Recoil pad for win 94

[FLINT]

Hey guys,

several years ago my son (who was only 2 at the time) inherited my uncles win. 94 in 32ws. My son is 8 now and is a pretty darn good shot with his airgun. I may take him out for squirrels next year, and maybe the following year (age 10) for deer if it seems all is well. Since he already owns this rifle, I was thinking of loading it down a little - maybe to around 1800 fps with the hawk bullets since they would probably expand better at the low velocity than the hornady or speer (correct me if I am wrong). I was thinking of basically duplicating my loads for the 32-40 which should be light enough for him, but still potent enough for deer. Anyways. in addition I was thinking of trimming down the stock a little and putting on a recoil pad - so here's the question - what would your recommendation be for a recoil pad, and would anyone happen to know which model/size/etc. would fit a win. 94 with an inch or two cut off? I guess If I wanted the LOP one inch shorter, I should cut two inches off, since adding the recoil pad would probably add another inch. The rifle was made in 1943 or 1947 I think if that means anything to you (stock wise).

I want his introduction to rifle shooting to be as pleasant as possible.

[iceman]

I would look around for an old stock off of another rifle. That way when your son grows into it he can have the original stock in its original condition. Look on any of the recoil pad manufacturers web sight and they should give the dimensions of their pads. If you want an inch shorter you would have to cut off 2". Measure back from the butt approx 2" and take a few measurements to get a rough idea of what you will need.

[J Miller]

I agree with Iceman, don't alter that original stock. Matter of fact I wouldn't even both with a recoil pad. The 30-30 doesn't have that much recoil with full patch loads and with reduced loads it will have even less.
Shorten it and put the butt plate back on and keep the pieces you chop off to go back on as he grows.

Just a small story: My then 10 year old step son refused to shoot .22s. He wanted the 30-30 and 303 Brit with full loads. Recoil didn't phase him one bit. Could be your son has the same thoughts??????

Joe

[pokey]

i've got a 94 stock that has been cut, i'll try
and get a pic up this weekend if you're interested.

[Griff]

Get a "Compact" stock from one of the late mdl 94s to replace the original until he grows into it. If it still needs cutting down to fit, you ain't ruining the original. Maybe get one of those slip on recoil pads to help reduce the shock along with your lighter loads. But... remember, a fast pistol powders will have a sharper recoil than a slower rifle powder at the same muzzle velocity.

I always feel that the child's size matters more than his age. A large for an 8 year old will handle recoil better than one that's small for his/her age.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

If you really want a recoil pad plan on adding a grind to fit pad. You aren't likely to find one that will just bolt on.

[FLINT]

Hey guys, thanks for the comments,

The original stock is actually in pretty rough shape, so I wouldn't be broken up to cut it down. I would probably keep it only for sentimental value, as my deceased uncle carved about 25 notches into the stock (for deer) and carved his name in the other side. This rifle is no gem looks wise, but it has a brand new barrel and a new bolt and a new receiver sight, so should be a good shooter.

Pokey - are you offering to sell me a stock, or just to show me what a cut down stock looks like?

Griff - the compact stock is a good idea - less work for me and already comes with a recoil pad - but the one in your link is for a post 64 rifle - would that also fit a pre-64 one?

Griff - also, yes, when I was 9, I was shooting (and shooting deer with) a 12 guage pump with magnum breneke slugs!!! But I may have been an anomaly. My son is a very stout boy - not super tall, but you'd never call him skinny or slightly built. But I figured I'd err on the side of reducing the recoil as much as possible at first, and if he's fine with it, then we'll work up to standard loads.

Nate - yes, after looking around, I realized I wouldnt find a bolt on pad for a cut down stock. I could go with a grind down one - or Limbsaver and Pachmayr both make slip on versions. The slip on Limbsaver looks really good, and the small size looks like it would be pretty close to fitting - maybe a tad tall but the right width.

[O.S.O.K.]

I'd still keep the original stock as-is - as the guys say, get a used one from another rifle to cut on.

And I would recommend loading some cast boolits up for him to hunt with - you can load them to 1500 fps or so and get complete penetration easily and they are very mild on the shoulder and fun to shoot. Try 10 grains of Uniqe under them. If you don't cast, you can purchase the 170 grain Oregon Trail/Laser Cast boolits and a box of gas checks for them - they are a gas check design without the gas checks installed. They may also be just fine without the gas checks but the checks would allow you to bump the velocity up a bit if that improves accuracy.

I buy these boolits and run them through a Lee .310" sizer die ($25) just to crimp the gas checks on. I also add some liquid alox -but I'm loading mine to 1950+fps...

For the pad - this is what I use and like - I think the medium size fits the standard 94. If you cut a stock, it'll be a little loose but that's easyto fix - just insert an extra piece of pad... http://www.cabelas.com/product/Kick-Kil ... l+Products

[pokey]

Pokey - are you offering to sell me a stock, or just to show me what a cut down stock looks like?

sell,trade,donate - what will it take to get your boy shooting?

[Griff]

Griff - the compact stock is a good idea - less work for me and already comes with a recoil pad - but the one in your link is for a post 64 rifle - would that also fit a pre-64 one?

Short answer: Yes. Longer version: You may need to use some bedding compound to take up some of the space around the front of the top tang (not ALWAYS necessary). Going from a older stock to a post 64 is what requires taking out some extra wood to allow room for the coil mainspring.

[WyoShooter]

Leave the original stock alone. Later in life your son will appreciate the sentimental value of those notches and your uncle's name carved in it.

[FLINT]

Discussed it with my son - he also didn't want to cut the existing stock, but we decided what we would do is try to get a used stock and cut it down a little and put a recoil pad on it - he was pretty excited about the prospect of shooting the rifle actually.

Pokey, sent you a pm.

[pokey]

i'm not sure if a post 64 stock will bolt right on, or
not but i'm sure it can be made to work for temporary.

as you can see, this on is shortened and has a recoil pad
installed. as is about 1 1/2" less than a stock, stock.

7594stock.JPG

7594stock2.JPG

7594stock3.JPG

let me know.

[FLINT]

That stock looks great Pokey, thanks!

[Griff]

That stock looks great Pokey, thanks!

If that's a stock from a "coil" mainspring model, it should bolt up without a hitch... other'n some gap near the front as the angle is slightly different... I just swapped stocks from my 1979 onto my 1950... there's a slight gap at the rear of the receiver, angling from the bottom where there's none, to the top where there's about an 1/8 inch. A little hard to see here but whaddaya want with a camera phone!

[pricedo]

Hey guys,

several years ago my son (who was only 2 at the time) inherited my uncles win. 94 in 32ws. My son is 8 now and is a pretty darn good shot with his airgun. I may take him out for squirrels next year, and maybe the following year (age 10) for deer if it seems all is well. Since he already owns this rifle, I was thinking of loading it down a little - maybe to around 1800 fps with the hawk bullets since they would probably expand better at the low velocity than the hornady or speer (correct me if I am wrong). I was thinking of basically duplicating my loads for the 32-40 which should be light enough for him, but still potent enough for deer. Anyways. in addition I was thinking of trimming down the stock a little and putting on a recoil pad - so here's the question - what would your recommendation be for a recoil pad, and would anyone happen to know which model/size/etc. would fit a win. 94 with an inch or two cut off? I guess If I wanted the LOP one inch shorter, I should cut two inches off, since adding the recoil pad would probably add another inch. The rifle was made in 1943 or 1947 I think if that means anything to you (stock wise).

I want his introduction to rifle shooting to be as pleasant as possible.

I would sooner saw my wifes arm off than mutilate the original stock on a pre-64 Winchester 94, especially one in .32 Winchester Special.

I would buy a Walnut stock blank from Brownells and cut it down and pad it to fit the kid and switch it out with the original stock which I would put in storage and put back on when the kid gets full grow'd.

[FLINT]

That stock looks great Pokey, thanks!

If that's a stock from a "coil" mainspring model, it should bolt up without a hitch... other'n some gap near the front as the angle is slightly different... I just swapped stocks from my 1979 onto my 1950... there's a slight gap at the rear of the receiver, angling from the bottom where there's none, to the top where there's about an 1/8 inch. A little hard to see here but whaddaya want with a camera phone!

Great, thanks Griff - I'm going to give her a shot - and thanks to pokey for supplying the stock.

pricedo - wow, well, thankfully, its not going to come to that as it looks like we've come up with a good alternate plan.