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Rifle slings

2K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  SatCong 
#1 ·
In a dangerous situation, the rifle belongs in the hands, not slung over the shoulder. I'm curious what kind of sling you favor for those times when you want both hands free. I always liked the military leather slings like the
?M1907? Most of the rifles wear leather. Lately though, have come to favor the M1 type cotton sling with the metal tip and the quick adjustable keeper. Know that the nylon slings are good for extremely wet climates but they're just a little slick for me. Anybody use the Ching Sling? Jeff Cooper recommends it but I don't know much about it. Any other types of slings?

RIKA
 
#2 ·
I might as well be slingless.Probably 99%+/- of my shooting is w/a handgun.Does a lanyard count?:)
 
#4 ·
Rika

I like the Ching sling, three point set-up for Scout rifles and other light bolt guns intended to be shot more or less in thier 275 meter BSZ. They are very fast to aquire and provide enough support for the ranges the rifles are intended to be shot. Another good point about the the the three point attachment is that the sling tension is transfered to the thickest part of the stock and you will find that it doesn't effect the zero on slim fore ends with light contour barrels.

I prefer M1907 slings on my M1A's, they can be used as hasty slings ,and when there is the 3 to 5 secs needed, to get a tight loop around the bicep. they are almost as stable and much faster and more versitile than a bipod, with nothing dangling out on the fore end.

In my pictures, I show the forward loop set up to "loop tight" around the bicep for max stability from a variety of positions and give good control for fast accurate repeat shots. What you have is the frog (metal hook) jammed under the two sling keepers and tightened around the upper part of the bicep, with the frog and keepers pointing towards the rifle. You can crank this pretty tight if inclined and thats why shooting jackets have a pad around the bicep. It's the most stable use of the M1907 and how NRA Service Rifle shooters rig.

The other picture show the M1907 sling set up in the "hasty" position with the frog and keepers jammed up tight to the front sling swivel. With the sling set up like this it's very much like a Ching sling, you simply turn the sling outboard and run your arm though the big loop to the upper bicep and assume your position. You have to experiment a bit to find the frog setting that will give you the amount of tension you want. The nice thing is the tension pulls straight down and doesn't effect your zero to any notable degree as long as you aren't torquing the hell out of things, which you won't be shooting hasty under field conditions.

I have "web" slings in both cotton and nylon, but don't find them as convienent or useful as the M1907's and they are always noisy. Another thing I don't like about them, is to use them in any capacity for looped, hasty or tight, support, the bottom keeper has to be un-snaped from the sling swivel, very slow and awkward at speed. IMO they are only really useful in the hasty mode and no more usefull than a simple strap, that is much quieter.

Something else I have been using, but it was on the rifle out in my pick-up, is a typical M1907 stlye sling, but made out of this stuff called Bio-Thane it's a sythetic leather substitute (first used in horse tack) that doesn't stretch mold, rot ect. Sinclair sells them in a couple colors. I have had it on a rifle for a year now and it shows no signs of wear (except scuffs). The only down side to me, is that it doesn't seem to be "breaking in" like a leather sling does, it's almost as stiff as the day it went on. It's also a bit thicker than a MRT sling about the same thickness as a Turner leather sling, which is the NRA Service rifle shooter standard. I probually use more MRT military contract slings than any other.

Teuf,
 

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#5 ·
For my AR, I have a 3 position sling. For my M1 & M1A & Enfield I have Canadian FN slings set up in a slip sling configuration. One fast movement and its loose, one movement and its tight.
 
#6 ·
bs, a good bipod lets you get prone, from standing, and hit a 10" circle at 200m in 5 seconds, and that INCLUDES attaching the GI bipod to its foreend mount., or unfolding a folding type bipod. Slinging up AND going prone takes a LOT longer, and is a LOT slower for engaging multiple targets. The carrying handle lets you get up from and go prone with the bipod MUCH faster than anyone can use a sling and do same. What the sling does is TIE your rifle to your arm, making you UNABLE to use that arm to do ANYTHING else (like break your fall, move things aside, rearrange objects as cover, etc.

Bipod is not as good as a sandbag (filled with dirt on site) as a rifle rest, and is only marginally better than a backpack, etc as a rifle rest. What the bipod is GOOD for is FAST movement and shooting, especially on moving, cover using targets, who are trying to KILL you, in the 200-300m range.

Sling use is VERY dependent, POI wise, upon getting the SAME tension each time, in EXACTLY the same way. A TOTALLY bs assumption, in combat. It DOES alter the POI, so you HAVE to use the sling for any precision shot, if you've zeroed a battle rifle (as vs a bs match rifle) with the sling. In other words, the sling, (as an accuracy aid in combat), is every BIT as much of a bs "gamesman" device as is a compensator on a 'combat" pistol.
 
#8 ·
I doubt that car is free floated, and if not, the 'pod only levers his barrel to a new and questionable POI each time he fires. I use the sling that came with my ar and ak, but I am envious of the rig the operators use. I was originally taught ot use the sling while shooting a rifle, in the service, but there my choice was a MBR--M14, I think that technique on an assualt weapon will only hinder accuracy for the same reason I mentioned about the bipod endorsed above by butt-plug.
SatCong
 
#9 ·
I KNOW I can attach the bipod, go prone and get such a hit in 5 seconds, and I KNOW YOU CAN'T sling up, go prone and get that hit in 5 seconds. I ALSO know that you cant move as fast, in and out of prone, slung up, as I can with bipod, and I also know that the bipod IS faster for hitting other targets faster. I can prove it. All you offer is your bs CLAIMS. Anyone who will CHECK with the IPSC rifle guys will find out that the times and other stuff I've claimed is CORRECT.
 
#12 ·
In my younger days I carried the FN C2A1 Light Automatic Rifle for 18 months, it weighed in a 15.5 lbs and was not always as easy to get into action as my FN C1 semi auto rifle was. An example of the C2;
 

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#14 · (Edited)
Thats the bottom line Mag, why else would he be so dependent on a bipod?

Apparently the the only time he needs shooting support is when the grass is less than 6" high and he is shooting off flat ground. I find it hilarious he thinks it's faster to carry a bipob on his belt (must be on backpack belt? going to b tough to wear a pack over it) ,and go into this flurry of dropping to the ground while snatching it from his belt attaching it to the fore end and assumimg a position. Only to find you cant see over the weeds or the 12" high rock between you and the target. Some how thats better than just sticking your arm though a big @ss loop and rolling the rifle into your shoulder and taking a sitting. kneeling, prone or any variation of the above.

A sling works in every position, at every angle and is always right where you need it, attached to the rifle. I find it amusing that that he feels a bipod is for moving targets, oh yea, dragging the legs of a bipod across the ground is a real marksmanship aid LOL

Bipods, have thier place, I have several of them, several different Harris models, Versa-pods, two Parker Hales and a Gibbs, British contract copy of the Parke Hale. They have ther place, in the scheme of things. They are better served on precision LR rifles and even then I shoot just well, or better under a wider variety of conditions off my backpack.

JD was never grounded in the basics of rifle marksmanship and tries to use the bipod as a cure all crutch for poor positions, natural, point of aim ect. Good grief here's a guy that can't shoot a .233 rifle without a suppresor and not flinch, you know he has some serious problems going on.

Teuf,
 
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