Added some Kick-Eez pads to my 1895’s

[Riomouse911]

I bought my 1895G back when they first came out; with the JM marque, cross bolt safety and factory ported. Like everyone else, I thought the “ventilated recoil pad” was nothing more than a big plastic buttplate. It was, and is, hard as a rock.

About four years ago I found a JM-era 1895CB with the 26” octagon barrel at a pawn shop up in Victorville, Ca. This gun came to the shop almost brand new, and the three and a half boxes of .45/70 ammo in the shop case with it lead me to believe that the gun had fired no more than the 10 rounds missing from that box.

It had a hard plastic buttplate, which was about as pleasant as the brick on the 1895G.

I recently took them both to my FFL and asked to have a soft pad added to the 1895G and CB, with the CB stock shortened a touch to retain the same LOP it had with the plate. They found that Kick-Eez pads would work, so both were ground to fit and installed. Now if only the creek would recede so I could get across it and hit the outdoor range I belong to .



Has anyone else swapped (or added) pads on a Marlin like I did?

Stay safe.

 

[adcoch1]

Those are both beautiful rifles @Riomouse911 !

 

[gotboostvr]

Has anyone else swapped (or added) pads on a Marlin like I did?

No, but I would in a heartbeat.

 

[.45Coltguy]

Those new pads must make a difference. Nice work.
West End GC?

 

[rayatphonix]

I’ve got Marlin CB’s in 38-55 and 45-70. Both had recoil pads added in short order. Glad I did it.

 

[someguy2800]

do you know what part number they used?

 

[JmacD]

Did a nice job. I think that’s exactly what I will do… when I get a lever gun… I keep getting distracted by bolt guns and handguns…

 

[ECVMatt]

Those look really nice! They did a fantastic job fitting those. I have a 1895G, 1894P and a 1894 CP with factory recoil pads. They are starting to get hard. I am not too worried about the .357, but the .45/70 and the .44 Mag definitely let you know that you have pulled the trigger!

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

They look good. I ordered a recoil pad for my Mosin Nagant. The steel but plate was murder on me.
https://www.amazon.com/AIM-SPORTS-Nagant-Extended-Buttpad/dp/B003VPEBH4#customerReviews

 

[ericuda]

Looks like they are not fitted well towards top. Could be illusion. Here's factory pad on my remlin.

 

[jmr40]

Marlin discontinued the original 1895's at some point in the early 1900's. Then re-introduced them in 1973. I picked up one of these used in 1976. Only made in this configuration for 1, maybe 2 years. Other than the one I had I've only seen one other.

The guy I bought it from included some 500 gr handloads. I have no idea what the specs were on his load, but with the hard, curved butt plate they brought tears to my eyes. And I was 18 and tough then.



With original black powder spec loads it was pleasant to shoot. That is one I probably should have kept. I bet one of those would bring a premium today. I paid $175 for it. But I was right out of high school and couldn't afford to feed it.

I have owned 2 others, a standard 22" pistol gripped rifle and one of the Guide Guns after I got a little better off financially. For what I used them for the milder loads were fine. And the newer style rubber pad was OK for that.

 

[Riomouse911]

Those new pads must make a difference. Nice work.
West End GC?

Yeah, I am a limited member so I can use the the rifle range Friday-Saturday . But, snow and the currently fast-flowing Lytle Creek crossing has kept me from using it.

Stay safe.

 

[Riomouse911]

Looks like they are not fitted well towards top. Could be illusion. Here's factory pad on my remlin.


View attachment 1146740

Looking closer, one has a bit of a flare. If I decide to bring it down a bit with my circular sander it shouldn’t be too hard.

Stay safe.

 

[Charlie98]

I had one of those on my 1895 LTD V... and, quite honestly, it didn't help just a whole lot. Certainly it was better than a steel buttplate, I'm not arguing that, but with 'lever-action' loads and a 405grn bullet, shooting off a rest, and even with a PAST recoil pad on my shoulder... it was brutal.

Having said that... nice rifles! I sort of miss my 1895 now and then... 'cause it was a heck of a rifle!

 

[redneck2]

I had one in .45-70. Before I even picked it up from the LGS I had a Decelerator pad installed. Even with heavy (lever action safe) loads it was very tolerable.

I figured out that my requirements for shooting 300-400 grain bullets was rather limited and it went away. Even handloads were approaching $1 each

 

[halfmoonclip]

I snapped a Ruger #3, in .45-70, to my shoulder in a local shop, bought it on the spot. Then spent 3 years trying to find a load that didn't kick my brains out, including going to a padded buttplate.
This was in the days before Trailboss.
So good move, Riomouse; really handsome, old time lever guns, and the pads fit in nicely.
Moon

 

[Gordon]

Marlin discontinued the original 1895's at some point in the early 1900's. Then re-introduced them in 1973. I picked up one of these used in 1976. Only made in this configuration for 1, maybe 2 years. Other than the one I had I've only seen one other.

The guy I bought it from included some 500 gr handloads. I have no idea what the specs were on his load, but with the hard, curved butt plate they brought tears to my eyes. And I was 18 and tough then.

View attachment 1146738

With original black powder spec loads it was pleasant to shoot. That is one I probably should have kept. I bet one of those would bring a premium today. I paid $175 for it. But I was right out of high school and couldn't afford to feed it.

I have owned 2 others, a standard 22" pistol gripped rifle and one of the Guide Guns after I got a little better off financially. For what I used them for the milder loads were fine. And the newer style rubber pad was OK for that.

I picked up the same gun too in 1975 for the huge Monterey County Wild Boar that lived around the Ranch I was foreman on just South of Carmel in the hills. Yes it kicks like a mule but hits like the hammer of Thor . Like Rio Mouse 20 years ago when Kickeze first came out one went on it on that thunder stick first. I gave my entire Marlin collection to my son in 2021, who became the curator of the stuff I loved and didn't want to sell off. Those Maerlinms if treated properly don't wear out, they wear in !

 

[Gordon]

Looking closer, one has a bit of a flare. If I decide to bring it down a bit with my circular sander it shouldn’t be too hard.

Stay safe.

I have all my pads installed with a slight "hollow ground" flare out to get more surface area. Takes skill but it is the smart and elegant way to install a recoil pad on a rifle .

 

[Bartojc]

I have a rifle I need to add a recoil pad too. Yours look great. I’ve always been afraid to do any cut down of the stock myself. You are lucky to have someone you can trust.

Jeff

 

[earlthegoat2]

I slightly shortened and added a Decelerator to my 444. It looks pretty much identical to how yours looks albeit with a pistol grip stock. This one came with that hilarious strip of thin rubber Marlin called a butt “pad”.

I couldn’t bring myself to do it to my 1895CB even though that plastic butt pad did not do anyone any favors in the recoil mitigation department. I just stuck to lighter loadings like Trapdoor loads.

The 444 doesn’t exactly have light loads though. Not from the factory at least. Plus it was a shooting and hunting rifle and the CB is more of a plinking rifle for me.

 

[Slamfire]

Those little lever actions will kick!

I am the original owner of this Marlin 1894



And the original buttplate was hard plastic. And it actually hurt to shoot 240 grain bullets in the thing. So I installed a solid rubber buttpad. I had a belt grinder and a fixture. And it worked great, the rifle still has a sharp recoil, but the pad distributes the load over time, and so I don't hurt as much. Still the thing has a surprising recoil.

I can not understand why anyone would put a hard rubber buttplate on a 45/70 lever action. Pain! Pain! Pain!

 

[I6turbo]

Has anyone else swapped (or added) pads on a Marlin like I did?

Those pads work pretty well, IME. I haven't added them to a Marlin, but I fitted them to the bottom four shotguns in the photo below. Numbers 3 and 5 (counting from the top) have PN 302-5-M-B (.5" thickness) and numbers 4 and 6 have PNs 302-6-M-B (.75" thickness). I also shortened the stocks on numbers 5 and 6 to counter the increased LOP that the thicker pads created (and these Model 37s have a pretty long stock to start with). List of available models in this pad line: https://kickeezproducts.com/collect...all-purpose-recoil-pad?variant=42461587472628

 

[Riomouse911]

Those pads work pretty well, IME. I haven't added them to a Marlin, but I fitted them to the bottom four shotguns in the photo below. Numbers 3 and 5 (counting from the top) have PN 302-5-M-B (.5" thickness) and numbers 4 and 6 have PNs 302-6-M-B (.75" thickness). I also shortened the stocks on numbers 5 and 6 to counter the increased LOP that the thicker pads created (and these Model 37s have a pretty long stock to start with). List of available models in this pad line: https://kickeezproducts.com/collect...all-purpose-recoil-pad?variant=42461587472628

View attachment 1147008

Ya, LOP is an issue for me. I’m not the tallest guy and my arms aren’t long, so adding 3/4” to the 1895CB for the new pad would put it just outside the comfy zone for me. The guys cut the stock and blended it pretty nicely, the LOP is identical to the 1895G (which fits me well).

I have shot some pretty stout loads through the 1895G, I bought a stash of Rem 405gr SP that really pack a whallop on both ends when driven at rifle velocities.

Stay safe.

 

[Speedo66]

Great idea. I sold my original Trapdoor converted to a carbine because it kicked like the proverbial mule.

At some point I realized I was supposed to be enjoying it.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Speedo66, even the Army figured that loading down the carbine Trapdoors made sense; they were supposed to use .45-50 instead of .45-70. Yeah, those puppies kick.
Oddly, never thought my '94 Marlin in .44 Mag was too bad; my 105 lb daughter took a nice deer with it, and I had only loaded it down a little.
I've a minty '97 12 gauge that was always too long for me, but hated to cut what was pretty nice original wood. Found a reproduction set, saved the original, a buddy and I cut it on his bandsaw. No guilt in cutting the replacement, except for the C-note I had in the set. Same LOP as a '92 lever now; wonder how they decide how long to make them?
Moon