Being the hopeless DIY kind of guy that I am, for an off-season project I am looking into making a paracord sling for my shotgun. Has anyone done this before and how did it turn out? Is it reasonably comfortable? What braid pattern did you use?
FullChoke
Full choke I have a few. I however did not make them. But do really like them. I am not trying to deter you from making your own but there is a guy on ebay by the name gunslinger he makes beautiful slings. He is actually a member of this sight now. He uses all american made parts and you probably could not make one for the price he charges. He has about 20 colors to choose from. worth a look.
Mike
treadoutdoor.com makes the slings for Benelli (Waterfowl edition) and they are very nice.
However, if you want to make your own, use 1" wide military grade webbing and weave a cobra knot over the webbing for the area that rests on your shoulder. The rest will be webbing, a couple of uncle mikes swivels and some buckles to adjust the length.
I was going to make my own, but the tread outdoor slings are only about $10 more than the cost of materials, and my time is worth something.
That's my 2 cents.
Those Treadoutdoor slings are cool.
I can always go out and buy something that some other guy made, or I can make it myself and it is all mine.
Here are a few photos of the sling that I made for my shotgun. I used paracord in Multi-Cam camouflage pattern and braided it using a ladder rack braid that I attached to my existing Uncle Mike sling swivels which I had mounted to a 2x4 for support. Altogether it only took about 2 hours of braiding.
(http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/uu292/Fullchoke/IMG_1347-1.jpg)
(http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/uu292/Fullchoke/ShotgunSling2-1.jpg)
It wound up taking about 80 feet of cord. The strap is thick, robust and looks a lot like a limb. I will either camo dip or hand paint the gun in a bark pattern so the sling will blend right in with that.
FullChoke
I like it, looks great!
FC, nice work. Here's a link to another site discussion of this topic. Slightly different braid than FC's. My preference is FC's.
http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=668721&highlight=paracord
Question for you guys, I have a paracord sling on my SuperNova.
I switched to the paracord from a claw sling basically because it looks bad a$$. But it doesn't have half the grip on your shoulder that the claw does and I have been using it for so long I got used to having both my hands free.
Any home remedies to add some rubber to the back somehow?
Good question.
I noticed that the sling was a little slick, but I am hoping that it would wear off some of the surface and grip my shirt or jacket better.
As an alternative, I guess that you (I) could attach a strip of neoprene onto the underside of the sling, or stitch strips of rubber into the sling.
We will see what works.
FC
I've noticed cans of spray-on rubberized truck bed liners in the rattle-can paint department at HD. That might work if it will stick to the cords. (If you didn't want it to stick, you'd never be able to remove it. )
Nice looking sling FC.
I've made two paracord slings for my turkey guns and I love the look but after about two seasons of fighting to keep it on my shoulder I removed them and went with a Claw. They don't grip at all.
I have been pondering the gripping issue and believe that I have found an easy solution. I am going to sew a wide button on the right shoulder of my camo shirts. That should catch the sling and keep it from sliding off my shoulder but won't restrict getting it off in a hurry, if need be. The military has done this for years.
Will report back with results. ;D
FC
Thanks for the info woodchip. the look great but I will stick with my vero.
Just as a follow-up to the gripping issue. I wound up putting small dabs of clear silicone adhesive (AquaSeal) on the high spots of the sling in the area where it makes contact with your shoulder. Fast and easy. The silicone tread sling with the shotgun attached grips my shoulder really well now.
FC
Good diy solution!
Thanks FullChoke, thats what I was thinking to do, I'll go out and buy some tonight