Model 12 - Update

Looks like the Model 12 I bought yesterday is a keeper. Just as I suspected, a couple of drops of fine mineral oil slicked it up properly. And also as I suspected, it is plugged for a capacity of three shells. I can use it for hunting.

Actually, I was going to use it for hunting anyway, but if it didn't have a plugged magazine I would have to plug it before I took it afield.

I took that damned Pachmayr slip-on pad off of it. My dad had one of those on his shotgun and rotted the stock over a period of years. Moisture gets trapped between the pad and the stock and if you leave the pad on the gun, over time in wet Louisiana, you risk rotting the stock. When I got the pad off of it, I saw that it doesn't have a butt-plate or pad on it. I'll have to have a slim pad installed.

I'm a fan of pads on firearms that will be used. Even my personal .22 has a pad on it. Not that I'm recoil sensitive, because I'd call myself about average in my ability to absorb recoil.

A pad isn't correct on a lot of guns. On my Sharps, for instance, it still sports the steel butt plate. My caplock Renegade has a steel plate on it. Some guns just don't look right with a recoil pad installed. However, I'm particularly careful about the way I handle my Sharps and my Renegade. Both of those have exposed hammers and I don't want to drop them.

Using guns are different. They are apt to be leaned against a tree, or a corner in the kitchen. A recoil pad puts a non-slip surface on the butt of the gun and makes it less apt to slip if leaned on a slippery surface. My working guns get enough abuse from me that a pad seems like simple insurance against my own neglect.

I think a thin English recoil pad should be sufficient for this shotgun and wouldn't look out of place. No, I won't install it myself. I've installed pads on guns and they look like they were installed with an axe and a crowbar. I'll pay a gunsmith to set this one in place.