I purchased my Mauser .458WM earlier this year from a LGS at a very decent price knowing it was due for a few upgrades. The unknown gunmaker was a true artisan as evidenced by the fit and finish of the metal and gorgeous wood. The LGS estimated it was built in the 60’s or 70’s. It has a 26” barrel, Bold trigger, and retains the Mauser flag safety.
The “Old English” recoil pad was hard as Viagra on Saturday night. After watching a few videos, I decided the grind-to-fit process was within my capabilities so set about to order a new Pachmayr pad identical to the original. Well, the pad is the same but now says “Decelerator” instead of “ Old English”. Bummer.
The layout and grinding process is not difficult at all. The grinding part took about 30 minutes on my 4”x 36” vertical benchtop belt sander from Harbor Freight. It’s messy: rubber flies everywhere. It’s the same process for any brand of pad, but does require careful setup. I did mine on the open tailgate of my truck on a sunny day. The end result was great & my finished pad actually fits better than the factory pad on my new Ruger African! Good light is everything…almost.
The other thing is a grinding fixture. I bought a Miles Gilbert grinding fixture online for about $55. Took about 15 minutes to setup the stock’s comb and toe angles on the fixture & mount the pad for grinding. Follow the directions and it’s almost foolproof. So, here I sit with another tool (fixture) that I bought & used one time. Therefore, if any established member would like to replace their recoil pad(s) DIY shoot me a DM and I’ll loan you this fixture. If I get multiple DMs, then the 1st user just agrees to pass it on when finished. When everybody’s done, send it back.
The “Old English” recoil pad was hard as Viagra on Saturday night. After watching a few videos, I decided the grind-to-fit process was within my capabilities so set about to order a new Pachmayr pad identical to the original. Well, the pad is the same but now says “Decelerator” instead of “ Old English”. Bummer.
The layout and grinding process is not difficult at all. The grinding part took about 30 minutes on my 4”x 36” vertical benchtop belt sander from Harbor Freight. It’s messy: rubber flies everywhere. It’s the same process for any brand of pad, but does require careful setup. I did mine on the open tailgate of my truck on a sunny day. The end result was great & my finished pad actually fits better than the factory pad on my new Ruger African! Good light is everything…almost.
The other thing is a grinding fixture. I bought a Miles Gilbert grinding fixture online for about $55. Took about 15 minutes to setup the stock’s comb and toe angles on the fixture & mount the pad for grinding. Follow the directions and it’s almost foolproof. So, here I sit with another tool (fixture) that I bought & used one time. Therefore, if any established member would like to replace their recoil pad(s) DIY shoot me a DM and I’ll loan you this fixture. If I get multiple DMs, then the 1st user just agrees to pass it on when finished. When everybody’s done, send it back.