This instructable is going to show how to make a gun sling out of 550 paracord. This is my first instructable please leave some positive feedback on how clear the instructions were and what I could improve on. Also please post pictures of your slings and any variations as I would like to see your ideas. Thank you and enjoy.

Step 1: Supplies

The supplies you will need are: -550 Paracord (I chose camo and orange) -Knife -Pliers -Lighter -Gun sling swivel -Shotgun/rifle shell (optional) -Patience as this will take a while Sorry about the controller and the cookie was making this between games.

Step 2: Starting the Sling

I do apologize for not knowing the exact amount as when I made mine I under calculated so I had to keep adding more. I believe about 25' for each outside and about 40' should be about enough but if not u can just add more my sling is roughly 3 1/2' long. I used three different colors to show the weave pattern but you can use 1-3 on this sling. For mine I used 2 to make it more uniform. First pick out what colors you want and where you want them the center strands will b the center color for both the center of the sling and the outsides as u will see. You now have to put all three cord sections into slip knots. If you don't know how I have pictures to help you. Your inside cord section has to be pulled even while the outside sections should have the inside of the two strands just a little longer that the length you want your sling the outer of the two strands will be a lot longer which is good.

Step 3: Starting the Weave

Now that you have your three strands on your swivel you can now begin the weave. This weave is almost the same as the cobra weave just with more cords. I'm not good at explaining so I hope the pictures help and just make sure it's tight.

Step 4: Continuing the Weave

Now that you finished the first part this part is important as it is what holds it together. Make sure your center strands are crossed and woven into the other side this is what holds it together so it is one big weave not two separate weaves. Follow the pictures for directions.

Step 5: The Weave

This is what the weave should look like front and back. Notice that the center always crosses and is woven into the other side. I like to keep my weave symmetrical so I always put the left cross over on the top.(2nd set of pictures)

Step 6: Thinning the Sling

After you get the shoulder part of the sling to the length you want it you can make it into a single cobra weave. To do this only finish one side half way so that your center color is on the outside. Cut the other two remaining weaving strands about an inch from where you left off. Begin the cobra stitch and it will start to shrink in size and will look like it flows into a smaller weave instead of just changing size in a big way. Weave over the two strands you cut to help keep the top of the sling tight.

Step 7: Finishing the Sling

To finish the sling you can do it two ways just keep weaving the same way till you get to the bottom and tie it off or do it the way I did. I decided I wanted the same weave at the bottom to add support to the bottom so the sling wouldn't slide around in swivel and because since its for my 12 gauge I wanted to put shell holders on the bottom. If you want to do it this way you have to do the same thing as you did to start the weave in steps 1&2. Measure how long u want it by either looks or shell carrying capacity as I did 6 shells and and make your inside strands on the outside cords just under the length you want it to be. Weave the cord until you have about an inch of cord left. Measure the main part of your sling and the bottom part of the sling. Cut off the length of cord from the top so that you can burn the strands from the bottom to them so that it will be the desired length. Continue weave over the fused part of the two cords to desired bottom length. Cut off extra cord about and inch from where you stopped with the bottom weave. Continue to weave your single cobra weave over the inch of extra cord from the bottom of the sling until you are at the end of the bottom weave. Pull the extra cord through a weave in the bottom weave of the sling to add support. Cut remaining extra cord and burn flush.

Step 8: Finished Sling

This is how your sling should look.

Step 9: Shell Holder (optional)

If you want your sling to hold shells take the desired shell and lay it onto your sling. Take three pieces of paracord and weave them around the shell through a hole in the weave to the bottom and then back to the top and repeat process until you reach the number of shells you want. I put one strand through the middle where the center strand of cord crosses and the other two on the outsides of the sling through the top outside weaves. I hope you enjoyed this instructable and I hope it was helpful have a great day.