Adding sling studs to synthetic stock

[Alsatian]

I would like to make my shotgun -- Remington 870 black synthetic stock -- ready for sling carry. This would involve adding a rear stock sling stud to the black sythetic stock. Can anyone provide any advice on how this is done and how well this works as an after market installation?

Additionally, I know there are sling studs that can be installed into the tube magazine cap, but I don't know where I can find those either. Any advice?

[sjsfire]

I actually did this a few years ago having to replace my wood with synthetic. Normally where the location of the stock stud would go the plastic is a little thicker. Get your stud set and measure up from the butt of the stock where you want the stud. Be carefull to choose a drill bit just undersized of the stud threads to give it some bite when you screw it in. If you want after drilling that hole you can use a larger bit to somewhat counter sink it just a little for apperance but it's not nessesary. You have to be very carefull doing this cause my bit I used to countersink my stud on the stock grabbed and I almost drilled too far. If your handy at all this shouldn't be a large task, it's no different than drilling anything else for a screw. Just go slow, the plastic will grab the bit and before you know it you've gone too deep. Sorry if I made you nervous but it can be done if you have a gunsmith near if your unsure doing it yourself. As far as the cap, you can pickup a replacement for the 870 withthe studalready installed. Good luck

[Alsatian]

sjsfire:

Thanks for the detailed instruction. I appreciate your attention to the nuances and forewarning me of the pitfalls, such as the drill bit catching and pulling the bit in faster than I'm expecting.

I have acquired just now an appropriate stud and swivel set of the "Uncle Mike's" brand. I'll probably make this modification fairly soon, although possibly not right now as we are having about 6 out-of-town family members coming in to spend the weekend tomorrow afternoon (celebrate my son's 18th birthday, not Super Bowl related).

Out of curiousity, do you recommend any particular sling? I use 1" leather military style slings for my hunting rifles. Should I just use one of them or should I get another sling dedicated for shotgun use? It might be a bad idea to expose the leather slings to water -- that might screw them up. Any comments on this subject?

[sjsfire]

I prefer a wider sling up around my shoulder and it tapers down to about 1 inch wide towards the butt stock. I had a real nice one come with my Remington 1187 that had a rubber/neopreme (sp) type stuff on the under side that helped keep it from slipping off my shoulder. There is plenty out there just check them out real good.

[Retaks]

I had to do this and had some epoxy i put in the hole to help the stud hold since the stock wasnt very thick where i drilled. Other then that it was the same as drilling a wood stock.

[Alsatian]

ORIGINAL: Retaks

I had to do this and had some epoxy i put in the hole to help the stud hold since the stock wasnt very thick where i drilled. Other then that it was the same as drilling a wood stock.

What kind of epoxy, or does it matter?

What do you do: (1) drill hole, (2) fill hole with epoxy, (3) screw stud into hole, and (4) wipe excess expoxy off synthetic stock?

[Retaks]

I drilled a hole and because there wasnt much synthetic in there i filled it in with epoxy then whiped any that got on the stock off and let it set up. I put tape over the hole to keep the epoxy from oozing out onto the stock during the set up time. I removed the tape and redrilled the hole in the same spot. I then put a little epoxy in teh ole and put in the stud and wiped away any excess from the stock. My uncle had some kind of synthetic resin i used but JB Weld would work just the same. If the stock is 3/8in thick where you drill i would say you dont need the epoxy but i would use it or a strong glue to hold the stud.