On Target

Recently, I had the opportunity to try out the Kick-Eez Slip-over recoil pad while shooting a few rounds of skeet.  The gun I used to try it out on was a lightweight Fabarm Silver Lion 20 gauge over/under which only weighs about 6 pounds.  As a 20 gauge, this gun does not have punishing recoil, but being a lightweight over/under shooting 1 ounce loads, it will certainly bruise your shoulder after just one round of skeet.  The factory butt pad on this shotgun is a ventilated rubber pad with a leather strip to provide a slick surface for fast mounting.  This factory pad is great for mounting the gun, but it is hard and gives no noticeable cushioning of recoil.  The slip-on pad comes with one very spongy Sorbothane pad insert and additional inserts can be purchased to add more padding and more length of pull.  The standard pad with one insert added about an inch to the length of pull.  This is important to note since it will change the fit of the shotgun.  If you need to keep the fit exactly the same, you need to use a Pre-Fit or Grind-to-Fit pad that replaces the pad on the gun.  I shot one round of skeet (25 shots) without the pad to get the feel of it, and then I shot another round with the Kick-Eez slip-over pad to feel the difference.  The difference in comfort was very significant.  Shooting without the pad had a sharp recoil impulse and did cause a small bruise after 25 rounds.  When shooting with the pad, recoil was not even noticeable.  It felt very soft and comfortable and when the gun fired, only a slight push was noticeable.  There was no longer any chance of getting bruised by it.  The pad has a rubber outer shell that looks very professional, but can catch on your shirt when shouldering the gun, so I recommend getting some Slick-Eez to coat it with to slick it up.  Also, the size of the pad needs to match your stock as closely as possible for the best look and feel.  It comes in small, medium and large sizes to accomplish this.  It was easy to put on and take off of the gun and is a fast, inexpensive solution that makes a very noticeable difference in recoil.  A slip-over pad also gives the shooter the flexibility to put it on for one shooter who wants it and take it off for another who doesn’t.  It is also an easy way to add to your length of pull if needed.  A Pre-Fit or Grind-to-Fit pad will certainly give the most solid feel on the gun.  But for a quick, easy, and flexible option, the Kick-Eez slip on recoil pad works exactly as advertised.