Author Topic: Smith and Wesson I-Bolt recoil reducers, don't waste your money (Read 2730 times)

demented · « **on:** December 10, 2011, 08:04:24 PM »

These were mentioned for use in Handi-Rifles for recoil help. Don't waste your money, all these off E-Bay are is a piece of 1" steel shaft. I Paid over 22 bucks for a piece of scrap metal. I guess the extra weight would help manage recoil but not twenty two bucks worth!

reclusej · « **Reply #1 on:** December 11, 2011, 04:04:40 AM »

Hey demented, thanks for the heads up !
reclusej

Spanky · « **Reply #2 on:** December 11, 2011, 08:21:55 AM »

Why would you pay 22 bucks for a piece of scrap? Kinda foolish don't you think. $:-\$
Thanks for the heads up though.

Spanky

demented · « **Reply #3 on:** December 11, 2011, 09:18:09 AM »

VERY foolish! these were thought to be mercury type reducers, wrong! There was no description of what they actually were, my fault for assuming. Hope I can prevent anyone else wasting their money.

gendoc · « **Reply #4 on:** December 11, 2011, 09:49:21 AM »

i bought a stock here from someone that included a bonus !!! a recoil reducer

it wasa piece of solid 7/8" roll steel bout 8" long to put in tha stock bolt channel.
i guess this will work cuz it weighs 18oz or so....never needed it anaway.
itsa used now fora leadsled stabilizer, an works gud too !!!!

quickdtoo · « **Reply #5 on:** December 11, 2011, 11:13:18 AM »

Quote from: Spanky on December 11, 2011, 08:21:55 AM

Why would you pay 22 bucks for a piece of scrap? Kinda foolish don't you think. $:-\$

Cuz it was recommended and touted as being a mercury suppressor in a previous thread. $:-\$

Thanks demented.

Tim

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,245447.msg1099417034.html#msg1099417034

Rotten RJ · « **Reply #6 on:** December 11, 2011, 12:06:53 PM »

Well , I for one can report that the S&W "tattooed" recoil reducer I bought 2 weeks ago on flea-bay, was exactly as described.

Not a solid piece of scap steel, but a steel tube with a very dense sloshing liquid contained within. I compared it to the the mercury recoil reducer which my daughter has installed in her Benelli Nova 3 1/2", and they feel identical. I guess it really matters just who one deals with one the flea-bay". And being aware there are lots of unscrupulous sellers marketing counterfit bovine feces.

RJ

quickdtoo · « **Reply #7 on:** December 11, 2011, 12:10:45 PM »

If you want a solid steel round bar to fit in the stock bolt hole, your local metal dealer has it much cheaper, 7/8" 1018 cold rolled sells for about $5 a foot, it's also available online, but then ya hafta pay shipping.

Tim

cowboyup453 · « **Reply #8 on:** December 11, 2011, 01:36:25 PM »

Quote from: gendoc on December 11, 2011, 09:49:21 AM

i bought a stock here from someone that included a bonus !!! a recoil reducer
it wasa piece of solid 7/8" roll steel bout 8" long to put in tha stock bolt channel.
i guess this will work cuz it weighs 18oz or so....never needed it anaway.
itsa used now fora leadsled stabilizer, an works gud too !!!!

That is a factory reducer. At one time they put them in the 12ga turkey and 10ga.

I have one also.

Spanky · « **Reply #9 on:** December 11, 2011, 01:47:54 PM »

Quote from: demented on December 11, 2011, 09:18:09 AM

VERY foolish! these were thought to be mercury type reducers, wrong! There was no description of what they actually were, my fault for assuming. Hope I can prevent anyone else wasting their money.

That sucks. It seems like the seller might be pulling a fast one on folks. Is there any way you could get your money back?
Don't worry about doing something foolish... I do it all the time.

I was just bustin' your chops.

Spanky

quickdtoo · « **Reply #10 on:** December 11, 2011, 02:08:59 PM »

Quote from: gendoc on December 11, 2011, 09:49:21 AM

i bought a stock here from someone that included a bonus !!! a recoil reducer
it wasa piece of solid 7/8" roll steel bout 8" long to put in tha stock bolt channel.

Yup, from the FAQs.... PARDNER SHOTGUN STOCK WEIGHT

OldSchoolRanger · « **Reply #11 on:** December 11, 2011, 04:21:41 PM »

Quote from: demented on December 10, 2011, 08:04:24 PM

These were mentioned for use in Handi-Rifles for recoil help. Don't waste your money, all these off E-Bay are is a piece of 1" steel shaft. I Paid over 22 bucks for a piece of scrap metal. I guess the extra weight would help manage recoil but not twenty two bucks worth!

demented,
Click on the "Customer Support" button, and on the drop down menu, go to the "Resolution Center", and under "I bought an item" click on the "I bought an item and it does not match the seller's description". Ebay will open a case for you. They will try to get you to resolve the case with the seller, sometimes, it can be resolved quickly. I had a problem, and the seller offered to refund me 1/2 the price of the item, but I reused, and eventually won the case and received a full refund. If the information was incorrect, ebay will refund the money to you, and get it back from the seller, that's ebay's guarantee. Don't let the shyster get away with cheating you, good luck.

mdwest · « **Reply #12 on:** December 11, 2011, 05:09:46 PM »

Quote from: Rotten RJ on December 11, 2011, 12:06:53 PM

Well , I for one can report that the S&W "tattooed" recoil reducer I bought 2 weeks ago on flea-bay, was exactly as described. Not a solid piece of scap steel, but a steel tube with a very dense sloshing liquid contained within. I compared it to the the mercury recoil reducer which my daughter has installed in her Benelli Nova 3 1/2", and they feel identical. I guess it really matters just who one deals with one the flea-bay". And being aware there are lots of unscrupulous sellers marketing counterfit bovine feces.
RJ

I can give a +1 to the above..

Not sure who the vendor was that you bought yours from demented.. But mine came new in the box, complete with factory paperwork, weighs 15 oz, and contains a sloshing liquid..

demented · « **Reply #13 on:** December 11, 2011, 09:07:26 PM »

This piece of shaft came in a factory Smith and Wesson box, made to fit, blue colored box was marked I-bolt 15 oz. Recoil reducer, part number 402080000, the shaft itself looks like cold rolled steel, cut on a lathe, etched i-Bolt, Smith and Wesson, 150z. Magnum Recoil reducer. I don't think this is a scam on the sellers part, it IS a S&W factory item........or at least WAS, probably discontinued now.

Bugflipper · « **Reply #14 on:** December 11, 2011, 09:36:36 PM »

A buddy of mine won a rem 06 in a raffle and wanted me to tame it down for his son. I put an Allen recoil pad and a mercury stabilizer off a compound bow in the stock. I just packed the rest of the hole with some spent bean bag rounds. May work on the handy hole for you fellows. The recoil was less than his little 243 youth model rossi. I had to dip it in plastidip because it was a little narrower than the bolt hole.

demented · « **Reply #15 on:** December 11, 2011, 10:04:41 PM »

I had one of those shafts from a turkey model shotgun lying around for years, never could bring myself to toss it. Finally found a use for it, gave it to a buddy this fall for his 45-70. Seems to have helped a bit with recoil, it went from a shoulder breaker to a mere bruiser. Personally, I can handle the recoil better than the weight.

Airsporter · « **Reply #16 on:** December 11, 2011, 11:51:32 PM »

I bought a new .270 Handi years ago. The synthetic buttstock had a bar of steel in it - from the factory.

Swampman · « **Reply #17 on:** December 12, 2011, 12:13:16 AM »

My NEF Turkey Gun came from the factory with a steel weight in the stock.

Zeak · « **Reply #18 on:** December 12, 2011, 04:19:55 AM »

My 450 Marlin Ultra came with the bar in the stock.

Jimbo47 · « **Reply #19 on:** December 12, 2011, 08:11:04 AM »

In my humble opinion and I seem to have plenty, I think those recoil reducers are over rated to begin with, and for a hunting rifle one doesn't really need one, and the only real need for one is if you do a lot of bench shooting with stout loads.

If you reload, you have the luxury to reduce the recoil to suit you by finding a favorite load that won't beat you to death, and even then for range use, you can slip on a recoil pad for those special once in a while range days.

The way I see it is you have to figure out what you are going to be doing more of, and that is shooting, or carrying your rifle, and if carrying, you really don't need any extra weight to lug around.

quickdtoo · « **Reply #20 on:** December 12, 2011, 08:19:31 AM »

I agree with Jimbo, I used to add weight to the stock for range work, and also used the MRR a few times, but ultimately switched to a Leadsled and have never regrettted it a bit. My best friend bought a less expensive version that works well for him, he was tired of being hammered just working up elk loads for his 30-06, so he bought one too, only he opted for the budget Solo which sells for about $80 instead of twice that for the Leadsled. One of the best benefits of using a rest is it puts the shooter in an upright position instead of leaning down and into the stock and scope, allows your upper body to move back with recoil, neither of us add any weight to the sled, although I do sometimes add a length of stretchy rope to the legs tied to the table to keep it from work back and falling off the back side of the bench cuz it moves a lot with heavy loads.

Tim

http://www.battenfeldtechnologies.com/caldwell/catalog.asp?product=lead-sled-solo

http://www.chuckhawks.com/caldwell_lead_sled_solo.htm

demented · « **Reply #21 on:** December 12, 2011, 08:50:05 AM »

I love my Sled, one of the best dollar for dollar investments I've ever made. Sorta helps make up for some of the bonehead purchases I've made, this last one being one of those!

Spanky · « **Reply #22 on:** December 12, 2011, 11:15:00 AM »

I always use a Leadsled for sighting in and testing new loads. It takes alot of "operator error" out of the picture and lets you see what the gun is capable of. They're definitely worth the money.

Spanky

gendoc · « **Reply #23 on:** December 12, 2011, 12:40:52 PM »

we have tha lead sled fcx and tha dft in tha test cell along with other type rests and
stabilizers..... tha fcx is excellent with tha control arm adjustment.
recoil is one thing, but consistant stability is more important to me

Selkirk · « **Reply #24 on:** December 13, 2011, 05:56:16 PM »

Quote from: Rotten RJ on December 11, 2011, 12:06:53 PM

Well , I for one can report that the S&W "tattooed" recoil reducer I bought 2 weeks ago on flea-bay, was exactly as described. Not a solid piece of scap steel, but a steel tube with a very dense sloshing liquid contained within. I compared it to the the mercury recoil reducer which my daughter has installed in her Benelli Nova 3 1/2", and they feel identical. I guess it really matters just who one deals with one the flea-bay". And being aware there are lots of unscrupulous sellers marketing counterfit bovine feces.
RJ

I purchase one before this thread was posted. Mine came in just as Rotten RJ's did. Not sure how much reduction in recoil it will give me, but the weight should help balance my gun.
For me the item was exactly as described. FYI-the seller took my offer of $13.15 plus ship.

One other thing, it seems this has some sort of piston/sliding chamber system inside with liquid or spring system to damper the travel. Just maybe yours is stuck. If it was me, I would install and shoot or bang it on the ground to check it.

demented · « **Reply #25 on:** December 13, 2011, 07:04:47 PM »

I wish that was the case but this one is for certain a piece of solid shaft, about five inches long, nothing more.

mdwest · « **Reply #26 on:** December 14, 2011, 02:40:39 AM »

it sounds like you either got scammed or that something is wrong with yours demented...

i cant 100% confirm what it inside the ibolt recoil reducer that I have.. (it doesnt say "mercury" anywhere on the package).. but thats three of us that have purchased them within the last month that all recieved functioning ones with some sort of sloshing/moving material inside of them.. at the end of the day, it fits in the buttstock and weighs 15oz as advertised, regardless of what material is inside of them...

truely sorry yours didnt work out.. (and truely glad mine did.. it was a real benefit on the range with one of the kickers I have in the safe..)

Charlesp54 · « **Reply #27 on:** December 14, 2011, 05:59:39 AM »

Hi all, I would like to ask the guys that received the recoil reducers. Have you installed it and does it work. I have a 45/70 shoulder killer in the BC mobel and I have to reduce the recoil before it reduces me.

If they work I might be willing to chance getting a piece of bar stock for that price. $:-\$

mdwest · « **Reply #28 on:** December 14, 2011, 06:26:21 AM »

I installed mine in a handi .45-70.. seems to be working fine for me.. If nothing else it added an extra pound to the gun.. and litterally fit perfectly into the hole thats already drilled into the stock (required no modification at all)..

Charlesp54 · « **Reply #29 on:** December 14, 2011, 06:48:58 AM »

Thanks Mdwest,
I saw you posted a update in another thread about it and from reading it I was under the impression that you had not shot the gun before you installed the reducer. Did you shoot it before the install? I am asking because I want to know if it really helped alot or just a little.