Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting The new 26 Nosler

Agreed...if game is within 300-400 yards it should be dead meat for a guy properly wrapped up in a shooting sling.

I killed a buck on a power line a couple years ago at 330 yards from a random stand,and ground cover prevented getting lower,so had to shoot from the sit,wrapped in....If not for the sling I could never have done it

A few years ago I decided to use my .375-.416 for deer hunting. I took three shots offhand at 100 yards. The group was 6". Then I sat down and fired a three shot group at 300 yards. Again the group was 6". A guy said, "Well how will it do fomr the bench?" I fired three at about 450. The group was 2 7/8". I have no idea how to use a sling except to hang the rifle on my shoulder when I use the binos.

I am not being smart alack. How does one use a sling to aid in shooting?

Ringman this is not easy to explain and a picture is worth a thousand words but I don't have one....so I will do my best. Oher feel free t chime in because this may not be pretty.

Slings like a Brownell Latigo (or a standard military type,and Ching's and stuff like that...there are slight variations on the theme) can be used by sliding your left arm through the sling loop up to between your shoulder and bicep;the "keeper" on the sling is then slid down to tighten the loop around your arm.

You take a half turn of the sling with the forward portion of your arm and jam your left hand hard against he swivel stud...this arrangement is going to feel "tight" at this point and of course the sling is pre-adjusted.

The arrangement is tight enough at this point that the right hand has to lift the butt into your shoulder,and settling into position, whether prone or sitting you will find that your "hold" is much steadier than if you are unaided.

Steadier than a Pack or bipod? Maybe, maybe not and depends on who is doing it....but a good rifleman with a sling properly wrapped up can easily throw "strikes" at 300-400 yards;some further.

Of course this all takes practice like anything else.It sounds complex but can be very fast once accustomed to it, is more versatile than a bipod if speed is an issue, and can be used from standing,sitting,or prone within short time frame so is very versatile.

After you are done shooting,or don't need the sling a tug on the sling will retract it to a closed position, out of the way,and flush with the rifle.To deploy you pull the other way to open..it can all be done pretty quickly....essentially,once mastered, you are really never without rest. I rarely use a simple "carry" sling on a rifle.

An old deceased buddy once wanted to shoot my 375H&H at 300 yards....he was an experienced match shooter and watched him wrap up from prone,and throw 7-8 "10's" at 300 yards before handing the rifle back, saying the big rifle was a hoot to shoot!

Anybody have any picture of this stuff?

Personally I see this new round, based on the info provided by Nosler, as having great potential as a 1 mile steel target ringer.

For those who shoot beyond 1k yards, it might be a great example of a high performance cartridge that provides a better margin of error/less dope to dial, with increased hit potential.

A Sako TRG 42 rebarreled to 26 nosler sounds interesting..

Bob, you're saying that shooting long range with a sling is as accurate as prone with a bi-pod?

BobinNH,

Going over it a couple times and it started to make sense. Thanks for taking so much time to help a stranger. I am going to look for one and try it on my lightweight wildcat.

Back to the .26 Nosler, This reminds me of something Mark Twain wrote about scientists but fits .com gun nuts. He wrote, it fascinated him how they could make such a wholesale lot of conjecture from such a trifling amount of facts.

Here are a few pics demonstrating the shooting sling in action, shamelessly stolen from Google (the 3rd pic being Keith):







Here's another Google pic of the "hasty sling", which works quite well in a pinch, and can be used with any properly adjusted carrying strap.



While not as steady as a full on military sling setup, the hasty sling is ultra fast to get into, and is a great choice when a quick shot presents itself.

Note that a sling can be utilized standing, sitting, kneeling, or prone, and really helps to steady oneself when a rest is not available, or time is of the essence.

Once read up on and practiced correctly, a person would be surprised how incredibly steady they can be with a sling.

Yup. I don't know much about this new .26 Nosler but I thoroughly enjoy shooting with the sling! It's something Dad taught me, the Marines reinforced, and then I got into NRA Highpower competition - all of which got me some pretty decent training and experience using a rifle sling.

Prairie Goat - thanks for the great photos of sling use.

Love it!

Have made quite a few of my big game kills by using the sling on my rifle, rather than a bipod or other rest. Marksmanship is not dead!

Re the .26 Nosler... Wow... Really ought to be something. Looking forward to learning more.

Regards, Guy

re: the sling.

When I went to Africa, the rifles were delayed and I had a loaner rifle with no sling. I missed two kudu that were really chip shots.

When my rifle came in, I went eight for eight, both because I "knew" the rifle, and I had my sling. If you're trained with a sling, it is a great tool, and a great handicap if it is missing.

1) BONE SUPPORT

2) MUSCULAR RELAXATION

3) NATURAL POINT-OF-AIM

The three fundamentals of a shooting position, straight from the USMC Scout Sniper manual. All serious riflemen have committed these to memory. The TAB sling in the video works nearly as well as a military loop sling, but unlike the loop, it is also a carry strap. The Ching Sling, developed by Gunsite instructor Eric Ching, is faster yet, but not quite as stable as the TAB.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebybmdXxsb0

Over the years I've become a big fan of shooting slings. I used the Ching sling for a while, but switched to the Latigo because of its adjustability when used as a carry sling.

From the photos it's not clear the difference between the military/latigo/ching slings and the hasty sling. Notice in the hasty sling the entire sling is under tension, resulting in tension on the butt stock. Experts will say this butt stock tension will cause problems with accuracy. With the latino/ching set up the loop isolates the tension to the forearm only, the sling section between the loop and the butt is slack.

PG thanks for taking the time to post those pictures....worth a thousand words.

Ringman,you're welcome. Listen to guys like GuyM,TAK,PG, David W and others who clearly seem to have formal training in sling use, which I do not...I learned by watching match shooters,reading,and shooting.

I can tell you it has helped me kill animals that I would otherwise not have had a prayer of killing....not a lot...but often enough that I never hunt without a shooting sling.

TAK brings up an excellent point....that is that through sling tension you are marrying the rifle to your skeletal system, like the frame of a building,and allowing quivering muscles to relax,so that your hold is much steadier.

Even though people get along without them,I don't consider a rifleman's education complete unless he knows how to use a shooting sling.

the guy in that video looks like he smokes alot of weed

Seeing as how he's a successful businessman who hosts Tier One units, to include the FBI, I seriously doubt it.

Same as Guy, since I was a young kid, Dad taught me to use the sling. The Marine Corps REALLY taught me how to use it and I have used them on my own rifles since.

I use simple Montana slings on my hunting rifles, and they work well for a simple hasty sling, which seems to really steady the rifle for shots where they is nothing else to to stabilize the shot. Even more when there is something to rest on.

People who laugh at folks using slings are just showing their ignorance.

You can do some pretty good shooting with one of you practice.

The shots l posted are in my past. A sling is in my future. Thanks.

Great video.

I use the Quick Cuff sling by Tactical Intervention

http://www.tacticalintervention.com/modelm24usmilitary.html

Yup, that was a good video, thanks for posting that. We're going to the range on Friday, that prompted me to throw the Latigo in the bag.

Everyone have a Great Thanksgiving.

I've used the Latigo for years. Recently I got a Montana sling and feel it's the best yet. It's super simple and sometimes simple is best.

This sling was developed by Scenarshooter (Pat) and he should know a thing or two about shooting and slings.

Regarding the 26 Nosler, I think it will do well. It may well perform with or better than the .264WM and hopefully, it won't be a finicky round. With new powders now available, like RL-33, this round has come at the right time.

I have a good bud who's looking to pick up a shot out M-700 7RM. That action should be a good one to convert to 26 Nosler. It may need a box mag with windows like the RUM family. These windows allow more room for wide body cases to fit under the rails.

See this link on the .404J. http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/7846376/2

DF