what sling do you use on your deer rifle?

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I ran an old Bucheimer leather 1" on my #1 and it's now on my 760

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Its kinda like an Andy's Leather "carry strap".
Have one of those too :)

My old Bianchi double suede cobra......from '76 is on my CZ455.
My 700 wears a Butler Creek "Alaskan" (with cartridge loops removed).

The Andys is waiting for a #1A, but if I get a silver buckle, would look OK on my TC Hawken Silver Elite.
 
My Bucheimer is a slider buckle, does not have the post like the one on my Andy's Carry Strap.

It stays put however.
 
back when i could use my 30-06 for deer, i used a 1907 leather sling. now that i dont hunt like i used to, i still prefer it for almost anything i do. that sling now lives on my M1A and i get to enjoy it regularly. i dont need a big pad to carry my rifle, but the ability to sling up is a big advantage when you have the time.
 
I use the ones from Slogan Outdoors.They come in 1 inch and 1 1/4 inch.They are all neoprene,and can be "split" for backpack style carry.The strap over both shoulders makes a very stable way to carry a rifle when you don't have any hands to spare.They are a little heavy,but work great.
 
I find the simplest green or black nylon strap I can find with metal buckles, once even used a milsurp italian sling, worked great!
 
I guess I got kind of spoiled with the quick adjust BFG VTAC slings on my ARs, so I also recently bought a VTAC hunting sling to use on my new Nosler M48:



Not cheap, but so far it's worked well in a couple practice sessions. Luckily it also fits several other rifles, so I'm out once....It really does quick adjust quickly to being able to sling up to cross body carry while wearing heavy coats etc.
 
I use a modified M1 Garand Web sling. I've stitched on some deerhide on the area that bears most of the weight when carrying, and modified the hardware to fit Uncle mikes swivels. It can be used as a marksmanship aid yet, but I can count on one hand the times I've actually slung up military style while hunting.

I just got ahold of a reproduction of that sling... khaki, correct for 1942. First thing I did was add the Uncle Mike's QD's... ran the rear loop down short so I have all the quick easy adjustment up front.

It could be considered to add a surplus GI pack strap pad to any sling.
 
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Regarding Garandimal' post #24... the older gentleman discussing the M1 Garand web sling... that explains a lot. He cleared up several matters I wasn't up on.
 
Available in a number of colors and patterns, this is the Browning All Weather sling I use on my rifles and shotguns. Useful for carry as well as easily adjustable to use as shooting support. Nylon, yes, but offers ease of adjustment, it's quiet, and it's got good swivels. cq5dam.web.835.835.jpg
 
Welp, now I've got to figure out how to talk them into selling me a couple of em.

Follow up on this. I sent Bushmaster an email about this on Monday. Never heard back. Not a big deal. I'm sure they get hundreds of emails a day.

Went back over to the website today to try again. Squeaky wheel and all that.

Their new "chat" feature popped up. I thought "what the hell, I'll give it a try". Well, "Michael" got the parts # for me and told me to give them a call. May be backordered for 2 months, but I'm not in a hurry.

Excellent customer service from Bushmaster!
 
I am interested in what sling you all use for your deer rifle.

The same sling I use for bear defense - hahahahahahahaha

Really, just a light nylon sling. It's deer hunting. Most people pull the rifle out of the case, walk less than 200 yards to take a deer at less than 50 yards. If you don't walk that far and don't shoot that far, it's basically just something to keep it out of your way walking to the stand and then allow the hunter two hands to climb into a stand. It's not even required while stalk hunting. I'm sure tens of thousands of deer get away each year because the hunter has the rifle slung over their shoulder and not ready to shoulder and fire.

Anyway, the requirements for a deer hunting sling are rather low. That is why there are answers from the finest piece of leather to the inexpensive WM special.
 
Post #65 illustrates the point the game wardens were making about having your rifle ready to use as you're walking. (This was in the hunter education class I was in.) The basic safety rules/principles... muzzle control and trigger finger... being key.
 
I have a quite a few slings for rifles and shotgun. But I was looking for something unique for he type of hunting environment I am usually in. We do not use rifles for Deer. I use a short barrel shotgun with a Machete always carried in the other hand through thick brush and swamps. I wanted something that was compact, comfortable and especially Easy to transfer around my shoulder. and do it quickly. I found this sling and really like it. Not much bulk, and the rubber material makes if absorb shock when walking.The Elasticity helps out tremendously. The have different styles for rifles and shotguns. I plan to eventually change all my hunting rifles etc. to these.

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Regarding Garandimal' post #24... the older gentleman discussing the M1 Garand web sling... that explains a lot. He cleared up several matters I wasn't up on.

The only addendum is that - the rear sling swivel loop can be cinched up even more - until it is tight and solid.

With the sewn folded end on the outside of the sling, along with the sling swivel, the sling strap and folded end can be bent in half again.

Flex and bend it until the fold of the folded end jams the sling swivel bail against the M buckle, opposite the shooting loop.

This makes that end a solid element.




GR
 
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In my post #61, I mentioned adding a surplus pack strap pad to the M1 web sling. I tried it yesterday evening and I'd say it'll work. Placement of the forward clamp holds the pad up by the QD and that's where all the quick adjustment is for this application. As near as I can see, it can still be used as a loop sling with the pad in place.

If you like African carry, nothing says you can't swap ends with the QD's, leaving the pad in place.

Another thing I thought of... suppose you plan for African carry up front... when you assemble the sling, the pad can be secured in the rear swivel loop. I haven't tested this idea yet to see if it gets in the way of using the loop.
 
I got to thinking earlier... on the K98k's, the Germans used what looks like a 1" leather sling with a bit different slider buckle. Reproductions of those slings are available on eBay and are fairly inexpensive. If someone were so inclined, the frog could be removed and a pair of 1" QD swivels installed. :cool:

It probably looks kinda funny to be replying to my own post after a thread's been dormant a couple of weeks, but I more recently noticed some more fairly inexpensive reproduction German slings... well, their version for the submachine guns already are the way I had pictured. I understand this version is 47-48"... it might work.
 
Some "conditioner" products sold for leather shoes and such will attack the stitching. I ruined a pair of hiking boots making that mistake. Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP doesn't seem to so I use that on slings, hiking boots, holsters etc.

I got my Montana sling and it will require some treatment to soften it up a bit.

I’ll ask my daughter what she’s got. I’m confident that whatever she used for her saddles won’t attack the stitching. One of them cost as much as a high end custom rifle and she had 2, one for jumping and one for Dressage. If you think this shooting hobby of ours is expensive, well......

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I use a Butler Creek Mountain Sling a lot. I have 2-3, but they are getting hard to find. I was surprised one showed up on Amazon. It is a simple lightweight nylon sling, but with a rubberized section to prevent the sling from sliding off the shoulder. The ones without the rubber are everywhere, but they don't work nearly as well. Be careful if ordering to get the right thing

https://www.amazon.com/Butler-Creek...ountain+sling&qid=1563452880&s=gateway&sr=8-1

But lately I've started using the 1" Montana Sling. They are hand made in Montana, and while not cheap are a lot of sling for the money. They are designed to be used with the loop on the forend so they can be used as a shooting sling. I prefer to carry them with the loop near the butt so the rough leather is on my shoulder. Can be used either way. The 1" version is only a couple ounces heavier than the Butler Creek nylon sling.

https://montanagunslings.com/gun-slings.php

They have other products, I keep meaning to order a belt from them.

In use

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That's a sweet setup. Only thing that could make it better is if you told us it was a 7mm-08. ;)
 
Personally, I like lightweight hunting rifles and lightweight slings. I don't see the point in putting a heavy sling on a light rifle. Nylon webbing does the job for me just fine.

I also tend to carry my hunting rifles in my hands, not slung (which is the point of having light rifles), so it's pretty rare that I even have a sling on my rifle.

For elk season last year, I bought an Eberlestock Dragonfly pack with a rifle scabbard. It exceeded my expectations and that rifle scabbard is just handy as hell. I fell in love with it over the course of my 7 day elk hunt. No matter where I went, that pack was perfect. Usually I had my rifle in my hands, but if it was dark in the morning or back to camp, I'd throw the rifle in the scabbard and my hands were completely free. I hardly noticed the rifle in the pack. Best part was I could reach back there and pull the rifle out of the scabbard with one hand, in about 2 seconds. So I just left my sling in the truck after the 2nd day.

Honestly, if you haven't used a hunting pack with a rifle scabbard or a gun bearer system like the one Kifaru makes, you don't know what you're missing.

The idea of using a sling to steady your shooting is romantic, nostalgic and just fine on the battlefield, but for practical hunting shots, if you have time to use your sling, you have time to find a rest. For most western hunters, that's your pack. Take off your pack, throw it on the ground and shoot off your pack. Far better than standing with a sling. For eastern hunters, that's the nearest tree.
 
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