I'm still looking for advise on mounting a sling stud to the forend of my Encore Pistol (black rubber forend on .308 Win)
I tried the Uncle Mike Sling Swivel Kit for the Contender but the bolts are a different diameter and pitch than the Encore Pistol.
I tried the T/C Sling Swivel Kit for Encore, but that kit utilizes the barrel band for the front sling stud. I'm trying to avoid the barrel band.
Is there a threaded swivel stud that will fit the Encore Pistol ?? or do I need to have one custom made at a gunsmith ??
Thanks to earlier responses regarding the hanger bar system as an option, but I want to keep it as light and simple as possible (backpackers special).
Thanks, chugach6

I'm not sure this has to be any harder than installing a front swivel on a synthetic rifle stock. Find an Uncle Mike's catalog and look for a sling swivel stud made with bolt that uses a nut on the inside of the foreend. Drill a bolt size hole from the outside of your fore end. If the rubber fore end is solid then drill a nut sized hole on the inside. Shorten the bolt as needed. A fella could epoxy a washer in the bottom of the hole, or even epoxy the whole assembly in place, as needed. As mentioned earlier this would be even easier if you are willing to work on a wood fore end then paint it black to match. Good hunting!

Lance buy a wood forearm that you can use one of the screw type studs on and paint it black. The rubber one is to soft to do anything with. I was thinking of some sort of strap aroud barrel but I think it would slip around and wear on the barrel. The forarm screw is a 8x40 and I wouldn't trust it to holdup.

Update!
A local gunsmith is going to re-drill/re-tap the front threads in the barrel (for the rubber forend) to accept the standard Uncle Mike's swivel stud. The existing 8x40 will be tapped to a 10x32 (I believe) which is what the Uncle Mike's studs are. He said he will be sure to keep sufficient threads into the barrel and will also Loc-Tite it down.
I don't want to go with the wood forearm. There's a reason I chose the stainless/synthetic model for here in Alaska. Also the rubber forend is not strong enough by itself to to use the bolt/nut combination swivel stud as suggested above.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Anybody see any problems doing it that way?
Thanks, chugach6

Say, a quick question about the grip on your Encore. Is it now all rubber, in the Pachmayr style, or is it still the rynite grip with the rubber insert on the backstrap? Neither the wood with rubber insert or the rynite with rubber insert fit my hand (which is why my Encore has been a rifle for a while now). Good hunting!

mb:
The grip on my Encore pistol is the all rubber grip. There is no rynite.
The forend is also all rubber, over some kind of plastic shell. Both the grip and the forend are the stock versions on the stainless/synthetic model of the Encore.
The reason I can't just thread a screw type or a bolt with nut type standard swivel stud is that I'm using the swivel stud to attach the SnipePod by Kramer Designs.
Thanks, chugach6

What I did on my pistol is a hanger bar and composite rifle forearm. I got the bar from Virgin Valley but you should be able to get them from Straton Custom Guns. I can send you a pic to an email address. You could have your gunsmith drill and tap a second 8x40 hole and use a factory rifle forearm. you could then add the machine type stud with the nut inside forearm. bigger platform to work with.