Dumb Question of the Month: Setting Up the Sling

[MistWolf]

I've been playing around with the modern AR for three years now, a short time compared to when my father first taught me to shoot as a wee lad and had gun magazines as my earliest reading primers. Although Dad had a few ARs while I was growing up, they were SP101s and were the only ARs commonly available. Slinging an AR meant attaching a strap from FSB to the toe of the buttstock. This arrangement works pretty well with bolt action rifles but add a 20 round mag and a pistol grip and it starts off uncomfortable and only gets worse from there. The many miles I've hiked with M14s, FALs and the AR during hunts was with the sling left back in camp.

I was very resistant to the modern sling configuration as I'd been raised to use the muzzle up carry. But I gave it a try with my first modern AR and had to grudgingly admit there was something to what, back in the day, they called the "South African Carry". You know- Sling around behind the neck and under the off arm, rifle hangs muzzle down in front.
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n289/SgtSongDog/AR%20Carbine/Sling001_zps20524c4b.jpg

To achieve the South African Carry, I set my rifle up so the from sling swivel attaches at the front of the handguard or at the FSB on the left side
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n289/SgtSongDog/AR%20Carbine/DSC_0109_zpseed72eaf.jpg

and on the right side of the buttstock near the heel.
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n289/SgtSongDog/AR%20Carbine/Sling008_zps57c62ed4.jpg

It's a much more comfortable way to carry a rifle with an extended mag and pistol grip than the conventional method, although I have to run the sling real loose or pull my arm out to make mag changes because I've got long arms.

"Look Ma! Mag flip!
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n289/SgtSongDog/AR%20Carbine/Sling006_zpsb5976046.jpg

I see some guys attach the rear of the sling to the end plate and some the front near the barrel nut. Some do both. Which brings me to my question. Is there a better setup? How is your sling configured, how do you use it and what are the trade-offs you're making? Has how you configure and use your sling changed? If so, how and why? Do you use different configurations for different situations? What are the important lessons you've learned about sling use? If you could go back and tell your newbie self one thing about slinging the AR, what would it be?
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n289/SgtSongDog/AR%20Carbine/Sling002_zps5967355a.jpg

Me, I'd go back and tell myself to stop being so stubborn and try something new!
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n289/SgtSongDog/AR%20Carbine/DSC_0012-1.jpg

[wildcard600]

I don't think there is really a "wrong way" to run the sling, much is personal preference. Though I would say that "conventional" sling setup does not work on any "modern" magazine fed, pistol gripped rifle, though I haven't seen anyone attempt it in the time I've been shooting (25+ years). The only time I've witnessed an AR with conventional sling setup is parade rifles and AK's don't even really have the provision for it (offset front sling attachment).

Keep on trucking.

*edit*

Actually reading your post again, I'm not sure what your getting at. Are you saying that rifle on the back is "conventional" carry ? Or are you referring to the straight up vertical rifle 90 degree pistol grip and magazine sticking out under your armpit parade drill style carry ?

If the latter i agree completely, but if the former i would invite you to carry a rifle through some challenging terrain where both hands free and not having a 6lb free swinging obstruction slapping you in the chest/balls for miles on end is infinitely preferable to having the rifle hanging in the low ready position at all times.

[26 Inf]

I run a Sheriff of Baghdad B Sling. I run it over my shoulder and under the support arm (not kitted up).

I also run mine so I pull back with my support arm to tighten versus push forward as yours is adjusted. That works better for me.

For front attachment I use a QD swivel mounted on a short rail on the right side of my tube, all by it's lonesome about 1/2 way back. That way my support hand is forward of the swivel and outside the sling. Rear attachment is basically where yours is.

This way when you transition (if needed) or just let the weapon hang it doesn't put all the weight on your neck. Snug the sling for muzzle down cross body in the front, loosen a little, push the butt of the rifle rifle over your strong shoulder and you end up muzzle up across your back for climbing, etc.

Works for me.

[MistWolf]

Are you saying that rifle on the back is "conventional" carry ?

Not at all. What I mean by conventional method is to run the sling from the bottom of the rifle at the front to the bottom of the buttstock as you would a a bolt action rifle or M1 Garand. I can see how I placed the photo causes confusion. I"ll change that

[TCB]

I'll go on this, I carry an M-4 around 5 days a week in rough terrain with a lot of thick brush and have tried quite a few sling arraignments. It seems like there are 4 basic attachment points for a typical modern style 2 point sling. You can put the front point closer to the muzzle or back toward the receiver and the rear point either at the rear of the receiver or back on the butstock. There are benefits and downsides to each configuration depending on your "mission".

I prefer to run my sling (I use a padded V-TAC) as close to the receiver as possible for shooting and walking around on patrol. I wear a PC with mags, an Ifac, TQ, flashlight, etc on the front and find that with the sling set up like this it does not get hung up on my gear if I need to get the rifle up into action quickly. I am ably to either "swim out" or let out the sling easily from this configuration if I need to shoulder the rifle on my off side. The big downside is when I need to go hands on the rifle tends to flop around a lot and makes it difficult to take subjects into custody. I've taken a butstock to the face a few times and had it open up my lip pretty good when tackling people...it sucks, and hurts. The other downside is when you sling the rifle to the rear in this configuration to clime fences or search someone the muzzle and the butstock flop around quite a bit.

Running the sling at the ends of the rifle works very well for carry and if you don't have any other gear on you won't have the problem of it getting hung up on anything. It's easy to "swim out" to change shoulders although I don't like having the sling on the rear wrapped around my neck like that. It is the idea setup for slinging the rifle to the rear as it keeps it stable even when bending over. I have found It hard to use the rifle for covering large numbers of detainees holding the rifle in a less "aggressive?" manner like I can the way I have it set up as above in a "shoot from the hip" fashion, during daylight hours it's not much of an issue but I find at night in the brush when your trying to keep an eye on a bunch of bodies and prevent them from bolting on you using my WML to scan in this fashion is useful in my particular situation. This isn't going to be an issue for most people I realize but I tend to do it a lot so I'm mentioning it...the only other downside for me of this configuration is I have gotten my support hand hung up on the sling while doing manipulations with the sling way out there.

I have experimented with running the sling at the rear of the rail and on the butstock and have found it to work very well. I still prefer to run my rear attachment at the receiver because the rifle just feels like it handles faster for me but it does make it a lot easier to sling the rifle to the rear when you need to free up your hands for other duties.

On my personal guns the butstocks I use all have QD points on them so I can pretty easily reconfigure the attachment from my preferred shooting/patrol set up to this configuration. I think that having multiple QD points and a modern adjustable 2 point sling (for me) is the ideal setup, on my work gun I don't have that option as it uses a Std. M-4 butstock and I can't replace it...if anyone knows QD a product that bolts onto this type of stock let me know.

Don't know if this helps...it seems like every configuration has it's pro's and con's depending on what your doing. If one of them works for you more of the time than another...use it. Being able to reconfigure depending on the situation seems like it would also have value.

[Kain]

...if anyone knows QD a product that bolts onto this type of stock let me know.

Might be what you are looking for.
http://www.impactweaponscomponents.com/product/qd-rotation-limited-buttstock-sling-mount-n-slot/

[TCB]

Kain, thank you! That's exactly what I was wanting! That's going to make going over fences, cuffing people up and performing pat downs much easier.

[Slvr Surfr]

I now have used the 2 point adjustable padded Vtac on all of my rifles. I originally started using the original Magpul 1/2 point slings. The magpul setup used the ASAP sling mount and RSA mount for the front.

I have since swapped out to QD mount on the rear and utilize the same RSA mount to loop the front of my Vtac sling. I much prefer the Vtac sling due to the adjust-ability and comfort. The Vtac makes the rifle just a bit more stable shooting off-hand since you snug down the hell out of it. The only downside I have found is that it takes just a little second to switch shoulders since you have to slack it out, drop your off side shoulder out, and pull the rifle across. I really don't see this being big issue, in comparison to the positives it gives.

I personally prefer mounting the front on the handguard closer to the receiver. I have tried it on the factory front sling loop and found that the rifle likes to flop away.

On my work rifle, i was too cheap to buy a MOE handguard and have utilized a Blue Force Gear Universal Loop to mount the front of the sling. The UL goes in between the handguard and receiver. If I have to go hands on, I will switch shoulders and spin the rifle to the rear, muzzle down. I can snug the sling down to keep it from flopping.

[Surf]

As has been mentioned it depends on the situation. I use just about every mode of carry at some point or another to suit a specific need.

This is my default mode of carry when I am not in full gear.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/1798191_1452213224993212_831098021_n.jpg

When I am in full kit I tend to connect at the end plate because of my normal working environment. I use QD's for all the connections so I can go from the stock, to the end plate and convert from two point to single point. All the options can be configured quickly but depending on the situation will dictate my starting set up. If I am hitting a structure that may be cluttered I may run single point from the end plate. Rappelling or ladders / climbing will go from the stock attachment and may be either muzzle up or down. Again, muzzle up or down is dictated by the situation. I like to be proficient and train those I work with to be proficient in being able to go in and out of various modes of carry and getting in and out of them quickly. Just like anything else, good trained / practiced technique and transitioning to various modes of carry becomes very second nature when you do it a lot.

[Pi3]

What are good brands of sling swivels? is MI ok?
http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/MI-Heavy-Duty-Flush-Button-Swivel-p/mi-hdfs.htm

[MistWolf]

Thanks for the photo, Surf. Would you mind posting photos showing the other methods you use? I've never carried an AR with a lot of gear. Is the reason you change the front sling mount to around the barrel nut area because it doesn't snag as much?

Could the rest of you guys post photos showing what you're talking about?

[TexanInCali]

I just bought the MI QD swivels with flush buttons and I'm not wild about them. They can be difficult to release quickly. You really gave to jam the button hard, and even then they won't come out of the socket easily. I've noticed this on VLTOR, IWC and other sockets. They're also kind of deep, so you might not be able to collapse your buttstock all the way with one of these swivels in your endplate.

I had some of the UTG heavy duty QD swivels and they were good. They inserted and released well and never had an unintentional release. I realize this is not a respected brand, but I bought them in a pinch and they've been great.