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Thread: To sling or not to sling?

  1. #1
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    To sling or not to sling?

    Guys,

    I am nowhere near as hard core as many of you here on this forum. This is the forum I go to when I want serious questions answered or when I want serious opinions on the AR15/M4 weapons system.

    After joining this site, I became convinced that I should put a two point sling on my "go to" rifles....so I bought a VCAS and have talked my friends in to getting them too.

    So here's the thing:

    I just did another carbine class on Saturday....my third. It was my first class with this particular company: Progressive Force Concepts out of Las Vegas.

    Great instructors. Great training.

    They were very "anti-sling". They said that slings certainly had their uses, but that they were potentially too much trouble. They gave various examples. One of which was how the sling can be used against you by an attacker. (Just like cops wear clip on ties so they don't get choked to death, slings are just big "grab on handles" for bad guys.)

    Although they made a few good points, I'm not sure I agree with their view on slings. Maybe it's because I'm so used to my sling now...it's hard for me to think about ditching it.

    We did transition drills...and I purposely did mine without the sling (just to see how it went). It felt fine.

    I'm not a sucker for everything that I hear. That's one of the reasons I'm typing this post. I'd like to read what you guys think and mull it over for a few weeks. I'm scheduled for another carbine class with MDTS in July...so I'll do some experimentation.

  2. #2
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    Most hear will agree that a sling is a necessity. I really think they are important for a gun which you will be hunting with, or if you are a law enforcement officer (I could not imagine not having a sling on my issue gun). I do not think they are required for a stand alone home defense gun but that is my opinion only.

    I do know from some study (reading) that for along time, probably to this day, the SAS does not use slings on their weapons for anything but dynamic entries, though this information might be outdated now. When I read that the SAS operator who wrote it explained that it was a mindset thing, and the point of it was to ensure they disciplined themselves to always have their weapon in hand and ready to fight.

    So in short, for HD no, for nearly everything else I say yes. And if they grab you sling, there will probably be enough slack in it for you to move the weapon into a position where you can shoot them.

  3. #3
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    Well I would like to throw my two cents in on this one. I do not use a sling for my home defense shotgun, but find it an absolute must for my work M4. After having to transition to my 1911 on more than one occasion I find it critical to still retain control of my carbine.

    I would be curious to know how you "transition" to a handgun in a fight with their instruction. Im sure they are good at what they do so not trying to discredit them but I don't understand that.

    All the instruction I have received in the Military and everything I have experienced is that should I have a malfunction or run dry with the enemy closer than say twenty-five yards I transition to the pistol. Its just been quicker from what I have seen. Clearing a malfunction can take life changing seconds, where pulling the pistola is quicker.

    just my thoughts
    “It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.” Samuel Adams

    Those that bleed with me are forever my brothers OCT 28

  4. #4
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    A sling is a weapon retention system. For me I have slings on all my guns even my home defense. I feel that any point in time with home defense you might need to let go of the weapon and grab other things like family members and lived ones. To me it let's you retainthe weapon in that situation and if the need arises to grab it again it s right there. I think the only time you should not have a sling is a 3 gun competition where you have to let go of the rifle rapidly to use the handgun or shotgun.

  5. #5
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    There are various retention techniques for the carbine or shotgun that result in a transition to handgun where you are firing strong-hand-only. They work about as well as your skillset when shooting strong-hand-only. They are good tools to have in the box for various reasons.

    The subject of slings comes up from time to time. I think that many instructors are just looking to be different and make a name for themselves by being different.

    Yes, someone can manhandle you (or try) if your carbine is attached to your body by a sling. Why is he that close to begin with?

    FWIW, my home use carbine has no sling but only because I figure that if I need a carbine things have gone horribly awry and I need it right****ingnow and a sling is something I'm not going to have time to put on and a dangling sling to me is worse than no sling.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by pofboom View Post
    A sling is a weapon retention system. For me I have slings on all my guns even my home defense. I feel that any point in time with home defense you might need to let go of the weapon and grab other things like family members and lived ones. To me it let's you retainthe weapon in that situation and if the need arises to grab it again it s right there. I think the only time you should not have a sling is a 3 gun competition where you have to let go of the rifle rapidly to use the handgun or shotgun.
    I agree 100% being a civilian and not having a secondary with my HD setup if I grab my carbine or shotgun I have a single point sling already attached to it so it only takes a fraction of a second while I'm up and moving to throw it on. Again since it's for HD and that means things must have been bad to grab it I want it attached should I slip and fall on kids toys or pump into furniture rushing to secure my family. If i would loose or drop my weapon or have to grab my kids and run I still want the weapon attached. In the civilian world with everything I've seen the odds of every running into to someone with enough training to grab your sling and try to subdue you means that all your practice and training has gone out the window and you let the Bad Guy get close enough to grab you without dropping him. Just my .02

  7. #7
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    Do you think it is realistic that you will have a secondary firearm to transition to?

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    Quote Originally Posted by The_Katar View Post
    Do you think it is realistic that you will have a secondary firearm to transition to?
    I think you might, it really depends on what you're doing and what you're preparing for.

    In an oh-dark-thirty moment as a homeowner? Probably not. As a homeowner that's been without power for 4 days finding myself with a front yard full of undesirables that I'd like to discourage in the strongest possible way? Absolutely yes.

    this is why my oh-dark-thirty gun has no sling, but the post-hurricane gun does.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Veracity View Post
    They were very "anti-sling". They said that slings certainly had their uses, but that they were potentially too much trouble. They gave various examples. One of which was how the sling can be used against you by an attacker. (Just like cops wear clip on ties so they don't get choked to death, slings are just big "grab on handles" for bad guys.)
    Of all the potential worries in life, the possibility of a dude who has busted into my house strangling me to death with the sling of my rifle has to rank pretty much at the bottom of the list, somewhere between figuring out how to gently break it to Kate Beckinsdale and Heidi Klum that I can only really satisfy one eternal love slave and being turned into a newt.

    There's a reason why a lot of very switched on people who used a rifle as a means of self defense regard slings as necessary bits of kit. Granted the average home owner responding to the odd noise at night may not have a lot of immediate use for the sling at that moment, but it's still good to have on the gun. The sling can always be S-folded and rubber-banded to keep it out of the way when not needed and yet readily accessible should the need for it arise.
    Last edited by John_Wayne777; 05-03-10 at 07:53.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by rob_s View Post
    I think you might, it really depends on what you're doing and what you're preparing for.
    Agree.

    I like the idea of having a sling attached to the carbine, but banded to it. For a bump in the night I think you are going to grab *a* weapon and go. For an event as you describe it is much more realistic to be a bit "jocked up."

    I hear weird things from people sometimes, and I now ask them to realistically consider what it is that they are saying.

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