Ted;
I ordered my 707 through Herter's just before the GCA put them out of business. If I recall correctly I paid $139.00 for it. I Got it with 28" barrels & it weighed in at 6 lbs. I got it bored M/F & opened the right barrel to an I/C, a combination I still like. I bought "One" box of 3" #4 shot just to try them out. I was 30 then & could handle them but they were unnecessarily Stout in recoil. Probably about 95% of the shooting I did with it I used a 2-1 oz load of either #7 or #6 depending on what I was after. I reloaded those 3" hulls with a 1 1/8oz load of #5 at a modest velocity. I had one place I occasionally went squirrel hunting which did not allow rifles, but had a good population of Fox Squirrels. That proved to be a great load for them.
I don't recall now if the original pad was red or black. I just know it had a mushy feel. Replaced it with a black neoprene pad which was much firmer & it made a world of difference. The only time I ever encountered that problem, perhaps it was just a fluke & not typical of these guns, can't say.
I was not particularly fond of the Beavertail, but shot it well anyway, just like the aesthetics of a splinter better & can shoot them just as well. I was not into competitive shooting & my hunting did not require shooting fast enough for barrel heat to be a problem.
