What can I use to attach the front sling rivet?

I have always used a pointed punch to start to "mushroom" the end, and then use a flat punch to "flatten" it out. You need to back support(padded) the head of the rivet to keep it tight.

Thanks, much appreciated.

Somebody on here suggested using vice grips to drive the pins in. Use electrical tape to cover the jaws to protect the finish, align the pin in the hole and adjust the vice grips to barely move the pin when fully closed. Adjust the jaw screw and continue to drive the pin in. Finish it up with the proper size punch.

I installed several pin using this method and it works great. It was easy and I didn't scratch my finish.