How ill advised would it be to add sling points to my savages original stock? It’s already in fair condition, with lots of finish wear, and the receiver had been tapped to mount a scope sometime in the 70+ years before I bought it.
Has it already been lowered in value enough that drilling a couple holes into the stock and forend aren’t dumb ideas?

Do it.

I sell a set of studs with a machine threaded forearm stud to replace the original screw. Saves drilling the forearm which is not very thick to start with.

Use the Lightfoot front swivel and drill the butt. Then keep the sling off until you need it- a rifle belongs in a hunter's hands not on his shoulder. If a gun is so heavy/bothersome that it isn't comfy to carry in one's mitts, one should maybe re-think one's approach. Unless one sits all day then it doesn't matter much either way.

Yeah I'm in curmudgeonly mood today. It's cold wet and gray outside and I can't shoot.😖

Dang Gary, you should have met us for lunch at the Columbia Ale House. I had to pick Chase up at BWI. Would have knocked the curmudge right out of ya.

Where can I buy the forearm stud, I’d love to save me time drilling.

I like slings on rifles because it’s fun to carry them that way. I recently got into leather work too and wanted to make one that fit my new favorite rifle. Not offended by the curmudgeonly tone, but that’s why I want one

I sent you a private message. Look for a flashing envelope at top right of screen. I can save you the ebay fees and sales tax.

I thought so (he says shaking his head intuatively).... Hey Gary, do you think G&H ever had an employee working there named Bubba....or Smendrake?

Snork!

If you are getting into leather work, make one of the lace up boots that slide on the butt stock, and use Mikes front screw and you have an unmolested gun.

Out west we use a sling for carrying our rifles. It's made by Honda.

I always thought that was a scabbard. But what do I know....

Working on the pattern right now. I made a forend wrap and it turned out pretty nice, albeit simples because it’s basicaly a trapezoid with lace holes punched in.
Excited for my forend screw, maybe I’ll post the entire project when finished.

I picked up a sling that attaches without studs for just this reason. I’ve had it on several 99’s when I go hunting.

A lot of the examples I’ve seen don’t cover the entire butt stock, and I’d like to have the whole buttplate protected. Guess it’s on me to figure out 🤔

I've got a variant of that, called a Massey 135. But the kanibblin Pin on mine broke, so it won't work now.

We got em here too. A little rough on the shoulder though.

Out here in the sagebrush we see the elk or antelope a long way off and usually have a long walk to get to them. Walking along with the rifle at the ready is much less comfortable than having it slung across your shoulder. In defense of you guys who hunt in the thick woods I didn't have a sling or swivels on the EG I hunted with in Florida.

Don’t quite hunt yet, but if I started Id probably be out in the sparse brush of Texas where a sling could be pretty handy during a trek. I can understand the drawbacks in some places but yeah I don’t live in them.

If I had had the DL 284 slung over my shoulder when I tripped over a large flat rock hidden under the snow I would have landed on my hands instead of the rifle. My hands would have healed, the rifle won't. Here is a pic of it and the elk I killed with it a few weeks later. I think it was in 2016. Gonna dust it off, try Firball's loads and go kill something with it this Fall. Hopefully several somethings.

Email sent.

+1
Non-original holes will de-value the stock.