Recoil Pad Recommendation

[rdrader2002]

Several years back I received a couple of rifles that had belonged to my grandfather. I used one of them quite successfully last year - 6mm Remington/.244. The other one - Remington Model 81 in .300 Savage - I'd only fired a couple of times out in the back yard, but had never seriously considered using it for hunting - until this year.
To make a long story short, I finally took it out to the range on Saturday to get it zeroed. Boy was I surprised at the recoil for such a "short" round. It took me almost a dozen rounds to walk the rounds to zero and by that time the shoulder was quite tender. When moving over to the 100 yrd range, I could hit the target, but nothing with any sense of accuracy since I was sub-consciously flinching as I pulled the trigger. Maybe if I had a good recoil pad I wouldn't do that.
Can anyone recommend a good recoil pad for this rifle?

[WisconsinDeer]

Limbsaver is a great brand. I have a Kick-Eez recoil pad on my muzzleloader that is really nice and squishy. I recommend those.

[Hunting Man]

is that rem 81 a semi-auto? I have a Savage 99 in 300 sav and it shoots sweet with almost no kick. I nener owned a 81 but I thought they had enough stock weight to negate any kick from the mild bullet like a 300. There are lots of recoil pads out there, if your rifle is a collector grade installing a pad will reduce the market value. Maybe look for a slip over pad that way no stock cutting has to take place.

[huntr-]

I believe the Simms is the best out there. I have one on my 300 win mag and its great.

[extremehunter007]

I have had a Limbsaver on ALL of my firearms since the day i bought them. love em. I'm sure there is better ones out there, but i like to stick with what i know.

[rdrader2002]

Originally Posted by Hunting Man

is that rem 81 a semi-auto? I have a Savage 99 in 300 sav and it shoots sweet with almost no kick. I nener owned a 81 but I thought they had enough stock weight to negate any kick from the mild bullet like a 300. There are lots of recoil pads out there, if your rifle is a collector grade installing a pad will reduce the market value. Maybe look for a slip over pad that way no stock cutting has to take place.

Yes, the Rem 81 is semi-auto. My father-in-law has a Savage 99 in .300 Savage, and now wish I've had a chance to shoot his for reference. He purchased his when he was in high school and it's still in pretty good condition.

"Mild" wasn't what I felt when on the range. I was shooting Remington Core-Lokt's in 150 grain. Any ideas?

But I was looking for a slip on pad, although not for any "market value" purposes. This one's been in the family for over 60 years and I hope it will stay that way for at least another 60.

And thanks for the responses, too --

RR

[onehorse]

I have Limbsavers on all my rifles, including a 300 WSM. It works great and is available in a slip-on if the added length doesn't bother you.

[rdrader2002]

Ordered the Limbsaver slip-on directly from their website and this has got to be the best reason for anyone wanting to join a good deer hunting forum (or just plain shootin' for that matter). Plenty of good recommendations on tried and true products.

Should be there at home waiting for me when I get there. Thanks for all the recommendations!

[Hunting Man]

I should have phrased the word market value to collectible value in the above post on the model 81. I hate to alter vintage guns for that reason. My Savage 99 has the factory butt plate on it but compared to a 270 - 30-06 its pretty tame to shoot. I've never been recoil affected, but a Weatherby 300 will test even my endurance. Sighting in the 270 WM at the range left me a bit sore after about 12 rounds. I had a Marlin 444 and a Win 375 for a while and even they had more of a reward tolerable push than those pesky Weatherbys. I wish I had kept both the 444 and 375, oh well hindsight.