If you love fine leather, fine craftsmanship and a superbly functional, useful sling, our Competitor Plus is going to make you extremely happy! What you get is a no-compromise reproduction of the original 1907 Military Sling; the one that's become the standard among hi-power service rifle shooters and many knowledgeable hunters; the one that's sought after by collectors and restorers of pre-WWII military firearms and the one that's carried more guns, more miles on more shoulders than darn near any other. Ours has all the good stuff:
1) It's all U.S. made of the finest, oak-tanned, top grain, U.S. steer hide.
2) It's fitted with thick, forged, blued steel hooks.
3) Each hook is attached with three rivets.
4) The Keepers are stitched and fit TIGHT!
Once we eliminated all the shortcomings of the current crop of '07 copies, we convinced a sling maker that folks who use their guns really do want better not cheaper. Once the maker believed, they gave us suggestions concerning the leather. Ooohh, the leather! It's absolutely wonderful. A full heavy-weight, 9-10 ounce leather, tanned correctly for sling use to give maximum flexibility, stability and toughness without stretching or being oily. The tanning makes the Competitor Plus Sling leather what it is. The process starts with a complete hide that's shaved just enough to make it even thickness throughout. Then it's painstakingly tanned using oak tannage, NOT chromic salts. (Chromic salts cause tarnish and corrosion on any metal the leather touches.) Finally, the smooth, burnished finish which shows off the natural grain of this high-grade leather.
All this time and effort means Competitor Plus Slings can bend and twist for a tight grip with no splitting or cracking, even across the holes, with no more than the barest minimum of medium tanning oil being added during the process. Your careful adjustments and precise shooting position won't be fouled up by a rubbery sling. Each extra thick, blued steel hook is locked onto the leather with three hand-hammered, copper rivets. The extra steel keeps the hooks from bending under the extreme pressure created when you lock into position. And, the hooks fit their holes TIGHTLY…no slop to mess up a hard hold and no accidental unhookings. Even the keepers are designed as part of a working sling. Since they absolutely must fit and grab the straps tightly, ours are skived at a taper, overlapped and then glued and stitched with 5-cord waxed linen thread. They'll hold your adjustments!
The end result is a sling that gives you so much more: more service for so much longer as a traditional field sling; more authenticity as a replacement for restorations; plus more, higher match scores by eliminating a concentration-breaking source of problems. You can spend your time glassing for game, doping the wind or paying attention to sight picture and trigger squeeze instead of fiddling with the sling. This level of exceptional quality is a little more expensive, but we honestly believe you'll agree it's more than worth it.
