Rifle Butt Cheek Rest

By Choya L Cantrell 2017

I first made a template out of paper for the circumference of the rifle stock.

• This will let me know how much space I have to play with.
• This also gives me a measurement for the length of my two straps.
 The snaps idea was scrapped early on. I wanted it to be very stable and dependable and I felt like
that was a possible failure point. On Calculating the length of my straps I measured the
circumference of the gun butt plus the measurement around three sides of that bag and then
added 4 or 5 inches for to be safe.

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I know that I want my straps to be ½ inch wide so I need to remove that measurement from
the edges of the space I have available.
The space in between the two straps is going to be where I create my pocket/sleeve. The
height will be determined by the distance from the top to the bottom, keeping in mind that a
rifle sling attachment may be involved and need to be taken into account.

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I knew that the customer wanted a 1 ½ “ rise for the cheek rest and he also wanted it to be
about 5” long. So using these requirements I drew up a template for the cheek rest.
I knew that I would need a zipper to be able to fill it with whatever I decided.

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I just imagine that there is an easier way to put this little bag together but I couldn’t think of
one so I went with what I knew would work. If you have a better way to achieve the same
result absolutely do it. ☺

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I used 9-10 oz oiled leather for all parts except the flap and bag. For the flap I used 3-4 oz veg tan. For
the bag I used a 2-3 oz finished Chrome tan leather that was struck thru in black with a matt finish.

I used a segma style snap.

The strap was just cut to size and attached between the back and the “window” frame so that it
could be sewn at same time as the frame was being attached.

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The flap that covers the “window” was cut using the same measurements for the window and glued
at the very top only and sewn in along with the snap strap to eliminate unnecessary steps and more
stitching.

I used Fiebing’s Professional Oil Dye in Black for all pieces and then a coat of Fiebing’s Leather Sheen.
Customer wanted a “matt finish” so I found that of all the finishes I had that this one produced the
least amount of shine.

The clear vinyl window is this great stuff that Springfield Leather sells. It is a thick very flexible
product that can be sewn without cracking or splitting.

If you have ANY questions I am always happy to help if I can.

*Feel free to copy, duplicate, alter or share to your hearts content.

Choya L Cantrell