Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rifle slings, nice set up, ideas ?

Slings lighten your load... of game meat. That might not be the case for guys who hunt different, more open areas than I do here in the Midwest. A mega buck taught me a valuable lesson years ago when I rounded some brush with my rifle over my shoulder instead of in my hands where it belonged and there he was...gone. That day I decided that if I was too tired to carry my rifle, I belonged back in camp. The only time I sling a rifle is when I am climbing a tree, done hunting for the day or pulling out a deer. What has worked the best for me is a camo colored nylon sling made wide enough to go over my shoulder and head for a cross chest carry. Nylon because it is light weight, impervious to moisture and doesn't have or hold scent like leather. I got rid of the quick detachable sling swivels because they rattled. Nylon sling swivels replaced them and the sling was sewn in place at a local canvas shop to get rid of the buckles and another potential rattle. A little extreme, maybe but it works for me.

My favorite what not to do with a sling story was my buddy with one of those military claw type adjustable slings on his rifle. He had just climbed up into his tree stand with the rifle slung when one of the buckles let go on strap and his 6.5 was headed back down the tree barrel first. I met him on the way back to camp going back for a spare rifle.