The Most Forgotten Piece of Rifle Gear

By Michael Ware

It's always a chore first thing in the morning…  I wake up, just like you, and gather up all my debit and credit cards, cash, ID, insurance, carry permit, etc., and find new and inventive places to carry them with me throughout the day.  The same with my defense pistol.  I usually find a pocket to shove it into, but every now and then I get daring and go all “Axel Foley,” and shove it down the back of my drawers just like we saw in “Beverly Hills Cop.”  Or do I?

That’s crazy talk, and you know it.  We’re extremely particular about our wallets, and just as much with our holsters.  Why?  Because they serve a specific and important purpose. So why not with our slings?

Yes, we primarily perform gunsmithing work here at Controlled Chaos Arms, but we’re also commissioned to build a lot of “one-off” firearms, many of which are long guns.  Over nearly 20yrs of building, assembling, and modifying rifles and shotguns, do you know how many of my customers has included a specification for a sling?  ZERO!  Not a single customer has ever mentioned a sling.  A few have been concerned about sling attachment points and configuration, but nobody has ever spoken with me about a sling.  EVER.

I was silly enough to go deer hunting on the fly with some friends who asked me to come along.  I grabbed a 50 Beowulf 16” AR15 I had in the back of the safe, popped the shop door open, braced against the door frame, verified zero, and off I went.  No, I didn’t strap on a sling…  After a short day of lugging that thing around with no support, I was spent.  My arms hurt, my hands ached, and I was asking myself just how stupid I could have been, and it got me thinking about this subject.  And even though I never took a shot, I questioned how steady or accurate I could have been with all that fatigue.  

I pondered how few rifles, carbines, SBRs, and shotguns come through my shop with no slings, attachment points that show no wear, and a general lack of tether between man and machine.  That experience inspired this article.  I thought about how Brownells has offered a one-stop shop for building your dream rigs, and how few slings are added to carts before checkout.  That’s babytown frolics if I’ve ever heard of it…

Some of you use one suppressor and move it from gun to gun, but that’s rare.  The same goes for slings.  Some can be a little universal, but most weapons work best for the user and perform best when tailored to their environment.  It finally dawned on me: a sling isn’t just another accessory.  It’s the rifle’s holster.

Would I use a single-point sling on a deer hunt?  Nope.  I don’t want it banging around against my leg and groin all day as I walk around.  But I’d use it on a folding SBR like my BRN-180 10.5” I keep in a backpack.  Just toss it over my head and neck, and I’m in business.

My two-point slings lend themselves to trekking about in the wilderness or dedicated work standing.  I’ve got a defensive shotgun that works great with a two-point, and it drapes across my torso easily, so a transition to a sidearm is easy.  Besides, from a tactical premise, if you’re separated from your weapon, you’re at a serious disadvantage.  If I’m wandering around the house or property in the middle of the night and something noisy needs investigation, I may need my hands free to handle flashlights, door handles, etc.  It is much better to have that weapon slung across my body than to let go of it and set it down.  You’re going to need to use your hands for things besides holding a gun, but that weapon must stay with you!

Slings are easier to use now than ever.  You’ve got studs to attach them, which isn’t uncommon for safari rifles I build, or push-button QD swivels for quicker use on tactical rigs, and there’s often direct weaving them into slots on your weapon.  Options like padded straps no longer cut into your shoulder during a long walk, quick slide adjustability is great on many straps, and handy dandy clips that quickly attach your rifle sling to your backpack strap guard against your rifle sliding off your shoulder.  The backpack strap clip option frees up your hands from holding it in place as you traverse the ground.  We’ve got hook-and-loop sleeves, small straps, and even rubberized bands to keep slings tucked away until you need to use them.  Options, mounting, and deployment are better now than ever before, and far too many of us are missing the boat.  

Nobody reading this tosses all their daily-use items in whatever they can find; neither our daily documents and money, nor our EDC.  So why in the name of John Moses Browning are we doing this with weapons that need a sling?  Stop the insanity, and let’s focus not only on our intended use with any given gun, but also on how we’ll use it when the time actually comes.