The Sling and The Art of The Rifle

B

Bartholomew Roberts

Moderator
You are an infantryman in the United States military. Let's assume for the moment that you are limited to one sling for your M-16. Do you go with a good leather shooting sling patterned on the 1907 model that you can loop into for a stable shooting platform or do you go with the Giles Tactical sling that keeps the weapon more accessible but seems to offer less stability as a shooting platform?

You don't know what conditions the weapon will be employed in, could be anything from urban terrain to Iraqi desert; but its safe to assume most combat will still take place under 300m, and more likely 100-200m.
 
Every Marine recruit must qualify with an M16 and the POS cloth sling in it's issue. Ranges are 200, 300, and 500yds.

If you know how to use it, it shouldn't matter.
 
If you know how to use it, then you know that a good shooting sling significantly enhances your ability to hit over the more nifty "tactical" slings that don't offer much besides easy carry and the ability to go for a secondary weapon quickly.

Is ease of carry more important than extra stability most of the time?

Does the slower access to the weapon when slung make the stability worthwhile with the 1907 style?

I'm not looking for the "magic sling" that will enhance my abilities beyond what they normally are as much as trying to start a discussion about where the tradeoff between convenience and accuracy should be made.

There is no question in my mind that given two rifles and two shooters with equal ability, the guy with the leather 1907 sling is going to have an edge over the guy with the tactical sling in shooting from a stationary position.

On the other hand, the guy with the tactical sling can carry the weapon for prolonged periods but still have easy access to it. He can also move without worrying as much about the sling getting hung up on something.
 
Get one of each and let the situation dictate which one you will use.

Personally I like the leather slings because they are more versitile for all around field work and shooting.

For a tactical situation where I'll need my rifle fast then the other sling would be my choice.
 
Many Units are using the tactical sling now

The Tactical Taylor sling has been purchase by the Ranger Regiment and some other units. I'd say for most situations that type of sling would serve the Infantryman better then the old leather one.

Remember the Infantryman will be carrying a lot more stuff strapped to him then you would hunting. A quick presentation from either American or African carry would not be easy to do when you were loaded down with an LBV, rucksack radio etc.

He needs a system that will allow him to carry his weapon where it can be quickly brought into action, but will relieve some of the weight from his hands. Even a 6lb M4 gets heavy at the end of the day, especially when it's part of an 80 to 120 pound load.

Jeff
 
I've got the GI leather sling on my M1A, and its just a carry sling, right? I've heard that theres shooting techniques for using this sling but I cant discover them, and no one I've asked knows either.

OTOH, I took Jeffs advice from the book, and did up my folding stock 10-22 for a ching sling setup. Had em put a swivel stud forward of the mag well and cut an old 1" leather sling to fit and viola', nice setup, works good.
 
"I've got the GI leather sling on my M1A, and its just a carry sling, right? ..."

Wrong.....the old GI sling can be length adjusted so that It is comfortable for carrying the weapon shouldered AND a very effective "hasty" sling for stabilizing the gun for shooting. If time allows; the rear portion is cast off and the loop becomes a cuff for the upper arm on the weak side.....thus a proper target sling.

Very important that whatever the material......not stretchy. Premium harness leather works great.

Sam
 
IIRC

I recall reading somewhere that using slings as an accuracy aid for the AR or other types of rifles with seperate upper and lower receivers is not a good idea. Not sure if this is accurate, or why...possibly something to do with pulling the two receiver parts in opposite directions? This may even be from Art of the Rifle, but I can't find my copy to check.

Also, Gabe Suarez advises against using the sling as an accuracy aid for rifles used for CQB since 1. tactical slings are needed for these weapons, and tac slings don't provide accuracy assistance, and 2. use of the sling can change POI.

FWIW,
Mike
 
Aha, finally someone who knows whats up with the sling. I've heard the rumors but nobody knows...Cooper even mentioned it in his book, but didnt expound on it. Now that I think about it, I cant imagine Cooper writing the rifle book and not explaining it unless the books already been written on the "Hasty Sling".

So who wrote the book? Whats it called? Or is the slings use easy enough to explain right here?

Appreciate your input. I tried to figure it out before and couldnt do it. No military experiance. Call me a dummy I guess;)
 
BR,

Let me weigh in with a slightly different idea. I do a lot of martial arts training, including disarms and such.

I don't like having that sling around my body. The convenience, to me, is not worth the liability if I were to be in a genuine CQB environment.

How's THAT for a different opinion?
 
Good catch Benjamin. That would be what I termed the "target sling". If speed is required the "hasty" sling gives a little less support but takes less than a second. No picture but.......

Sling is pre adjusted for length and for most builds will be comfortable for over the shoulder carry when it is also the right length for precision shooting. No unhooking or adjusting...hence "Hasty"

Right handed shooter and right shoulder carry. Left hand grabs sling at top of shoulder and swings rifle clear of body. Right hand grasps rifle at small of stock. Left arm goes between entire sling and rear part of rifle all the way to near the arm pit. Tilt rifle up and to the right, bring left hand back toward left shoulder....this will put wrist on the OUTSIDE of sling. Move left hand directly to the rifle somewhere forward of the receiver area. This will have wrapped the sling one turn around your arm. Sling contact will be on outside of upper arm and inside of forearm or wrist. If initial length was in the ballpark....slight movement fore or aft with the left hand will adjust tension on the sling. Done right it is VERY fast and with quite a bit of tension will add a bunch of stability to your hold in all four positions.

If you carry left side and are left handed....same thing only different.

With a solid stock and free floating barrel a lot of tension is good. With something like an AR or FAL you just use a little tension so you don't bend the gun. But even with light tension it will help you quite a bit.

If you ain't confused yet.....just holler

Sam...
 
Has anyone tried the Brownells "Latigo" sling? I bought a couple but have not yet tried them for accuracy with my bolt action guns. They appear to be designed to make looping up faster.

Regards,

Bob
 
O.K., let me try this..

To use a leather M1907 sling, first, it needs to be attatched correctly to the rifle.

First, take the smaller of the two pieces and thread it through the butt swivel so that the hooked end is closer to the rifle, (inside), hooks facing away from the rifle.

Next, place a keeper, (small leather loop), around the longer portion of the sling, then thread the long portion through the brass loop on the short portion, again with the hooked piece of the long portion on the inside, closer to the rifle. Make sure that the first small leather loop is between the long portions' brass hooks and the short portions' brass loop. If you've done this right, both sets of hooks will be on the same side of the sling, and against the bottom of the stock.

Place the hooks of the short piece onto the closest set of holes on the long piece.

Thread the free end through the small leather loop, so that the brass loop of the small piece is completely encircled.

Thread the remaining small leather loop onto the free end of the sling, then take the free end and place it through the muzzle end of the upper sling swivel. Bend it back towards the butt of the rifle. Then pass it through the leather loop closest to the muzzle.

Now hook the long-piece hooks onto a set of holes on the free end.



NOW...

To use it, you'll need to either completely unhook the the butt strap, (short portion), or hook the short portions' brass hooks into the set of holes closest to the hooks, creating a very small loop on the rear swivel. Either appears to be legal for Highpower service rifle competition.

Next, you'll need to adjust the large strap to the length you'll use for the position you'll be using. (TIP: numbering the holes will make this easier to reproduce if you need to make changes in your position).

You'll need to place your arm through the middle loop in the sling if you've decided to keep the butt strap attatched. To do this, you need to first twist the sling so that your arm enters the loop from the opposite side of the sling, (note: if you're sitting with the rifle muzzle pointing to your left, the sling part closest to the stock comes toward you. If I'm wrong or you do this incorrectly, you'll get an edge of the sling digging into your wrist. Just change the twist direction and try it again!).

Slide the sling up onto your bicep to where it meets your deltoid.

Bring your sling-arm hand back underneath the sling toward the muzzle of the rifle. Then place the sling arm hand as close to the front swivel as you can, between the stock and the sling.

Shoulder the rifle. It should be tight enough to hold the rifle into your shoulder without your firing hand supporting the rifle.

To adjust the sling, move the leather loops away from the brass hooks on the large portion of the sling. (If it's been put together correctly, the leather loops can be placed directly above and below the long portions brass hooks. This assists in maintaining the tension in the sling). Place the hooks higher or lower on the free end depending on the initial tension in the sling. You can pass the excess free end through the leather loop closest to the butt swivel, into the arm, (middle), loop.

It's alot easier to do it than to explain it without pictures.

The sling should be tight in your shoulder, but not necessarily tight on your bicep. My DI's and PMI's alwayls insisted that the bicep loop be painfully tight enough on the bicep to decrease the circulation considerably. I've tried both ways, and can't really tell a difference.


I hope this helps. Please feel free to tell me I'm fu~ked in the head.
 
WOW!, Jackpot on the sling info fellahs'

From the info I see I did have it on right, just didnt know how to use it to its full potential.

I'll try it out at the range and see what the results show.
 
Surprisingly enough...

I forgot a couple of things. You can adjust the height of the rifle by moving your support hand forward or rearward on the stock. As an example, if you're using a crossed leg sitting position, some people find that if the support hand is up against the front swivel, their front rifle is aimed at the ground a few feet in front of them . So bring the support hand closer toward the reciever to raise the front sight.


Also, after a while, a leather sling may stretch out a bit, so you'll have to reposition the keepers from their original placement.

Let us know how it works out!
 
Really good properly tanned harness leather GI clone slings, Like Turner's or Carters, won't stretch for a long time. Do not use leather softeners on a sling.

Sam
 
Just a nit---using a sling on an AR-15/M-16 with the standard forend will change POI.

But if you have a "free floated" forend, using a sling will not change POI.
 
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