I'd like to poll the collective wisdom of experienced hunters.

What do you use as a shooting aid in the field? Please also mention what type of terrain and hunting you are doing. I'm mainly curious if most use a sling as a shooting aid, but let me know if you use a bipod, sticks or a pack. If you use a sling do you just have a simple strap and use a hasty sling? Anyone use a Rhodesian, Ching or 1907 style loop sling?

Sling(hasty) and shooting sticks here. Sagebrush is mostly to high to think about prone shooting so most shots are from sitting. Not saying prone is a never situation just saying I prepare for the most likely. My homemade shooting sticks are adjustable so they can be used prone if it works that way.

Eastern woodlands/semi-mountains for me. I use whatever support falls to hand at the moment of need- trees mostly. I carry my sling in a day pack or pocket. When I was younger and not wracked with arthritis I would cheerfully drop to prone or sitting position when groundhog hunting and get into a tight loop M1907 sling. Those days are behind me and now I mainly use a sling only to carry a rifle when I need both hands free (and it's still invariably a M1907 sling- old habits die hard).

The brush is thick where I hunt, so I get a lot of offhand shots. That said, I occasionally get long shots across tree farms, canyons, orchards, etc., so I use the Latigo sling. It’s good for carry and works well for shooting. It was fast enough the one time I used it to kill something, but in fairness I must call out that it’s a bit slower than a Ching. More important is that it doesn’t need a third swivel, so it works on borrowed rifles, semi-autos, lever guns, etc.

I also spend a fair amount of time practicing the post rest since there are so many trees where I hunt, but have never had the chance to use it in the field.

I plan to hunt more varied species and conditions in the future, so I expect fewer offhand shots and I’m looking for lighter, more weatherproof alternatives.

I have never used shooting sticks—I have too much trouble juggling a rifle and binos to add anything else.


Okie John

M1907 here. I've got a bunch of them and I haven't found much not to like about them. Most use of a sling is in the west shooting over my pack. I use it both as a hasty and as a loop sling when I have the time. I don't really carry it on my shoulder though.

The Brownells Latigo is pretty good as well I've heard, but no experience with it, yet.

Most of the time nothing. But I have shooting sticks and with practice they can be almost as accurate as shooting off a bench. I've used them enough practicing that I feel good about using them, and often carry them afield. So far I've not taken a shot where they were needed.

1907 has done well for me on nonhubtibg rifles but for hunting I love Montana:

Mid West.....pinch a tree

Out West.....bi-pod and off my pack

Africa.......tall trigger stick tripod, and bi-pod

I'll wrap a regular singel strap sling, I tend to make them out of paracord with a double cobra or side by side cobra weave to get the thickness/tension/weight I want.

I prefer a 1907 in 1" thick leather.

But for the hard kicking featherweight mountain rifles, I use a Galco Ching Sling. I can really crank the gun into my shoulder with the loop in it and keep the scope from "kissing" me ;0

Uncle mikes... For those long shots, I'll throw my pack down. For really long shots I'll get set-up in the rocks and throw my pack down.... I'll easily shoot out to 700 yards this way:



I don't particularly like shooting sticks, but use them on occasion:

I hunt in the national forest it's usually mountainous. I have a Harris bipod that I can shoot from sitting position. My sling is for carrying a rifle. It's African springbok.

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Over the years, that's 60 yrs. of big game hunting in various places and habitats, I've used lots of things.
My first buck was killed at 25 yds. with a military style shooting sling used off hand in the so called "hasty" mode.
My last buck I used a CW style Cobra Sling to hit a running buck at 25-50 yds.
In between I've killed bucks dodging and weaving in and out of cover as far off as 275 yds. with the military sling, and 300 yds. standing still with the same military sling. All of those were shot from the sitting position.
I've tried the bipods, including one that can used from sitting. They are way too slow to use and destroy the rifles balance for running, off hand shots. I've even played with a USMC style homemade tripod.
When I discovered the "CW" style made popular by Jeff Cooper, I had my custom rifles, four of them, made with three flush sockets to accomondate them. They work well.
But the latest Ching sling designs are even better. The Wilderness Tactical Products version weighs only 5 ozs. with metal studs, and evn less with the plastic hardware. I use that now on my three point custom rifles.
For my M1A Scout and my walnut stocked Sako, I use the Safari Ching Sling.
Both are just as fast as the CW, while allowing me to easily sling the rifle for crossing tough areas or glassing, etc.
Normally I'm hunting open high country or the semi-open low desert. I can very seldom use prone due to ground irregularities. But I have used rocks and other things many times as an additional rest.
Jeff Cooper pointed out that a good shooting sling will cut ones group sizes by at least 30%. I'd add that I can make hits faster using a sitting position and a shooting sling than I can shooting off had at ranges over 50 yds.
The other thing I discovered is that with light rifles, I do much better when out of breath than without one. E

I've killed deer shooting offhand including my first with a 30-30 on the dead run at 60 yards and my cow elk last year walking at 75 yards but I avoid it like the plague and always try to get a solid field rest.

My use of a sling is just to carry my rifle although I've practiced using it to steady shots I haven't used it in the field.

My hunting is almost all in the Western Mountains with sage evergreens aspens in Co sometimes but I prefer to sit and hunt the slope or slopes opposite my position which can lead to longer shots. I'm good off of one knee to about 300 yards and seated off of both knees to way out there. We practice to 800 yards from that position I've taken 4 shots between 500 and 550 yards at pigs and elk and am 4 for 4 so far.

I've used my pack and tall trigger sticks in practice but tend to revert to one or both knees when push comes to shove. In fact my tall trigger sticks are somewhere on th side of a mountain where I dropped the last year to rush up the hill to get in shooting position on a herd of elk. Planning to look some more for them in November when we go elk hunting.

Not seen much these days, but a one-piece Whelen sling works well from the sit with your arm through the loop and also as a hasty sling for those that benefit from that.

Now that I'm old, fat, and creaky, I usually carry a homemade staff of some sort when I'm out. They help steady things up from offhand, and keep me from rolling down hills at odd moments not of my choosing.

If I can get a rest, I take it....but they're not always available and handy. I have a Montana sling on my deer and coyote rifles, attached with the adjustment loop at the butt end. If I have time for it, for example on a longer shot at a standing deer, I adjust the loop so when I put my upper arm through it it tightens against my arm just above the elbow. The pressure is on the buttstock, not the forearm, and I haven't noticed any change of impact doing this. It's not a true military or Whelan sling, but seems better than the "hasty" sling. Many years ago a friend and and I walked into a prairie dog down about 2 miles from the road. Give the amount of ammo I wanted to carry, plus water and such, I decided to leave the bipod in the pickup. Using the Montana sling as I've described, I was hitting prairie dogs pretty well!

Off my backpack if going with a minimal load out, shooting sticks (if going lightweight), tripod with Manfrotto head if going heavy, or if really bare bones, one of these: http://www.armageddongear.com/Precision-Rifle-Sling

Whatever, including over the handlebars of a 4-wheeler, and snowmachine wind screen.

Used a BOG tripod on my last kill a couple weeks back. That was my first use of the BOG on game, tho I've been packing it around for several years.

Montana Slings and a Polecat collapsible bi-pod shooting stick.