Sling Set Ups

[Canonshooter]

I'm thinking through/planning a sling set up for my 700 (pictured below). I want to use the sling for field position support and to be able to simply carry the rifle.

So many slings to chose from, but this is the one that is currently on the top of my list:

http://www.triadtactical.com/Mountain-Shooter-Sling.html

I am hoping to get some input on attaching the sling to the rifle. I have a QR stud in the standard bottom/rear location on the stock but I will need to add a second stud to the front of the rifle. Is it best to add the second stud on the bottom of the forearm in back of the first to clear the bipod or install it on the left side of the forearm? I am thinking a second stud in the front would be preferable to using the stud on the bipod.

Also, if anyone has a set up similar to what I'm looking to do, if you could post a photo or two that would be great.

My sincere thanks for your advice and input!

http://www.canonshooter.com/photos2/700-11.jpg

[Mariley85]

I've been eyeing the TAB Gear Biathlon sling. Looks awesome for those long hikes to the good ranges.

[Canonshooter]

I've been eyeing the TAB Gear Biathlon sling. Looks awesome for those long hikes to the good ranges.

That sling seems to have favorable reviews and short of a pack, looks to be the ticket for extended carry. I like that it frees up both hands while keeping the rifle out of the way and reasonably secure.

Here's another one that looks effective and useful, though geared more for the shooting end of the spectrum vs. ease of carry - https://www.riflesonly.com/pro-shop/tactical-kit/slings/the-ftw-sling.html

[BrigandTwoFour]

For a standard style sling good for carry and positional slung shooting, the TAB gear sling is tough to beat. If you want a few more features, adjustability, and the ability to be carried in front of you "tactical style," then check out the TAB Rapid Adjust Sling (RAS) or the new FTW Bungee. Triad sells all of these.

I've been using the TAB gear sling for about a year, it's a good piece of kit. My only real gripe with it it is that the material tends to slide down my arm when cinched in certain positions unless I'm wearing clothing that grips it better. I would also like a more "on the fly" length adjustment (both the RAS and FTW do this, which is why I've been eyeballing them).

edit: I've not used one, but the Mountain Shooter sling mentioned earlier would also be a good option for a standard style loop sling.

[Canonshooter]

edit: I've not used one, but the Mountain Shooter sling mentioned earlier would also be a good option for a standard style loop sling.

Found a review here - http://www.snipershide.com/2013/03/the-mountain-shooter-sling/

[Mo_Zam_Beek]

<--- Been using TIS slings for years (prefer the slip cuff over the quick cuff) and before that leather 1907s.


TAB and others make very nice slings.

There does come a point where it is like - why does that sling cost that much?

Humping a rifle with a sling - I don't get the Biathlon slings - if I have to hump the rifle a long way, I probably need other gear, which means at minimum a fanny pack on a belt or a backpack which kind of negate the ability of the rifle to lie correctly on my back. Having humped a 14# rifle a long ways with a standard 2 point sling, I am not sure what the bungy cord is going to do for me other than make that weight bounce and make it suck even more as time goes by.

Buy a sling because it helps you shoot, not because it is a swiss army knife. With that in mind it is really basic - something @ 1.5" wide is wide enough to be comfy when slung up for long periods, a little wider or narrower is fine but limitations express themselves quickly. A lot of the cost should be reflected in the quality of the metal hardware that comes with the sling - after all it is the hardware that keeps the sling tightly in the shooting position and keeps your rifle from hitting the dirt.

As for your front QD - assuming you're a RT handed shooter - install that on the left. Confirm that the barrel channel does not touch the barrel when significant sling pressure is applied.

As for QDs in general - it is a good idea to periodically clean and lube both the socket and the swivel to prevent rust or dirt from creating a failure thereby allowing your rifle to hit the dirt.

[Canonshooter]

Buy a sling because it helps you shoot, not because it is a swiss army knife. With that in mind it is really basic...

Agreed. I'm leaning toward the Mountain Shooter sling because it's simple, lightweight and easy to use. It is also in keeping with the overall KISS theme of the rifle.

I am also leaning toward installing a second QR stud on the bottom of the stock, far enough back to just clear the bipod. This will also allow me to use the same sling on my .22 where it will get plenty of use;

http://www.canonshooter.com/photos2/tupperware-3.jpg

Savage Mkll FV
Clearidge 3-9X32 AO
Leupold rings
TacPro cheek rest

[Canonshooter]

double tap

[mark5pt56]

There's a few out there that would fit your needs, just a matter of finding it. If your rifle is the least bit front heavy, muzzle up allows for a lot of swinging material. When you have a bipod mounted, the problem is worse as your attachment is further to the rear. When you look at the SAP sling-notice how all of the rifles are carried on the front page. I just happened to notice that and it's based on my own use/observations.

If you like to keep things simple, that Mountain Shooter Sling looks to be a nice option. I actually need to try it out one day.

Now, I've been fiddling with the Magpul MS1 for both carbine and precision rifle. Works great for the carbine, like the no tail option and you can run it as a two point or a single with the addition of the double QD or hook stub.
For precision rifles-If using the sling as an aid by either a hasty sling or slinging up, it allows for that feature as well. You adjust the front end via the tri-glide for the desired length and put your arm into the loop and tighten via the quick adjust slider.

This allows for the use of the MS1 on various platforms, without a ton of buckles, tabs, tails, etc. etc. Plus you can adjust for carry via the adjusted as intended on the carbine.

You don't need to remove the rear for use as instructed on the link below. But the arm loop is the point to show.
http://www.ray-vin.com/tech/websling/webslinghelp.htm

Of course Magpul does a better job at marketing than me.
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=16345/GunTechdetail/Magpul-MS-1-Sling-instructional-Video
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?144323-All-New-Magpul-MS1-Sling-System

One other feature packed sling is the Short Action Precision sling.
http://www.shortactionprecision.com/sap-positional-sling/

Hope this helps as it can get expensive and time consuming monkeying with slings.

And as someone once said-"they aren't rocket science" but I haven't figured that out yet either.

Mark

[Canonshooter]

Hope this helps as it can get expensive and time consuming monkeying with slings.

Mark

Mark, it does indeed and I appreciate your input!

Both the 700 and MK ll are a bit front heavy, I find the point of balance to be just behind the front ring on both of them. Because I'm only 5'7" and have short arms, in the prone position my left hand ends up under the magazine of the 700, with the rear of my hand almost touching the trigger guard. Additionally, due to limited flexibility in my neck from an injury in an auto accident, I need to use a high-prone position. I guess due to these factors that I cannot change, I find getting into proper position with a bipod more difficult and less comfortable than an unsupported prone position. The fact that I'm in my 60s and generally not as flexible as I used to be doesn't help either.

All of this said, having dabbled in NRA high power a long time ago with a SA M1A, I'm going to start with a sling and see how well I can master it again. My 700 weighs just under 11 pounds and with my left hand under the magazine where it naturally falls in prone, the rifle is perfectly balanced and comfortable to support.

Thanks again for taking the time to comment!

[mark5pt56]

No worries. If you need high prone for comfort, also try the 9-13 bipod or even a tripod if that helps due to your injuries. We all get old and our past catches up to us. If you have to even sit and use a tripod like the Hog Saddle or PRS, be comfortable and have fun.

[Canonshooter]

I purchased the Mountain Shooter Sling and will be trying it out this weekend. Well made and a simple-to-use design, which works well for me.

I also restocked my Savage MKll in a Boyds' laminate that I modified with pillars and bedding. I very much prefer the handling qualities of the rifle with the new stock vs. the tupperware it came with;

http://www.canonshooter.com/photos2/rfh-15.jpg
My modified MKll-FV wearing a Mountain Shooter Sling (https://www.triadtactical.com/Mountain-Shooter-Sling.html).


http://www.canonshooter.com/photos2/rfh-17.jpg

[kevN]

Most of the precision rifle slings get way to complicated and hard to adjust. I've had the quick cuff & tab slings on guns and they are nightmares. I have had much better luck just running a vickers 2pt quick adjust (in some cases running it backwards.) then I did with anything else. You need quick adjust in my opinion to be able to quickly lock into different positions, barricade, tripod. It's also nice to have quick detach so you can get even more flexibility like wrapping it around a post/etc.

[Long Range Trigger Monkey]

My friend Brock makes the Mountain Shooter slings and it's all I've been using on my PR guns for quite a while now. Here's a video I did to show how easy it is to get in and out of.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATInJk94X4s

[taliv]

I ran the TIS quick cuff for years and it was excellent. With my CMP/NRA HP background shooting a 1907 style sling, I found the transition to the TIS very easy. I also like that it's sewn into a few of my jackets, so that it would NOT slip down to my elbow like almost every other sling will do. It's faster to get sling up than any other sling too because of that. snap the buckle and you're in. unsnap it and you're out. no fussing with the loop at all. The downside was it sucked as a carry sling and it was much heavier than I needed, both the sling material and the hardware, which seemed to be built for pulling vehicles out of the mud or something. I'd maybe give it an A for shooting and a D for carrying.

I switched to the Armageddon gear sling, which the FTW seems to be an up armored copy of. i.e. FTW replaces plastic hardware with metal. I generally prefer the plastic, but some may need the metal. The sling is much better for carrying and not quite as good for traditional positional shooting, but more than adequate for a couple shots. If you had to shoot a longer string, you'd start to notice the deficiency, but that's ok, because there aren't a lot of 'practical' reasons to shoot 20 rounds at the same target from the same position. On the practical side, the bungee is pretty useful when shooting barricades. The bungee seems comfortable carrying short distances too, and generally for keeping the rifle at the ready. However, if I were hiking long distances, I'd prefer throwing it over my shoulder or putting it in my eberlestock. I'd probably give the sling a B for shooting and a B for carry. So it's a compromise, like all slings, but one that meets my needs better now.

The older TAB is basically the same thing as the TIS, only you can't sew it onto your jacket. So it will slip down your arm. I'd give it a B for shooting and a D for carrying.

I don't have any experience with the mountain shooter sling other than watching the video above, but two things I don't like about it are
1. it doesn't QD in case you need to get out of it fast
2. the front loop isn't as easily adjusted. with the armageddon gear slings, the front section can be made longer or shorter fairly quickly by pulling a strap. This is important because the optimal length is different for prone, sitting, kneeling. My slings are all marked so if I am going to shoot kneeling, I can pull the strap until the word "kneeling" shows in the buckle very quickly, then pull it to "sitting" for example. With the TIS, I modified it by adding another connector buckle to the sling a few inches down from the built-in one that connects to the loop on my jacket. I'd use one for sitting and the other for kneeing. One of the very few stages I shoot well at Rifles Only was one shot each unsupported prone, sitting, kneeling and standing all weak side at a Propel bottle about 80 yards away in 45 seconds, iirc. Moving through those positions with support from a sling in that little time would only be possible with a rapidly adjustable front strap. Almost every HP shooter will adjust their 1907 style sling by moving the frogs. However, you usually have at least an hour of scoring and pit duty between sitting rapids and prone rapids so slow frogs aren't a huge disadvantage. I'd be interested in seeing another video if someone has a technique to do that with a sling like the mountain shooter sling.

[Long Range Trigger Monkey]

Talive I agree that the Mountain Shooter isn't perfect when put into the context of the match stage that you described but then again I imagine neither is the TIS Slip Cuff and similar in function TAB Gear sling when put in the same situation. I imagine you could retrofit the Mountain Shooter sling with a quick release buckle without too much trouble or any additional sewing for that matter, I may have to try it with the extra one that I have. There's not much that can be done about improving how fast you can adjust the tension since it was more or less designed to be faster to get in and out of compared to other traditional shooting slings. I've used a TIS Slip Cuff in a stage similar to the one you described, it was 100 yards on a pistol bullseye target, and had the sling adjusted to a happy medium for the sitting and kneeling and worked it out for the standing and prone. It was far from perfect but I cleaned the stage under time and I do see the benefit that a sling like the Armageddon Gear sling would provide in a situation like that. I can also imagine that the AG sling would be effective on barricades or other barriers where you could have it slung like an AR and tighten it up so that the tension goes across your back and pulls it into your body.

[taliv]

I'll try to take some pics of my TIS sling with the additional buckle when it stops raining.

i was originally thinking you couldn't do that with the MSS, because of the type of buckle it used. but after staring at it a few minutes it occurred to me that you could add another flush cup at a different length and just use the appropriate one. i dunno, i'm probably making it too complicated. like you said, you can split the difference between sitting and kneeling and still get some support and that's probably good enough for most practical targets. if you can find a way to make it perfect for both though, without making it overly complicated, seems worth the effort to me.

[Canonshooter]

I have mine adjusted so it works reasonably well for standing, kneeling and sitting. At least for my physique, no sling adjustment is needed between those positions and I can tweak the tension by moving my support hand forward or backward on the stock's forearm.

Where I run into a problem is prone - the adjustment is too short. However, I experimented with placing the loop under my bicep but still above my elbow, and the sling adjustment was fine in the position. I understand that is not where the loop should be used, but I found using the sling with the loop in that position was still far better than no sling at all. It also seems to work quite well as a carry sling as there is no hardware or anything else where it lays on the shoulder in a traditional over-the-shoulder, muzzle-up carry.

As taliv mentioned, the MSS is a compromise like all other slings, but its simplicity and ease of use is really growing on me the more time I spend with it.

[Long Range Trigger Monkey]

I was thinking of adding a buckle in the lower portion of the sling towards the rear a la the TAB Gear Sling. I'm taking a serious look at the Armageddon Gear sling for my DMR rifle, I'm currently running a Blue Force VCAS sling and it did well at the last DMR match but that AG sling could be just what I'm looking for.