Remington Model 11 recoil pad angle?

[Mossyrock]

I am in the middle of rebuilding an 85 year old Remington model 11 into a retro combat shotgun (think "Charles Askins"). Don't panic collectors...it was thrashed when I got it. So far, everything is working out well, but the wood work is not salvageable. A replacement butt stock and fore end are on the way from Brownell's, but I have a question regarding the original stock. At some point in its very long life, someone installed a recoil pad, but it isn't installed 90 degrees to the comb...it is at a slight angle. Was this done to help control recoil? I have installed about a dozen recoil pads on rifles, but this will be my first shotgun pad install. Any deep, dark secrets I should know about? Thanks!!

 

[Dave McCracken]

Pitch is what you're talking about. It helps determine how high or low the pattern will be and also comfort.

Neutral pitch works for me. Some folks do better with a bit of negative pitch, less than 90 degrees IIRC. Trap shooters often like a few degrees of positive pitch, it raises the POI a bit.

It's easy to experiment and see. Use shims between the pad and butt to see what feels best and what gives the POI/POA you desire.

HTH....