Father's Day Present

Last Father's Day, it was brought to my attention that my husband's favorite gun (a bolt-action rifle he had inherited from his grandpa) didn't have a sling. It had the holes bored for the stock end, and the hardware was installed on the barrel end, so all I had to do is get the hardware for the stock end, and either make or buy a sling. While I could buy a sling, It would not be custom-made for him, and I wanted him to be as proud of the sling as he is of the gun.

I bought the hardware, then decided that I wanted to make the sling. I wanted the sling to last as long as the gun, not be harmed by the weather it's exposed to, yet comfortable to wear. I decided that paracord would fit the bill nicely. Since the barrel end would carry the weight of the gun, I decided to put the knot on the stock end. The sling is made of four strands of paracord doubled over. The shoulder pad is made of box knots (aka cross knots) with two paracord strands together. Because of the construction of the knot, the back side of the knot is parallel to the gun, so it is more likely to stay on the shoulder.


The middle of the sling is constructed like a four-strand braid, with two strands of the cord put together as though they were one strand. This makes the sling slim to fit under the arm more easily, and more comfortable to carry for a long time.

The final section was constructed with the cords being pulled through the hardware, then constructed into cobra knots, and then melted into the knot at the end. Since the sling at this end is used mostly for stability, not to carry the weight of the gun, it is not as important that the sling be as strong on this end as it is on the barrel end. However, as you will note, there are three cobra knots between the end of the cords and the stock. The hardware I bought is quick-release, so if my husband wants to switch this sling to another gun, it is easily removed. This was a challenge to design, and a lot of fun to make. My husband says he loves the sling, and he was surprised at how comfortable it is.