In general theory, I can entirely agree with this statement and sentiment by your PH. However, in practice and personal experience I would disagree.
While having the rifle at port arms and ready for an encounter with a dangerous animal (human or otherwise) is entirely the corrrect way to go, not all of your time afield, in fact a very small amount of time afield, will be spent in anticipation of a close encounter of the dangerous kind. In fact, much of your time, even in thick country, is spent tracking the animal and one knows in most instances when you are getting close and need to prepare for action. During the time spent tracking, I personally see no need to constantly be in a state of anticipation and 100% readiness and alert. I believe this would be extremely tiring and that no one could do this for very long, even the best of hunters. Yes, you need to be ready at all times to encounter your prey, but 99% of the time, I highly doubt you will need to face a charge or fire your weapon the instant you first see the animal.
In my experience hunting Cape Buffalo, although very limited, both myself and my PH used a sling on our DG rifles. When we encountered buffalo, we obviously had the rifles off the shoulder and at the ready, anticipating a shot. This happened many times and I don't remember a single instance when either of our slings were hung up on brush, trees, etc. and we were always in the thick Mopane. In addition, when following up a wounded buffalo and anticipating an immediate encounter with an angry bull, my PH, who was a veteran of the Rhodesian war, actually wrapped up in his sling in a manner similar to a hasty type sling arrangement. By the way he wrapped up, I could tell that he did not do this just to have the sling out of the way, but to provide a more stable off-hand shot should one present itself. If he felt the sling was in the way or useless, he had more than enough time before starting the follow-up to remove the sling from his rifle had this been the case.
My conclusion, FWIW, is that this is another instance of different strokes for different folks. What works for one and makes complete sense to him, may not work or make sense to another. I've used a sling on my rifles from the time I started hunting rabbits with .22's from age 10 on and find them useful. I've yet to be convinced that they are a hindrance. Likewise, with the African carry, I think as long as the person exhibits proper safety practices and muzzle control, I can see nothing wrong with this mode of carry.
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