Given that is was only about 15 degrees F that morning, and never really warmed up that much, I was pretty bundled up for hunting. So, no, recoil was not too much of an issue. During the summer months at the range, I will wear a padded trap shooting vest if I use that much powder, though. The patch was cut from the standard pillow ticking fabric I got from JoAnn Fabrics (haven't ever mic'd it). And yes, I did confuse the fabric cutting lady when I explained why I was not buying enough to make a pillow. No OP wad or anything else. Seems to be a pretty good load in my GPR. On a calm day I can get 2" groups at 100 yds with reasonable consistency. I will say that the round balls do tend to ride the wind a fair amount when it is not calm.