I like leather on nice guns, so often buy it, but I also like light synthetics. Picked up a nice camo paracord sling on Amazon for my CZ All Terrain O/U. Looks good with the green Cerakote and is comfortable and none-slip. Made by Estobi $17.
I used an "Ultimate Gun Sling", by Specialty Outdoors, on my slug gun and muzzleloader last season. Worked like a dream, but with a lot of buckles and sliders on it, I'd be concerned that it would scratch up a nice walnut stock.
With my Montana sling, no such worries. And it's lighter in weight than the Ultimate.
jackmountain; Top of the morning to you sir, I hope that the last weekend of September was a good one for you and all in your world are well.
I was all ready to give you a glowing review of my favorite mountain rifle slings along with a link for same, whereupon I see they no longer are made....
The folks at Redi-Mag in Oregon used to make a 1" nylon "Packer Strap" which had grippy rubber bits woven right into the webbing. They came with their proprietary swivels sewn right in and and while they're not the tightest or quietest swivels in the world, they're not the worst either.
It would appear they still make a 2" version with the rubber gripper compound woven in, but no longer make the 1", which is too bad as I've tried both and believe I've given away all the 2" ones now.
I should add that about 3/4 of the time I carry my rifle on my off or left side with the muzzle down and the rest of the time it's in my hands. Since we're hunting in both rough, steep country and also very much grizzly and black bear county, I carry that way as it allows me to carry a round in the chamber but the bolt up or not closed on it. If I happen upon something up close, it allows me to swing the rifle into action with my left hand and thumb the bold closed as it's brought up to shoot.
Anyways it takes longer to type than to actually accomplish.
In the past I've tried a couple different brands of plain nylon webbing slings and all of them were much too slippery for my usual way of hunting.
If you could find an old stock 1" Packer Strap with the gripper/rubber stuff in it, they were about $16 USD usually if memory serves.
+1 these are the bes0 I have ever used. You can cinch it up which greatly helps keep it from slipping off the shoulder- like every sling on the planet. It flexes too which greatly adds to comfort and lessens fatigue on the shoulder. Can be used a number of ways and great when climbing- you can slip into the middle of it and have the sling front and back side at same time. .
Last edited by kenjs1; 09/27/21.
When a country is well governed, poverty and a mean condition are something to be ashamed of. When a country is ill governed, riches and honors are something to be ashamed of . Confucius
Mountain Slings by Blackhawk/Butler Creek. If you can find the 1" wide ones they are the best but the 1 1/4" is all I have been able to find in the last several years. They are lightweight nylon with a strip of slip resistant material where the shoulder contacts. Comes with swivels for less than $20.00, well may be more these days, and are very lightweight and do not rot or mildew. I purchase them 4 to 6 at a time and just have them around when needed.
LGS had a bunch of these in a bin on sale for $10 a few years ago. Bought several. Should have bought them all.
Slaves get what they need. Free men get what they want.
To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them.-Richard Henry Lee
Endowment Member NRA, Life Member SAF-GOA, Life-Board Member, West TN Director TFA
A few years ago, I looked at a Boony Packer Safari sling. I made a quicky homemade version just to try out the concept and I liked it. So, I bought the real one. I much prefer it over a regular sling. The only issue is that when you're with other people, you need to be constantly aware of where the muzzle is pointing. I use a single trekking pole when hunting and don't have any problems with it. Using 2 poles might get cumbersome.
This for me also. They can be used in a multitude of carries. Muzzle up, down, gun across the back, on the shoulder, across the front, at the hip. I use no other and have several. I also have several other type slings that haven't been on a gun in 15 years or more. I should sell them.....
I’ve found the milsurlp green cotton slings for M1 carbines to be a fine rifle slimg. You used to be able to pick them up for a couple of bucks apiece. I expect they are more expensive now.
I like the Brownell's latigo slings. The design is clever and it works well.
I don't particularly favor Brownell's as a business. They're kind of corporate-like, big business. Not as bad as Vista. So I suppose if I knew an individual craftsman that was making good slings, I'd favor them over the Brownell's, but I didn't the last time I needed a sling.
Now that I have the Brownell's, I might just make copies of it myself if I ever need more slings. I use Herman Oak veg-tanned leather. I like their harness leather better than latigo, but for a sling I might try bridle leather or even their tooling/holster/strap leather that I use for my holsters because it's harder.
Made of the finest cotton (1.5" width) and impregnated with two rows of silicone rubber to prevent slipping. There are two sizes: fits one inch or three-quarter inch swivels.
