Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Hunting rifle slings as shooting aid

I have finally accepted that, for whatever reason, my free floated rifle barrel hunting rifles do not shoot as consistently when using bipods as they do when suuported on my gloved hand resting on something etc.

Since high power rifle shooting competitions use adjustable slings, and I have had some success with Bronwell Latigo slings, I wonderd what hunting field experience was there with Turner type slings?

What do people use and recommend?

Thanks.

I use the Turners, Montana shooting sling and Brownells Latigo. All three are great shooting slings. The Turners and Brownells are adjust so I can loop up if time permits but it’s mostly a quick hasty sling which works just about as well for me shooting over a rucksack.

I shot my first buck with a military style rifle sling done in the hasty fashion. The range was a whole 25 yards. That was 1960. Today, I have much different opinions. First, at 50 yds. or less, I need no shooting sling. But.... you can't run fast enough to give me a rifle that won't take a good, fast shooting sling. That's because I often shoot game on the run, at 20- almost 300 yds. I usually use a sitting position unless the range is under 50 yds. and I know I'll have no chance for a shot at longer range. Anything else, on a running buck, and all of my 4 yr. old kills have been running animals, I use a sitting position with fast to use shooting sling. My favorites are the Ching Sling and the Safari Ching Sling. BTW, one should check the rifles zero from a field position using a shooting sling if you intend to use it like that in the field. Some rifles don't shoot the same zero with some shooting slings. All of my rifles shoot where they are suppose to when using one of the above style slings.
For shots over 200 yds., if there is time, I, too, use my pack as a rest to shoot. E

I'm not familiar with the Turner. Can you post a link or a pic?

I do have quite a bit of experience with the 1907, the cotton/nylon slings that replaced it, the Ching, the Latigo, and the two-point sling that's common on M-4 variants.

The Latigo is easy to use. It's a bit slower than the Ching but only a bit, and it doesn't need a third swivel. The 1907 and cotton/web slings are heavy and slow but you can't beat them for long strings of fire. I haven't yet found a way to use the two-point as a target sling--it's a carrying strap. It's incredibly versatile in that respect but it's still just a carrying strap.


Okie John

Here’s a link to Turners

https://turnersling.com/m1907-military-rifle-sling/

The M1907 sling in a good hunting sling.

It provides the capacity of a hasty loop w/o adjustment.


But they're heavy, and kinda suck when they get wet.

So although not as handy, prefer the 1-1/4" cotton web sling.




GR

Clint is correct in his assessment that the shooting sling is useful for known forward threats. Like shooting trench to trench in 1907. Its highly impractical in the field. They are slow to get into to (unless your sitting or laying prone at a range). For the record, his is not setup as the military used them nor as national match shooters use them.

I like them for Garand matches and such...but they are not worth the hassle in the field and the above comment is spot on about point of impact while in a tight sling. The vast majority of sporting guns won't shoot worth a darn with that much pressure pulling on the frond. You need a heavy stocked gun like a M1 or 1903 for that.

Just my opinion...but its based on real world experience. Ive tried and tried to make em work in the field.

Yeah, it's rigged as a hunting sling.

Kinda the point, I guess.

Cuff slings - are way too slow for most field shooting.

But the way he has it rigged, beats the hasty web sling hands down.




GR

For a lot of my shooting and hunting I prefer a 1907 sling to a bipod. I'm sure that Ching and Latigo slings are great but I have no experience with them. My experience is with a 1" leather 1907 sling. With some rifles it will cause a point of impact shift. You really need to know how it affects an individual rifle. Generally two piece stocks shift a fair bit as I have seen with a couple Ruger #1s that I've had. However, I currently have a #1V 6.5x284 that doesn't shift laterally at all and only drops one minute of elevation which is easy to deal with. The bolt action rifles that I have used a 1907 sling with have generally shifted very little from sling pressure and the ones that own currently don't shift at all. Having said that you really do need to test your rifle to know. Free-floated and contact bedded barrels can both shoot without POI shift when using a sling.

I find using the sling to be of significant benefit from sitting and from prone. In the prone position I can reliably shoot 1.5 MOA and often better with a 1907 sling. For me this is good enough that a lot of the time it isn't worth bringing a bipod. Aside from varmint hunting I've used a 1907 sling for whitetail deer and black bear hunting and been very happy to have it available.

I use the Montana sling, with the loop end attached to the buttstock. With the loop adjusted correctly, I can put pressure with my upper arm against the buttstock. It helps steady me considerably, though not as much as a true shooting sling, and puts no pressure on the forearm, so does not affect POI.

OK as long it does not induce forearm contact on floated barrels.

1 minute, as I use it the sling is loose between my arm and the forearm. I put my arm through the loop and tighten my arm against the buttstock. It does help steady my aim especially from sitting, though it seems to help offhand as well. Again it's not a Whelan shooting sling, but it is a steadying technique and has no impart on poi.

I hunted with a guy (former highly ranked hi power shooter) that used something home made that worked like the Brownell's Latigo. He put one of those old school "pot hooks" on the lower end...with a corresponding ring on the stock toe and another ring on the front of the trigger guard bow. He could get the rifle off his shoulder, pot hook onto the trigger guard ring, locked in shooting position with a hasty loop in under 3 seconds. If the sagebrush or terrain allowed sitting or even kneeling...it was meat in the pot.

About all I ever saw for slings when I grew up was the old web sling and the military shooting slings and modified Garrand Slings, which we still have on a couple of guns. Most of the guys I saw here in Alaska just set them for carrying over their shoulder and that was that. I have quite the grave yard full of rifle slings, like old handgun holsters, don't know why I keep them. Many years ago I discovered the Montana Sling and awhile back the Vickers Hunting Sling from Blue Force Gear, they both meet my needs here in Alaska. A note below describing the Vickers Hunting Sling.

"The Hunting Sling is made from the same military-grade INVISTA™ solution-dyed CORDURA® webbing used by over 250,000 Marines, Soldiers, and Airmen, which is colorfast and resists rolling, cracking, or hardening. The overall length of the sling is 26 inches when fully tightened, and 46 inches when fully loosened". If your a hard core live out with the critters for days hunter, the Vickers Hunting Sling is a good one.

They are quick to adjust and sturdy so should last forever. I prefer the leather Montana Slings on my lever guns and my old Mod. 70 Featherweight 30-06, but the Vickers Hunting Sling gets the nod on a couple of the stainless rifles I use and my Rem. 870 house gun that sees duty as a camp and truck gun at times. I am sure if pressed into military service in wet climates the Vickers would out last the leather slings.

You Tube has videos on these slings.

In what positions are you shooting, what are you shooting at, and how much time do you have to shoot?

I shot slings for 20+ years in Hi-Power. All things considered in the hunting fields, I shoot bi-pods..sitting and prone. Off hand, unsupported, in the woods, at 100 yrds and under.

Are you sure it`s the equipment and not you?

Also, check to be sure the rifle barrel is not contacting the stock when the rifle is fired. I normally mount my front sling stud 2.5 to 3 inches from the end of the stock, if you use that system.

This sounds a lot like how the Ching sling works. The problem is mounting that middle swivel.


Okie John

1907 will work fine. When set up properly they can be plenty fast. Certainly no slower than extending bipod legs and getting into a prone position. The additional benefit is the stability you get in multiple positions.

The classic Ching Sling does require a 3rd. attachment point. But the Safari Ching Sling does not. I buy mine from Optics Planet. Got them on my M1A, and pre-64 Winchester. E

Funny that no one mentions the Whelen sling any more. At one time it was widely promoted as a shooting aid. Lighter and simpler than the military version.

About 20 years ago, I spotted some deer across a ravine from me, maybe 125 yards at most. I dropped on my butt, slung up and cracked a buck. Elapsed time, pretty damn quick. Properly done, from the sit it’s very steady. Helps if you can bend over far enough to get the flats of your arms on your shins too😱

Most of the time I use a simple carry strap that Remington used to supply with BDL rifles or a Montana sling. On several occasions I’ve used it as a hasty sling to make shots out to 475 yards. For me, sitting with the hasty sling is almost like a solid forearm rest.