Slings, straps, and hunting

sling or not sling

HI,

I have a sling on all my rifles except on my Marlin lever and on my shotguns. For carrying, I find it's very handy but it's true that it could increase your chance of missing a shot, I know, it happenned to me :mad: . One of the niciest buck I have ever saw, just jump right in front of me. Having the sling on my shoulder didn't help and I was out of time to shoot :( I was so mad at myself.

I still use the sling to carry the rifle, sometimes still on my shoulder but most of the time, I now carry my rifle in my hands.. and use the sling as a shooting aid.
 
savage17hmr said:
I don't mean to sound stupid, but I will anyway; what is the "proper" way to use a sling (hasty or other)? Pics, discreptions? I've tried with a butler creek neoprene on my .444 lever but found it worsened my groups! suggestions?
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A shooting sling is a different concept than the carrying strap. The shooting sling is made from durable good quality leather or from a heavy non-stretch synthetic material.

When shooting from a rested position, where the elbow of the supporting arm is rested on a solid platform - this might be the ground, a rock, a tree limb, or your knee, - the sling is tightly looped around the upper arm - as close to the shoulder/armpit as possible. So positioned, the strap bears the weight of the rifle, and when the muscles of the supporting arm are completely relaxed your sight picture will remain on target. Completely relaxed, the skeletal structure of the arm supports the rifle, the muscle induced wobbles are taken out of the equation, and as a result you can concentrate fully on the mechanics of the shot. You are 30% more likely to hit your target using a shooting sling, than you are unaided.

The hasty sling by contrast, serves the same purpose, however it is utilized by the shooter wrapping a turn of the carrying strap around the forearm of the supporting arm. This is not nearly as satisfactory as the shooting sling, although it works to a degree.
 
Thanks Boomer, I've got to try that. Any good leather sling or a actual "shooting" sling?
And to answer the question:Yes, I always use a sling to carry my rifles.
 
savage17hmr said:
Thanks Boomer, I've got to try that. Any good leather sling or a actual "shooting" sling?
And to answer the question:Yes, I always use a sling to carry my rifles.
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A normal single strap sling will work as a hasty sling, however a shooting sling will have the ability to loop around the supporting arm, and some even have a detachable cuff. What I use is called the Safari Ching Sling. It is marketed by Galco Leather, and it and the original Ching Sling can be viewed on their web site.

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I use a sling for both carrying & shooting offhand. Takes my offhand shots from really poor, to just poor. I much prefer any kind of rest, but practice with the sling anyways.
 
Using a sling to support a rifle while you're walking isn't necessarily that much slower. When I'm still hunting, I generally carry the rifle with the sling behind my left shoulder, and the rifle in front, supported by my left hand on the fore end. With a little bit of practice, getting the rifle into position is probably only a fraction of a second slower than carrying the rifle at port arms, and it's definitely faster than a one hand carry.

And the support of a sling over a long day means when that shot comes along, you're less fatigued.

As for shooting slings, I've never gotten a sling wrap to help my shooting, except for prone over a pack. But I haven't practised much with a sling off hand.
 
BBB said:
As for shooting slings, I've never gotten a sling wrap to help my shooting, except for prone over a pack.
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The shooting sling is only useful from a rested position such as kneeling, sitting, or prone, because it is only in a rested position that the sling can support the weight of the rifle. Some find a hasty sling usefull off hand, claiming it dampens the wobbles, but I've not been able to improve my off hand score by slinging up.
 
Still, I'd like to give it a try, I'm in the market for a new leather sling for my .444 marlin. The others I own have bipods on them for prone shooting.
Thanks all
 
I use either a 2 piece military sling, or my favorite Galco Ching sling for carrying. When shooting from sitting both tighten my groups considerably. I can loop up with the Ching Sling as fast as I can get my butt on the ground. Many called coyotes have met their demise this way, but as this is a set-up situation the Military loop works just as well, maybe better. As near as I can tell, the use of a "hasty sling" is a waste of time, as is trying to use a loop sling in any position that doesn't involve a supported elbow.
The nicest thing about using a shooting sling is that unlike other shooting aids it isn't a P.I.T.A. when it isn't being used. As much as I like a bipod when it is time to shoot at distant and stationary targets, I have grown tired of carrying those top-heavy brush snagging rigs. Swinging the rifle with a moving target is easy with the sling and sitting position, as is adapting to uphill and downhill shots. Admittedly, few people use the sling anymore but growing up reading Jack O'Connor lead me to it. Or as Col.Jeff Cooper said about the Ching Sling "A lot of people aren't paying attention";)
 
I have proven to myself a proper sling does improve shooting at very little cost in time. But set-up as such can be a tangled mess when dogging through the thick stuff. I now use a small what I think is an old military type ( maybe off a M-1 Carbine I once owned), it is set up to be as tight as I can get it & still get an arm thru it. I use my sling to carry my gun only when helping drag out a deer.
 
John Spartan said:
Just wondering who carries the Galco Safari Ching Sling in Canada?
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There is no problem ordering direct from Galco, and I have bought several holsters from them. I got my Safari ching Sling from Gunsite back when they still shipped to Canada, so it has the cool Raven Corp logo stamped into it.

IMHO, this is the best combination carry/shooting sling available.
 
My all hunting rifles are equipped with slings which aid me taking better shot.
I like neoprene slings or leather sling with neoprene underneath.
It does help when I carry a rifle with preventing slipping off my shoulder.
 
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