I'll just open this topic with the statement that your tactical long gun is USELESS without a sling. Your handgun is certainly less useful without a holster, but it only ties up one hand if you must use the support hand. The long gun really benefits from the use of a sling to free up your hands.
One of the most versatile and prolific of the weapons mounted tactical slings systems is that which HK originated on their G3 and MP5 weapon systems. It's also available in various incarnations from JFS and the Wilderness (Giles).
Wearing the sling: There are two ways that I typically see - stick your head and right arm thru, with the sling resting on your left shoulder (I call this slung right, as the weapon will fall to your right). Sling left, is the opposite of the above. You will see many people slinging their weapons to the right, but I feel that this interferes with the handgun, and requires a secondary motion to sweep the long gun out of the way to draw the pistol. Slinging to the left allows the weapon to hang in the middle of your torso, allow unhindered access to your pistol.
Another very interesting concept I saw this week was the Chalker Tactical Harness system.
You can see it on the Emerson Knives site, http://www.emersonknives.com/ (please go look at it before you ask questions about it). I had the pleasure of having Harry and Dennis Chalker demo the system for me this week, and it has me intrigued. If I'd had a few more bucks on me, I'd have one now. The shoulder harness allows for the weapon to be supported by both shoulder straps, making a long day with the weapon considerably easier. An interesting feature that I wish to further explore is the quick release feature, which allows the user to rapidly disengage the weapon from the sling. The Chalker system also lends itself readily to low ready positions as well as allowing the weapon to hang naturally to the left, getting it out of the way for weapon transitions. It's also the fastest I've seen for shooting weak shoulder -- normal slings can bunch up uncomfortably.
Even if you can't afford $30-$55 for a high speed sling system, you owe it to yourself to at least have a $5 military web sling on your weapon -- it's better than throwing your long gun down to free your hands.
One of the most versatile and prolific of the weapons mounted tactical slings systems is that which HK originated on their G3 and MP5 weapon systems. It's also available in various incarnations from JFS and the Wilderness (Giles).
Wearing the sling: There are two ways that I typically see - stick your head and right arm thru, with the sling resting on your left shoulder (I call this slung right, as the weapon will fall to your right). Sling left, is the opposite of the above. You will see many people slinging their weapons to the right, but I feel that this interferes with the handgun, and requires a secondary motion to sweep the long gun out of the way to draw the pistol. Slinging to the left allows the weapon to hang in the middle of your torso, allow unhindered access to your pistol.
Another very interesting concept I saw this week was the Chalker Tactical Harness system.
You can see it on the Emerson Knives site, http://www.emersonknives.com/ (please go look at it before you ask questions about it). I had the pleasure of having Harry and Dennis Chalker demo the system for me this week, and it has me intrigued. If I'd had a few more bucks on me, I'd have one now. The shoulder harness allows for the weapon to be supported by both shoulder straps, making a long day with the weapon considerably easier. An interesting feature that I wish to further explore is the quick release feature, which allows the user to rapidly disengage the weapon from the sling. The Chalker system also lends itself readily to low ready positions as well as allowing the weapon to hang naturally to the left, getting it out of the way for weapon transitions. It's also the fastest I've seen for shooting weak shoulder -- normal slings can bunch up uncomfortably.
Even if you can't afford $30-$55 for a high speed sling system, you owe it to yourself to at least have a $5 military web sling on your weapon -- it's better than throwing your long gun down to free your hands.