View Full Version : What is your preferred sling attachment method? Snap hooks, QD, other?
Hammer_Man
07-23-17, 11:30
I'm in the process of building a Block II clone, and plan on purchasing a Vickers sling to go with it. I've never purchased my own sling before, as I've always used the crappy 2 pointers that the unit armorer provided me. Being that I'm trying to build a Block II rifle, I've considered using a CQD endplate, and a CQD picatinny sling mount. They appear to be top notch components, but I'm concerned that the required speed hooks would produce a lot of noise. I notice a lot of guys use QD mounts on their slings, but I'm not sure they are as secure as speed hooks, or anymore quiet. Does anybody care to chime in with their preferred method? Please explain your reason(s) for selecting what you did, and what you like/don't like about your setup. I'm looking for those with first hand experience to chime in. No hearsay please..
wildcard600
07-23-17, 11:59
I use HK style hooks clipped to paracord loops on magpul sling mounts on the hand guard and ambi-sling mount endplates. The paracord insulates the hook from the mount and minimizes rattle but does give the sling a bit more freedom to twist, but i've never found it to be a problem.
I have a QD mount on my KMR and it has not been a problem yet and has little to no rattle, but I only run it because it was free with the rail and at the time I was not aware of anyone who made a keymod sling loop.
I am not HSLD though. Just a regular citizen who has carbines for defensive purposes.
While I like and have used the Vickers sling with the QD attachments, I've recently gone the Proctor sling route. I am fortunate enough to be part of weekly training regiment with some guys and I find the simplicity of the sling and the paracord attachment system more versatile and preferable with my LW 16" and SBRs.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ned Christiansen
07-23-17, 13:28
I have developed a real disdain for hooks / QD's of any kind. I find them heavy, floppy, in the way, option-limiting, noisy, and in some cases the hooks are cheezy-assed dog leash stuff adapted to guns, made from breakage-prone Chinametal.
This disdain has completely supplanted my previous disdain for field-expedient measures with paracord. Now, rather than take the time to search, identify, find, order and pay for some store-bought thing, I make loops of paracord and lace the sling through it. I can put it where I want to, not where there's a metal loop or QD recep. It's light, flexible, quiet, and free, and works on everything everywhere (almost). I can put it through holes in a fore end. Through a FSB. On any kind of stock, solid or slider. I've done hundreds and hundreds of class guns this way and have it down pretty good with nothing in the way of student complaints.......
I really like the Tactical Link QD Mount (http://www.tacticallink.com/Z-360-Sling-Mount-GEN-2.html)
http://i.imgur.com/1MwVbjX.jpg?2
with the Convertible Bungee Sling (http://www.tacticallink.com/AR15-M4-Convertible-Bungee-Sling.html).
http://i.imgur.com/QfS11K1.jpg
https://www.blueforcegear.com/uloop
https://blueforcegear-cakc6ifvxd.netdna-ssl.com/image/cache/data/UWL-UL1/UBER-LOOP-BFG-600x400.jpg
Front looped through a pair of MLOK slots, and the rear looped through the QD socket and footman's loop of the stock. Allows for more flexibility than an anti-rotation QD mount, the attachment method is self-tightening when in use, and they're more or less completely silent. Only downside is that it is not QD, but that's not one of my requirements, anyway.
I have a Blue Force Gear Vickers Padded, a Haley D3 sling, and a Proctor WOTG minimalist sling. I find myself using the Proctor sling by default, very light and functional.
https://www.blueforcegear.com/uloop
https://blueforcegear-cakc6ifvxd.netdna-ssl.com/image/cache/data/UWL-UL1/UBER-LOOP-BFG-600x400.jpg
Front looped through a pair of MLOK slots, and the rear looped through the QD socket and footman's loop of the stock. Allows for more flexibility than an anti-rotation QD mount, the attachment method is self-tightening when in use, and they're more or less completely silent. Only downside is that it is not QD, but that's not one of my requirements, anyway.
These have been working out really well for me also . They are strong, silent, they don't twist my slings up, and they are easy on and are easy off, but only when you want them to be. I have the front sling attachment on my Hodge upper going through a Wilson Combat QD swivel rail attachment. It adds a little weight, but it keeps the Blueforce Gear cable loop away from the hot barrel, the rifle hangs better at my side (no flop over) , does not abrade the cable like going through the rail slots or holes can, and I can put it exactly where *I* want it. The rear cable loop is attached through a rotating detachable eyelet installed into the Magpul SL stock's QD socket (it can rotate, but it doesn't tangle). As for slings, I prefer the Magpul MS1 series slings, their strong, long lasting and soft webbing material, comfortable, and they are easy and quick to adjust, they hold adjustment and they are low profile ( nothing hanging or dangling).
https://s25.postimg.org/70iiccujf/IMG_3558.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/70iiccujf/)
https://s25.postimg.org/xa3kv5ggr/IMG_3559.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/xa3kv5ggr/)
https://www.blueforcegear.com/uloop
https://blueforcegear-cakc6ifvxd.netdna-ssl.com/image/cache/data/UWL-UL1/UBER-LOOP-BFG-600x400.jpg
Front looped through a pair of MLOK slots, and the rear looped through the QD socket and footman's loop of the stock. Allows for more flexibility than an anti-rotation QD mount, the attachment method is self-tightening when in use, and they're more or less completely silent. Only downside is that it is not QD, but that's not one of my requirements, anyway.
+1 for the U-Loop. I just switched from the HK snap hooks to U-Loops on my Scar. They are quieter and don't scratch the gun.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hammer_Man
07-23-17, 18:39
Ned Christiansen I'm all for a reliable, cheap, and effective DIY solution. Care to post a few example pics of your work?
Hammer_Man
07-23-17, 18:42
For those running the Uloop, do you ever have problems with it coming loose?
I use Blue Force Gear Vickers non-padded and padded slings with QD attachments.
NYH1.
For those running the Uloop, do you ever have problems with it coming loose?
I have had no problems, but I want to clarify that I installed them only a couple of months ago and have not tested them enough to declare them foolproof.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
For those running the Uloop, do you ever have problems with it coming loose?
I have been using them for a while now, and IMHO it would be close to impossible for them to come loose on their own. Below is a link to a review of the BFG U-Loop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QXcmmjXygE
I loop my VCAS through the stock and use a qd(gear sector) on the rail. I've never had an issue with it accidentally engaging(protected button and not easy to push). I switch positions based on use, so I find it beneficial.
Ned Christiansen
07-24-17, 09:59
Front: Obviously we don’t want this against the barrel, not even so much for melting but a big-wad-o’paracord between barrel and fore end would not be good for your free-floatingage. This one is shown done up in such a way that if the paracord loop goes slack, it can't go bigger inside and touch the barrel. In most cases this is just a 9” length tied into a loop, knot melted, and then it is bale-sling hitched through holes in the fore end or the gas tube bridge of the front sight base. No, they never, ever, ever melt off of the FSB. But they could melt if you really tried I suppose. Sometimes the inside of a rail is pretty sharp; I’ve never had one cut through but many times, as time and circumstances permit, I will remove those sharp edges.
http://i.imgur.com/pDtmWaj.jpg
On the rear, I cut about a cubit of paracord and in the middle I tie a small loop for the sling to lace through. Loop on top, and keeping it all as tight as possible, the ends go down and around the bottom of the slider, back up to the loop…. Tie, trim, melt. Depending on the features of the stock slider I try to get it tight enough and/or behind something that will keep it from coming over and off the back. In an A2 stock I go in front of the bottom sling point and if kept super tight, it stays in place.
It results in a good top-hang. Works for me. I don’t have to go shopping for and arrange the gun for anything else. In classes we get so many kinds of slings and bad attachement, this has become somewhat of a cure all. Not suitable for the cover of a magazine perhaps but in my mind it gets it done better than a lot of the stuff on the market.
Not the best pics of my best work but what I had handy:
http://i.imgur.com/ObXzY7m.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/fMuUyn2.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/QlVcFA5.jpg
Singlestack Wonder
07-24-17, 11:06
Vickers VCAS Padded with QD's on all rifles. No issues of any kind over many years usage in classes and weekly shoots....
The problem with the Hk style hooks is that they are designed to work in the proper sized Hk spec hoops. If you run them in oversized hoops, like most people do, the hook can twist around so that the weight of the rifle is laying on the gate (which will bend it). If you run Hk hooks, run HK loops.
I spent a long time adding attachment points to my rifle so I could have the sling I thought I wanted, and one day I realized there were no less than three QD points on each side of my rifle (from my choice of rail and stock). I finally quit fighting it, and got a QD sling. It's the way forward. Quit fighting it.
I'm much like Ned. Paracord all over. I like loops that mount to the pic rail best for the hand guard.
Mysteryman
07-24-17, 21:20
Vickers padded direct attached to the stock and to the handguard via an Israeli velcro sling mount/ "D" ring. Some guns are direct attached to a loop of paracord.
MM
I don't have a whole lot of experience in this area but I run two basic sling setups. The first is a Slingster sling with QD mounts. On the stock I mount the QD on the opposite side and on the handguard I attach the QD approximately halfway down. I use a 15" handguard and this method allows me to get a long reach and does not interfere with my grip. I also place the tri-glides as close as possible to the the QD to help minimize noise. The other setup I use is the Proctor Sling. It is a minimalist sling that utilizes 550 para-chord for attachment on stock and handguard. I use this on my home defense AR because it is the quietest method I have found.
For those running the Uloop, do you ever have problems with it coming loose?
Nope. Honestly, it doesn't seem like it would be very easy to happen on it's own, given that putting tension on the sling tightens the U-Loop.
I added a photo of my setup below. The sling is a BFG custom slings with the U-Loops sewn in on both ends. For the record, the U-Loop doesn't quite fit through the footman's loop on the SL stock without extremely minor modication with a file or drill bit. The U-Loop obviously isn't as fast to remove as a push-button QD, but it's definitely more secure, because the QD mount pictured on the handguard dropped QD swivels repeatedly when I tested it out. The band on the stock keeps the sling out of the way when in storage or when not needed, so it doesn't really need to come off, anyway.
http://i.imgur.com/V3pWSaw.jpg
WOTG sling
http://www.wayofthegun.us/proctor-sling/
Regarding slings in general, I have some questions.
How far forward do you mount the front?
Where do you like mounting the rear?
I'm talking 2 point of course.
I have developed a real disdain for hooks / QD's of any kind. I find them heavy, floppy, in the way, option-limiting, noisy, and in some cases the hooks are cheezy-assed dog leash stuff adapted to guns, made from breakage-prone Chinametal.
This disdain has completely supplanted my previous disdain for field-expedient measures with paracord. Now, rather than take the time to search, identify, find, order and pay for some store-bought thing, I make loops of paracord and lace the sling through it. I can put it where I want to, not where there's a metal loop or QD recep. It's light, flexible, quiet, and free, and works on everything everywhere (almost). I can put it through holes in a fore end. Through a FSB. On any kind of stock, solid or slider. I've done hundreds and hundreds of class guns this way and have it down pretty good with nothing in the way of student complaints.......The material is known as Chinesium, and many types don't seem to qualify as metal.
Regarding slings in general, I have some questions.
How far forward do you mount the front?
Where do you like mounting the rear?
I'm talking 2 point of course.
I tend to run mine with the rear mounted on the offside rear of the stock with the sling coming around the butt and stowed under a band on the strong side of the stock. I find it doesn't get in my way as much.
I run the front as far forward as I can. I use short vertical foregrips as handstops with the sling mounted forward of that, generally on the last place I can mount it on the tube.
This enables me to play sling-fu with different carry positions and also use the sling as a hasty sling.
I use the SOB B-SLing because I prefer the shortening adjustment up front so I can pull back to tighten.
Regarding slings in general, I have some questions.
How far forward do you mount the front?
Where do you like mounting the rear?
I'm talking 2 point of course.
FSB at the front, receiver end plate at the rear...
WOTG sling
http://www.wayofthegun.us/proctor-sling/
This is what I use now but before it was available I used paracord on surplus slings. Cheap, easy and works well.
For a budget setup, get a GI M1/M14 sling and attach Magpul Paraclips to each end. This gives a good 2-point sling, and even functions as a 1-point by clipping the front end to the rear loop. Length adjustment is not as quick as the more modern slings, but still quick enough to be useful.
46625
The-Hammer
07-27-17, 23:17
I prefer to use QD sling swivels and VTAC slings.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have developed a real disdain for hooks / QD's of any kind. I find them heavy, floppy, in the way, option-limiting, noisy, and in some cases the hooks are cheezy-assed dog leash stuff adapted to guns, made from breakage-prone Chinametal.
This disdain has completely supplanted my previous disdain for field-expedient measures with paracord. Now, rather than take the time to search, identify, find, order and pay for some store-bought thing, I make loops of paracord and lace the sling through it. I can put it where I want to, not where there's a metal loop or QD recep. It's light, flexible, quiet, and free, and works on everything everywhere (almost). I can put it through holes in a fore end. Through a FSB. On any kind of stock, solid or slider. I've done hundreds and hundreds of class guns this way and have it down pretty good with nothing in the way of student complaints.......
I do this too. All my my sling mounts are a 10" long piece of paracord and the sling loops on my MOE stock. I don't chase the latest and greatest anymore. Paracord and the stocks sling loops attach a sling to each gun I own. Only exception is on two of my rifles I have the Magpul RSA when I was chasing the latest and greatest, and I just loop the sling through that instead.
So I also love the U Loop. However, I was running ULoops with a Vickers sling attached to my BREN 805 and had been doing transition drills (rifle to pistol) very consistently. At one point the ULOOP got "bound" up and actually came loose as I slung the rifle causing it to drop to my feet. That was my first and only instance of a Uloop coming loose and failing. I have since just added 550 cord to both sling attachments allowing the sling to move freely and not "bind" up. Still run ULOOPs on damn near all my platforms, but they have been attached to Paracord from now on. I also have some beat up U Loops I will try and take a picture of. My biggest concern is that while the plastic is strong, I've taken "chunks" out of the plastic when moving in and out of vehicles. Its not super concerning to me and I PMS gear, but I thought it was interesting and feel as though if a big enough chunk was removed it could potentially become an issue (simply solved by a 10$ replacement).
These have been working out really well for me also . They are strong, silent, they don't twist my slings up, and they are easy on and are easy off, but only when you want them to be. I have the front sling attachment on my Hodge upper going through a Wilson Combat QD swivel rail attachment. It adds a little weight, but it keeps the Blueforce Gear cable loop away from the hot barrel, the rifle hangs better at my side (no flop over) , does not abrade the cable like going through the rail slots or holes can, and I can put it exactly where *I* want it. The rear cable loop is attached through a rotating detachable eyelet installed into the Magpul SL stock's QD socket (it can rotate, but it doesn't tangle). As for slings, I prefer the Magpul MS1 series slings, their strong, long lasting and soft webbing material, comfortable, and they are easy and quick to adjust, they hold adjustment and they are low profile ( nothing hanging or dangling). The way I have the U-loops setup on my rifle, they move freely and don't tangle or twist my sling. One can also use the elastic covers that are sometimes used over H&K snap hooks over your U-loops , if you feel the need to. Have been using them for a while now, and IMHO it would be close to impossible for them to come loose on their own. Below is a link to a review of the BFG U-Loop. I have also noticed that the Proctor sling is now offered with QD swivels. I wonder why ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QXcmmjXygE
https://www.blueforcegear.com/elastic-hook-cover.html
https://www.blueforcegear.com/uloop
https://s25.postimg.org/70iiccujf/IMG_3558.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/70iiccujf/)
https://s25.postimg.org/xa3kv5ggr/IMG_3559.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/xa3kv5ggr/)
http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss72/Biggy8/IMG_3560_1.jpg (http://s563.photobucket.com/user/Biggy8/media/IMG_3560_1.jpg.html)
.photobucket.com/user/Biggy8/media/IMG_3561.jpg.html]http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss72/Biggy8/IMG_3561.jpg[/URL]
Maybe I am too simplistic but I just run the sling through the stock on the rear and a Magpul paraclip on the front. Never had an issue with it coming loose, being too noisy, binding up, etc...
Ned Christiansen
07-28-17, 10:47
This week's class:
Rattly, tangly, heavy, noisy, weak hook, attached to a style of FSB that can't take hard-use. Although in this case I have rectified the as-received condition of not very tight and not Loctited, it is still not positively located to the barrel and the first good bump will move it. I have seen one or more of these where one screw had popped its head—dunno if it happened upon installation, in the box on the way to the wholesaler, of if someone had checked it for tight and overtightened it. That’s the thing with these, the spindly-assed 6-32 is the worst possible thread choice. It is prone both to coming loose and to breaking, and easily overtorqued (= breaking). Then they make it with not one, not two, but three points from which to hang a sling, plus a rail for whatever. This is anything but robust. It's like putting a roll bar on your convertible by gluing it to the cloth.
In this pic you can see where at least I am going to get the sling off this ersatz FSB. A short length of paracord knotted on each end, through small holes in the hand guard. It won’t melt short of multiple mag dumps on auto. And when he drops the carbine to do a transition or whatever, the FSB won’t be moved.
http://i.imgur.com/5HcEmdd.jpg
Same gun, rear end. I don’t know whose sling was but the hooks looked to me like dogleash stuff, inappropriately retasked. I like a student to have some means of quickly unhooking the sling so I left the front one but the rear one went in the trash. It had been hooked to the standard bottom sling point, We routinely take those off and discard them although I confess I find them good sometimes for the offhand to cradle the toe of the stock when shooting prone.
http://i.imgur.com/2ceZgiE.jpg
Ran into one I did a couple years ago. Not claiming a round count between then and now but you can see the paracord is pretty smoke up from gas leakage at barrel / FSB and gas tube pin hole.
http://i.imgur.com/QjtRnOp.jpg
Ned Christiansen
07-28-17, 11:09
Personally I cannot abide a single point sling mounted to receiver end plate. Picking it up from “hung”, I always get a handful of sling and hook. This guy was having the same problem, and this is by far not the worst such setup:
http://i.imgur.com/35Q83zZ.jpg
Being that he had the CAA battery-compartment saddle on the slider, I needed a place to get my paracord through so I added a few holes with the help of a torch and a nail. Crude but effective
http://i.imgur.com/t9NqKnO.jpg
Finally, we discarded the rear hook of the MagPul sling and laced the sling directly through the paracord loop. I think MagPul has some of the smartest people in the industry not to mention the coolest but this is not my personal favorite sling and I think every one I’ve worked with has “lost” the rear hook section. I keep the front one as the “way out”.
http://i.imgur.com/cBna1Mk.jpg
I have two padded VCAS and one padded VTAC, all with QD swivels. They have worked well for me so far. I prefer the mounting points to be rotation limited.
ETA: The U loop looks interesting. I might try those out next time I buy a sling.
Where can I get an appropriate sling for an A1?
I've been using QD attachments and a VTac sling for years on Patrol, many many miles on foot and no issues...your foot falls are going to be much louder than any noise these or hooks will generate. Unless your a ninja...
I've been using BFG slings and QD's for many years, on the job, on deployments for the military, and everything else. I see no reason to change now asall my rifles are equipped the saem. I do substitute padded slings for my 2 heavier, precision AR's. If I didn'r already have them all set up I would probably use the QD only on the front as the few times I've had one come undone they were always on the stock.
VCAS slings are on mine. The QD's attach to the MOE hand guard (iwc flush qd attachment) and the stock on one.
On the other rifle, the sling is looped through the stock and connects to a magpul sling attachment via paraclip on the hand guard.
556BlackRifle
07-30-17, 13:22
I used QD sling mounts for a while but I had a failure and now I'm switching to other attachment methods. I'm currently running paracord and BFG Wire Loops. I'm really digging the wire loops right now.
SomeOtherGuy
07-31-17, 15:56
I went all-in for the pushbutton QD cups and mounts 5-6 years ago. I have had no failures with them and it's a very convenient method. But...
It gets very expensive if you have a lot of slings, and I don't have 100% confidence in the design. It also adds some weight. In 20/20 hindsight I no longer think this is the best option.
If I were starting over today, for any quick-detach uses I would go with a hook type attachment, but NOT the HK hooks or anything similar. Either Magpul hooks or MASH hooks. I have had HK hooks come off on me while the gun was slung, and I've seen it happen to many other people at competitions.
If I didn't need quick-detach, Ned's method looks extremely simple, cheap, and light, and adequately durable. I would consider going that way for any rifle with a dedicated sling and just having a couple of slings with QD hooks for moving around or whatever.
Ned Christiansen
08-01-17, 21:54
Ned's House of Paracord, precut lengths as low as $6.00 /ft., free shipping, free Bic lighter included with orders of 10' or more....
You save big, I buy a boat and a Jag to tow it with ;)
Most of the slings I rig have some kind of quick-out feature. Might be a hook (I prefer it not be) or a FasTek if the sling already had one.
Ned's House of Paracord, precut lengths as low as $6.00 /ft., free shipping, free Bic lighter included with orders of 10' or more....
You save big, I buy a boat and a Jag to tow it with ;)
Most of the slings I rig have some kind of quick-out feature. Might be a hook (I prefer it not be) or a FasTek if the sling already had one.
:eek: $6 a foot, I have to think that is a typo.
:eek: $6 a foot, I have to think that is a typo.
Hey, boats and Jags aren't cheap...:p
Ned Christiansen
08-02-17, 07:58
Jokin' around.
556BlackRifle
08-02-17, 09:10
Jokin' around.
That should be obvious. I mean who tows a boat with a Jag. ;) ;)
SomeOtherGuy
08-02-17, 12:58
That should be obvious. I mean who tows a boat with a Jag. ;) ;)
Someone with style, flair, prodigious means, and most of all... an on-call mechanic.
Someone with style, flair, prodigious means, and most of all... an on-call mechanic.
And can get people to buy paracord at $6/ft... ;)
Ned Christiansen
08-04-17, 10:05
It was indeed a typo, too. It's tactical paracord. :-)
Maybe I am too simplistic but I just run the sling through the stock on the rear and a Magpul paraclip on the front. Never had an issue with it coming loose, being too noisy, binding up, etc...
Same. Thru and Over the top on the stock out the right side, paraclip up from around 4 inches back from end of muzzle.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.