I have the velcro type and it works well however it is so very stiff and squeaky it tends to bug me. I also had a leather lace up pad to raise the cone on a 20 gauge VH with a 3" DAH that I need to use. It too is very stiff and rough to wrap tight. Any suggestions to really soften them?
Thanks

Mink oil, neatsfoot oil, Lexol conditioner or any other good leather treatment, and work it in and flex it and work it and eventually it will get softer.





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I violently agree with what every poster said. The funky thin leather lace-up pads went the way of TR's grizzly bear hunting boots he used to wear with jodphurs and the L.L. Bean lace-up 28-inch Maine Hunting Shoe. Both bizarrely out of vogue, and besides you can't find laces that length for them any more anyway. Galco / Velcro is the way to go and I use them on all my short-stocked guns for length. Make sure the pad fits snugly on the butt; the way I test mine is to put the pad on the stock tightly with the muzzle down, then grab the pad and lift the gun off the ground a few inches and shake it. If the pad slides or otherwise shifts, its either too large for the butt (they are sized) or the Velcro is not secured tightly enough. Great looking gun, by the way!