regular recoil
pad can reduce recoil is by adding weight. The solid pads, like the
Kick-eez, are quite heavy and a thick one can add half a pound. Normal
spacers weigh two full ounces each. The new lightweight ones are one
ounce. A thick pad and a bunch of spacers will certainly reduce some
mathematical recoil by adding weight, but they will also shift the
balance rearward. Your gun may, or may not, benefit from this change in
balance.

Other than the weight factor, a pad can only lower subjectively felt
recoil. It works the same way that a gas gun does by attenuating the
recoil pulse. As the pad compresses under the recoil, it turns the sharp
jab into more of a push. Mathematically, the area under the recoil curve
remains the same (Newton lives!), but the shape of the curve loses its
peak and you avoid abuse.

Thick, spongy recoil pads obviously do a better job of attenuation than
thin hard ones, but there is a price. As the recoil pad compresses, it
permits the comb of the stock to move rearward along the cheek bone.
This can increase "face slap" to an uncomfortable degree. A shooter
often has to choose between Scylla's rock of recoil and Charybdis'
whirlpool of face slap. Sorry Odysseus, but there it is in the Straits
of Messina. (Cast off of the stock will often only add to the face slap
misery, but we save that discussion for another time.)

In addition to increasing recoil attenuation, pads of different
thickness also offer the shooter an easy way to experiment with stock
length. Trial stock lengths are easy to achieve by the addition of a few
spacers. Trial pitch setting are also facilitated by inserting some shim
material between the pad and the stock at either the toe or heel,
depending on how you want to change the pitch. Increased pitch
(increasing the length of the stock at the top, or heel) can do a great
deal for keeping the stock up into the face and the barrels down, but
watch out for increased face slap. Decreasing pitch (increasing the
length of the stock at the bottom, or toe) will decrease face slap, but
may cause the gun to slip down the chest on firing. Most trap guns have
decreased pitch.

One additional advantage of a pad that should not be overlooked is that
its tactile rubber surface decreases slippage from the shoulder and
increases stability when the gun is placed in a gun rack or in a corner.
A wooden or plastic butt plate almost ensures that the gun will slip off
your shoulder or fall from the gun rack. There are more types of recoil
pads than ants in the pantry. There is bound to be something to suit you
cosmetically and functionally.

Some of the most popular pads are:

WEGO: solid hard rubber with a plastic upper insert. German made, it is
unyielding and hard as iron. What else did you expect? It does nothing
for recoil, but does nicely finish off the butt of the gun.

PACHMEYER OLDE ENGLISH: The olde favorite. Attractive, solid looking
outside, hollowed egg carton style inside, this pad is made of standard
materials and is average in performance. It glosses over nicely when
exposed to UV rays, but it also hardens with time.

PACHMEYER DECELERATOR: The current favorite, this pad has the good looks
of the Olde English, but is made of a space age polymer that offers
exceptional cushioning and very little rebound. The egg carton
construction and soft polymer cause some collapse on recoil and thus
possibly some increased face slap, but the hollow interior also makes
them relatively light weight for their size. The Decelerators have a
plastic insert at the top which is designed to ease the gun mount.

KICKEEZ: Made of solid, heavy space age Sorbothane (the same stuff they
put in running shoe orthotics), the Kickeez is the best recoil pad for
absorbing shock without collapsing enough to increase face slap. They
weigh a bit more than the hollowed Pachmeyer pads. The Kickeez pads have
one big advantage. Being solid, they can be readily shaped, unlike the
egg carton interior Decelerators. The Kickeez is particularly suitable
for ladies who require a severely rounded toe. They also work well for
any shooter who wants to grind off the inside toe of the pad to
introduce "poor man's toe out". It may be helpful for those with
muscular chests. There it is. Once again, more than you ever wanted to
know, courtesy of the Technoid.