Fox factory recoil pads/convex butt?

[Silvers]

I had a revelation today while looking at a Fox that was shipped with a factory-supplied recoil pad, a No Shoc in this case. The butt of the gun isn't straight, and it's not concave as is typical for hard rubber butt plates. This one is slightly convex, in other words the buttstock is bowed out very slightly in the center of the pad. Then I looked at another Fox that was shipped with a factory pad and its butt is convex too. These are the only two I have with factory pads, sample size is pretty small, and may not be representative.

I don't do recoil pads myself, and when I want one done I get a professional to do it. But I'm thinking if I were fitting a pad I'd prefer a convex butt because it would cause the base of the pad to bend slightly when the screws were tightened, and would help keep from getting a light gap between the wood and the pad base. Also might keep the pad from "walking" if the screws were to loosen up slightly.

Just wondering if anyone else has noticed this on a Fox that you're certain was shipped with a factory pad? You can easily check by using a straightedge, hold it in line with either the top or bottom of the pad base where it attaches to the wood, and compare how it aligns with the opposite end of the pad. Silvers

[NJdblgun]

Frank, my main thought is shooting the gun. A convex, albeit slight bow out, might help seat the butt in one's shoulder socket/pocket better than a straight, or concave shaped butt. Havent thought of it before, but it might work to the shooter's advantage. what is the age of the gun?

[MARSHFELLOW]

Frank, what era were the guns that you sampled from?? I'll do alittle checking when I have the energy to move a few around.

tjw

[Stan Hillis]

I dug up this thread from 10 years ago to ask a question.

I've come to be the caretaker of a Philly 20 ga. Sterly ejector gun, 28" barrels. I wanted it to be a dedicated quail gun and intended to personalize it to my liking. The chokes were M and F so I shipped it to Dean Harris and had the chambers lengthened to 2 3/4", and the chokes opened to .006" and .016".

I have to add a KickKiller leather pad to it to get the LOP right for me. Thinking I might put an original style recoil pad on it so the KK pad wouldn't be necessary I pulled off the hard rubber butt plate and tried a few original pads that I have on hand for size. One was a Jostam Hi-Gun and the other was a NoShoc. It was found that either will work on it.

But, what I found when I held the pads up to the butt wood, was that the butt was sawn convex. The butt plate pulls tight on it when the screws are tightened down. I read in this old thread that Frank found that some guns that were shipped with a recoil pad were done this way. This Sterly looks to have the original wood cut, but I cannot be certain by appearance.

Is it possible the gun was originally shipped with a recoil pad and someone replaced it over the years with a hard rubber butt plate, or is it safer to assume that it left the factory cut convex, and with a hrbp? I'll get some LOP measurements on it today with the hrbp in place. Maybe that will help answer the question ..........unless the original owner ordered it with a recoil pad and a longer than usual LOP, over the pad.
Update:. The LOP is 14 1/4" over the hrbp.
Thanks, SRH

[Silvers]

Stan, I haven't found any common/vintage recoil pad with mounting holes that exactly match the spacing of the Fox HRBP screws. Hence with 14-1/4" LOP and if there are no extra holes under the buttplate I'd say your Sterly 20 Ejector gun was shipped with a convex butt and HRBP.

frank

[Stan Hillis]

Thanks, Frank. That's a basic point that I overlooked.

Interesting.

Best, SRH

[Foxnut]

Stan, thanks for sharing. I didn’t recall the thread from 10 years ago. I’ll have to look at a couple of the guns I have w/factory pads and see how they are shaped.