Two point sling mounts on bolt action

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high country

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I have a handy lightweight Howa Mini 7.62x39 in a boyds laminate stock that I would like to add a sling to. I also want to get rid of the sling studs to make using bags on the bench easier. My thought is to remove the front sling stud, drill out that spot, and epoxy a QD cup in place flush with the wood.

I am wondering about putting a second QD cup on the outside (right) side of the stock so the rifle would lie scope up flat against my chest if worn on the front walking looking for pigs or coyote, or flip over and lie scope down against my back if worn on the back when hiking a distance or on an atv. I would use a Magpul or Vickers sling for easy length adjustment.

Has anyone set up a bolt action this? Any experiences, suggestions, photos would be appreciated.
 
It seems to me that having two QD cups on the forend (one on the bottom and one on the side) would be a bit of overkill. Have you considered a barrel-band type QD stud, that could be loosened and turned in either direction?

Also, I wouldn't trust one of those countersunk cups that was merely epoxied in place. The better ones either thread directly into the stock, or have provision for a screw.
 
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Sorry if I was unclear there. My thought was one cup in the bottom of the forend and one on the right side of the butt. The way the forend is shaped, there really isn't room on the side for a cup unfortunately. I would rather not use anything that puts pressure on the barrel, so I am limited to the bottom there. It would be similar to a two point setup on an AR, but with the front point on the bottom rather than side of the forend.

Good call on the epoxy. I would use the cups with threads, drill and tap the holes first, then use a little epoxy when threading them in for extra measure of strength.

Hope that makes a little more sense. Anyone else set up a bolt action this way for hands off carry in front and easy transition to across the back carry?
 
I have a similar setup on my single shot deer rifle. It would work the same on a bolt action. The front mount is an AK sling swivel screwed to the side of the forend. A QD mount would work too. The rear mount is a hole drilled through the stock with a loop of paracord in it. In my case I don't need to be able to take the sling off so the front is looped through the sling swivel and the rear is a Magpul detachable clip. This setup makes the rifle lie flat against my chest or back when slung. If you mount the sling to the bottom of the forend and the side of the stock I don't think it's going to lay flat, it'll want to tip the top outwards, especially with the weight of a scope on top. I'd do whatever you need to do to mount is to the side. Seems like having it mounted to the side with an AK sling mount or similar would make it such that the sling wouldn't be in the way of sand bags.
 
If you are left handed, put the rear cup in the right side of the rifle

If you are right handed, put it on the left side, so the rifle rests naturally as you described, the sling will be on the near side of the stock in relation to your chest
 
The concern about it hanging weird with the sling on the bottom of the forend was my concern too. I really don't have the option of mounting something on the side without messing up the looks an otherwise pretty nice stock. I am thinking I will order up one of those nylon strap mounts and mock it up with the sling stud that is there and try mounting to both sides of the buttstock to see if I cannot get it to hang the way I want using the original forend sling swivel location.

Thanks for the tips, I'll post a couple pictures once I figure something out. It would be nice to have hands off across the chest carry to reload magazines, etc. when it is wet and muddy, plus the ability to rotate the rifle around out of the way for longer carries/crossing fences or whatever. If I can do that without messing up the aesthetics of the rifle and also getting rid of the studs that like to hang up on rests or bags, that would be that much better
 
I really don't have the option of mounting something on the side without messing up the looks an otherwise pretty nice stock.
That does present a problem. I don't have that issue since all my guns are tools that I want to operate to the best of their ability. A sling swivel on the side helps do that. Whether or not that swivel detracts from the looks is purely a matter of personal preference of course. I think mine looks fine, but then, most of my long guns are spray painted with Rustoleum so maybe I'm not the one to ask. ;)
 
Sounds like you might want to look at the Safari Sling before getting into woodwork. May be what you're after.
 
GrovTec. I’d recommend the traditional positions for standard sling studs rather than side mounting, especially if you already have existing holes.
 

Why? Because they manufacture flush cups for QD swivels specifically engineered for wood stocks. Their cups are externally threaded and can be epoxied. That means a blind drilling on the buttstock or forearm is possible and won’t pull loose unless the wood itself fails. They won’t catch on the bags and there won’t be an ugly existing hole to fill or a goofy side mounted cup on a traditional wood stock.

Why? Because they’re an elegant and efficient solution needing no modification.
 
Skylerbone nicely summarized why I am leaning towards QD cups to replace the studs.

The question remaining is whether there will be a carry advantage to relocating the rear sling mounting point. My plan is to use a webbing butt cuff temporarily to try out various points to see if I can find a sweet spot for me that justifies changing the rear mounting point from the existing location on the bottom.
 
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