Question for you leather guys

[zac0419]

I bought this "kick killer lace up pad" from Cabelas. I wasn't expecting too much but the darn thing works pretty good. My only complaint is the color of the area where the pad is at is a bit too light. I would rather it was a darker oxblood color or something. Something with a little more red in it.

I'm looking for a couple of tips to stain the leather.
What should I use to apply it?
Any (easy to find) stain you recommend?
Anything I should know prior to starting this?

Here's what I'm starting with. I couldn't find out any info on how the leather was originally treated.

[robl]

Any Tandy Leather store or most shoe repair places will have a small bottle of Lincoln or Fiebing's leather dye, with an wool dauber. (in a pinch a paper towel will do but a scrap of sheep skin works.) take it off the gun if you can just find brown, dip the leather in water with a dash of white vinegar, then apply the brown. The darker colors will soak in leaving mostly the tans and reds on the surface. brown and red mixed 50/50 is another simple oxblood formula. let it dry dor a few hours buff with a show brush then finish with tan coat , armor all or even paste wax.
Levergunleather.com makes a hand stitched leather version of that. I have one of his cartridge cuffs on my Jim Taylor 92 it is the best one I have seen and I make my my own. (he uses my pancake holsters)

[zac0419]

Thanks Rob. Exactly what I was looking for. I had looked at levergunleather before buying this one and I didn't see he had one with a pad. I was looking for a pad more than something to dress it up. This rifle is a 375 win, off hand not too bad but it barks a bit sitting or shooting off a bench.

Thanks again for the info.