How to tote a lever gun when walking the trail and hands are full?

C

CassandraComplex

New member
I have a quandary:

My lovely new lever gun is going out with me today to play "trail gun".
I am trying to figure out how to carry it on extended hikes etc. I would like to keep my arms free for other chores at times, and goodness knows we should not be setting our rifle down.
Is there such thing as a sling setup or something for this type of gun (Win 94 Trapper)?

I had a silly idea of setting up a chest harness and using the saddle ring to attach it to my chest, in a "tactical" type rig. Pretty funny, but it could work. I can see me walking around with a lever gun in a tactical chest harness, ready for quick tactical deployment. You can see that I am enjoying the irony, but it could work.

So....this gun has been around like 100 years.....someone must have figured out a good way to carry it by now, like a sling or something. I see no place to attach a sling, and I will be shooting my handgun and hiking, and I don't know what to do with my lever gun when my hands are full.

Thanks!!!
 
They make sling-mounts which will work just fine. The best are what are know as "Quick Detachable", or QD. "Uncle Mike" is a brand name, I believe.

At the buttstock, drill a hole the same diameter as the center of the swivel-mount screw. This prevents splitting the wood.

The front mount will be a clamp-on type, clamping onto the magazine tube.

Then, just find a QD-setup sling that suits you. I prefer leather to nylon--doesn't slip and slide, and a plain strap to a padded one. A sling which is cut a bit wider in the across-the-shoulder area is most comfortable...

Hope this helps, Art
 
There are also slip-on slings. I use one of these when carrying a rifle or shotgun sometimes. It has sliding loops at both ends so that one end can be slipped over the barrel and tightened and one end can be slipped over the buttstock. Then when I'm set in my stand I take it off and put it in a pocket.
 
C.C.--
Of course the standard lever-action sling wivel kit is the way to go, here. (Can't go wrong with Art's advice.) But to further the concept of readiness when carrying, carry the rifle muzzle-down on the back side of your left shoulder. (assuming you're right-handed.)

This allows you to get the rifle into action pretty durn quickly, and in a Hasty Sling, to boot. Just reach down with your left hand to grab the outside of the forearm, and pull it up before you as you grasp the thin part of the buttstock (or pistol grip on a Marlin) with your right hand, and pull the butt into your right shoulder. This puts a sling around your your left elbow for extra support for your off-hand shot, and brings you in full firing position in about 1 second. With practice, you can actually get to shooting position almost as fast as a medium-slow pistol draw.
 
Thanks for the advice. I will keep and eye out for the temporary sling until I am ready to mount one.

I like carrying muzzle-down as advised.

With this in mind, where should I drill and mount the rear sling mount? How far back toward the butt?

Thanks again!
 
Didn't the "Rifleman" have a holster for his Lever action? Low down on the hip with the bottom tied off at the thigh?...

Just kidding! There are numerous sling set-ups that you could use. I prefer QD's so that the Rifle can sit in the rack with out the sling marring the weapons lines.
 
First, to coin a phrase: Temporary slings suck. ;) Go ahead and put a real sling on this weekend; it's NOT HARD! Takes 30 minute if you're a perfectionist, or 10 if you're like me, and just want it to work.


I like the rear sling swivel to be not less than one inch but not more than two inches from the toe of the rifle. (Read: bottom of the buttstock.)

Drill a pilot hole (the swivel will come with a sheet that tells you the proper size into the wood along the longtitudinal line of the rifle, at the apex of the parabola formed by the blade of the stock. Find this by looking down the stock from the butt end and holding a ruler to the thinist part of the underside of the stock. Mark your point. Drill. I think 3/16 is the size of my last pilot hole but, you know? I could be wrong.

Put the little nylon washers over the swivel, and use a small nail or a small allen wrench to screw in the swivel. There. You're halfway done. Now put on your forward sling swivel by screwing the bracket onto the barrel and magazine tube. Make sure that it's set up for quick-detatchable swivels. DON'T get a fixed one. Screws on in, oh, every bit of 2 minutes, if you're just plain slow.

Now configure your sling. Doesn't have to be a military "Sniper-style" sling for this application; you're NEVER going to get into a "Deliberate Sling" with a lever-gun. But it does have to be the right length that you can form a tight "Hasty Sling" with it. Thus a good carrying strap will do, so long as it's not so very broad that it impedes the use as a shooting aid.

That help?

Good. :)
 
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