In law enforcement a sling is a necessity. If you have to hands-on with a suspect, you need to be able to get the long gun out of the way without laying a weapon on the deck unsecured. By the book, the guy with long gun is always the "cover officer" but in the real world, you may be the only one able to perform the necessary functions. This happened to me once, carrying my 870, backing up a K-9 officer on a track. When we found the bad guy, hiding in a bush inside of a muddy swamp, I was the only officer who could secure and search the suspect; the K-9 officer has to control the K-9. So I slid my 870 behind me, dragged the guy out and cuffed him. I don't think I would have liked to drop my 870 in 4 inches of muddy water! This could also have happened on a busy city street with dozens of people around, again another place I wouldn't want my long gun unsecured on the deck as I dealt with a suspect.
Besides, as many have pointed out the sling serves many other functions. And while my beside pistol lacks a holster, I also go to work armed, and you can be damn sure my Sig sits in a holster and my patrol rifle has a sling!
And no, we don't teach any bludgeoning techniques with either the rifle or the shotgun, just as we don't teach any pistol-whipping techniques with the pistol.
The opinions expressed on this board are mine and mine alone. They do not represent any departments or organizations I may be a member of.
"Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions." - ILN, 4/19/30
"He is a very shallow critic who cannot see an eternal rebel in the heart of a conservative." - Varied Types
G.K. Chesterton
Bookmarks