Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rifle slings and styles - what's your favourite?

G'day all,

just putting a general question out there to every one about what type of slings they use out in the field, and how they might utilise them (besides the obvious of "for slinging" your rifle).
So what is your favourite/prefered sling?
Leather, cotton, synthetic?
What shape or style? Cobra, straight edged, Whelen, Latigo?
Padded or not, with ammo loops or without?
How do you prefer to sling your rifle? Barrel up or down?
Over which shoulder compared to your prefered shooting hand (RH shooter over LH shoulder, RH shooter over RH shoulder, etc.)?
Whether you use you sling to help steady your shots, off-hand or otherwise?
Also, If any of you have pics of the various slings you use, I'd be very interested to see them posted on the forum here.
I've been trying to find out a bit of info on the whelen sling (recommended in a magazine article here in Oz), and I am still unsure of what one looks like, or how it operates differently from a regular adjustable sling.
Cheers for now,
Troy.

I currently prefer the Montana gunsling and carry over the left shoulder (right hand shooter). Muzzle up or muzzle down depends on terrain. I see no reason to add the additional weight of padding or the Cobra style.

http://www.montanagunslings.com/

For actual shooting I prefer a good GI style sling, but don't use them on hunting rifles because they play havoc with point-of-impact when used properly unless the barrel is free floated enough to throw a cat through the gap.

http://www.turnersling.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TS&Category_Code=HPCG

Last year I picked up a Ruger "ultralite" 30-06 with a boat paddle stock. I didn't like the way that my other slings were working with it, so I rigged up an extra accessory strap that I had in my pack. It's worked great - adjustable, very lite weight, extremely quiet and flexible.

I only sling my rifle when using my bins, which is quite a bit. I'm a right handed shooter and usually sling over my left arm.

I use the 48" strap. It's different, but it works great.

http://www.mountaingear.com/pages/p.../Store/MG/item/200065/N/4294967210%20641

Mike.

I generally use Cobra slings, carried over the left shoulder and I prefer muzzle down unless I'm hunting in steep, muddy terrain.

For my walnut stocked big game hunting rifles I prefer a leather sling with no hooks so as not to mar the wood. Such a sling is about .83" wide. I have a few of them and want more.

Here is a picture of one on the top rifle.

I used a Montana sling last season and like it a lot. Pretty basic, and easy to adjust. I've personally never liked the feel padded slings.

For my rifles I have a Safari Sling, otherwise just a generic padded nylon sling. I want to pick up one of those Butler Creek mountain slings though.

Uncle Mikes Mountain Sling

+1 on the Mountain Sling.

Brownell's Latigo sling or the Montana sling.

I like leather for slings. I have made Whelen slings and like them a lot, even if they don't adjust as quickly as the Latigo type. My standard carry is over my left shoulder with muzzle down as I'm right handed and I've found it is very quick to get into action. I have used Whelen slings to steady my shots in sitting position with, as has been pointed out, a rifle whose barrel was free floated.
Whelen slings are easy to make. I take a 60" piece of leather, run it through the front swivel, making a loop, and adjust it for proper fit on my upper arm in the sitting position. Then I fasten it with a leather thong but, Chicago screws would also work. The tail piece is ran through the rear swivel and excess is cut, then a hook is attached. From the piece which was cut, I make two 1/4" keepers, one at the front loop for chinching against your arm for shooting, the other for the rear to keep the rear loop tighter. I used hooks from worn out slings. Punch holes for the hook which can be as many or as few as you want. Usually I make a couple for a tight sling, a couple more for carry, and then a couple more to extend the sling so as to fit my rifle across my back. Maybe the pic will explain better:

I really like the Uncle Mike's Mountain sling, really simple and lightweight.

The Montana sling is my favorite production rifle sling. I have a sling from Levergun Leather Works and it is VERY nice� but that is a custom sling and is not what you are asking about.
I only have the one inch strap� and if I were to get another one I would get the 1 � inch strap� that the only diff.

I prefer a soft leather Cobra sling reversed with the three point CW style. Two attachment points using flush cups, at the usual locations and a third just in front of the front guard screw.
How I carry the rifle depends on what I'm doing and where.
For instance, if I walking, climbing and glassing as I go, on my feet, the rifle gets slung, muzzle up on my off, left side, so I have both hands free to use my binoculars. The sling is attached to the forward point and the mid point in case I need to use to shoot.
If I'm still hunting in heavy cover, then the sling is attached to the conventional points, and rifle is carried upside down, muxzzle down on my off side. This allows me to get on target faster than any muzzle up position.
I used a military sling for many years. I went over to the CW system because it is much faster. I can get into the loop as I drop into a sitting position w/o losing any time.
Having a sling to steady the rifle when I'm out of breath and he's on the run has been a priceless asset many times. I will not own a hunting rifle than can't use a shooting sling. Even my iron sighted, lever action .22 and my iron sighted .25-20 can take a military sling. I've made lots of tricky shots because I had one along even on these rifles. E

+i
I really like the CW sling.

Mountain Sling.

Yup.

As a carrying strap, I like the Vello-Vellini (or something like that, it's a wierd name). Stretchy and grippy on your shoulder.

As a shooting sling, I like what Dan has, above, but the one I used was from Brownell's. You can get amazingly rock-solid with those suckers.

I use one of the super sticky "claw" slings I got from Cabelas for carrying. I just recently started using the "claw" and really like them. I also carry my gun on my left shoulder (I am right handed), barrel up and with the gun on my chest rather than my back. My left hand rests on the floorplate and controls the gun during slips and falls and makes it easy to mount the rifle when in a hurry as I always have my hand on my rifle/shotgun. I believe this technique is called the forward carry.

For my rifles that have wood stocks, I like to use a generic leather sling, as I feel it adds to the "classy" look of the gun.

For the synthetic rifles, I like to use a black nylon sling.

Don't care too much about ammo loops, as I put a shellholder on the back of my rifles. I do like padding on my slings, however, because it ia more comfortable after carrying the rifle through the hills and brush all day.

I carry my rifles, muzzle up, on the same side as my shooting hand, makes unslinging the rifle for a quick shot much easier.