More Comments on Slings:

29 Aug 08

Comments on slings and rifle handling, from my Professional Hunter in Africa:

"Optical sights simplify the sighting process, but they break, and despite claims by manufacturers, fog up as well. The same dilemma applies to slings. The are handy, but they get in the way, sometimes afflictively! From years of hunting dangerous, African game, I've learned:

Over here, when in the bush you use a sling to carry your rifle when in condition-yellow. When you move into condition-orange, you remove the sling, pocket it, and thereafter carry the rifle in high-ready. The low-ready position you like is seldom used in African bush, since forcible disarms are not normally a concern, and your main occupation is keeping the front sight ateye level and the muzzle away from anything that might snag/clog it, like tall grass, termite heaps, spider webs (African spider-silk is akin to cable!),etc.

You must be prepared to get on target quickly, while in lateral motion! When Cape Buffalo, Lion, Rhinoceros, and Elephant decide to charge, movingoff the line of force while simultaneously mounting and picking up your front sight is a skill that had better be well practiced, as charging, albeit dead, animals kill hunters here every year!"

And, these sage comments from master holster-maker and Instructor, Brian Hoffner:

"I recommend single-point slings for my Urban Operators. They are clean, simple, and disinclined to snag, nor hinder a reload. You wear the single-point sling as part of your tactical uniform. Time to deploy the rifle? Grab it, and hook it up. Done!

Next time you take a commercial fight, count how many times the carrying strap from someone's bag gets hung-up on an arm-rest. Now imagine a forced entry, and all the door knobs, hand rails, window cranks, et al. Next thing you know, you're pulled to the floor, and your entire team is falling on top of you! A rather inauspicious way to begin a raid, I think you'll agree!"

Comment: Among my friends, I count advocates for two-point slings, one-point slings, and no sling. Interesting that I've found no one to speak, at least in favorable terms, about three-point slings!

/John