Lever action hunters sling or no sling?

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9x56MS

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Interested in knowing hunters who use lever action rifles, do you use a sling or keep the gun in your hand? If you sling what style do you prefer? Thanks for your feedback and good hunting this year.
 
I use one if equipped with sling studs, but only for when. I am dragging a animal or need both hands. Most time the sling is in my pack, I don't use scopes so it's nice to carry a lever gun.

I like the older butler creek quick adjust slings, they can be a little slick but are nice for across the back carry.

On guns with out studs I've rolled twist a long length of bailing twine and tie it to the gun.
 
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I didn't want to drill holes in my model 94 , so I have a soft case with a sling attached. Gun stays in the soft case until I'm in the stand or back to truck.
 
Definitely have sling on the rifle- and when I cover a lot of ground I’ll occasionally shoulder sling carry- Yet very quickly I can have my eye on the Target… and rifle is at the ready. A rather svelte fliperoo of western tv shows type move…. Tho it works.
 
I use a winchester 94, post 64, pre angle eject. I drilled the stock and put a forearm band on it that has a stud. I like a cloth webbing sling I made. Simple and quiet.
 
Carbine- sling… easy to carry and get on target from the shoulder.
 

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Don’t use a sling while hunting. If my rifle is not in my hands then I am no longer hunting.

That is just me and my hunting environment. I know a sling is a practical necessity for other hunting situations.

I do keep a sling in my pack for dealing with downed game animals after the harvest.
 
I am about 50/50 on sling use with a leveraction. If I am hunting from a mule using a scabbard or hunting through thick brush then I don't use a sling. Once I have shot an animal I carry the meat out on a backpack which leaves my hands free for the rifle. If I am hunting in the mountains or the adjacent sage flats, I use a sling. I like to glass and move in these areas so being able to throw the rifle over a shoulder to glass is helpful. Sage is not good for supporting rifles so there is that too.

On my bolt actions it is 100%.

Here is a couple of pictures of my son and I in the local mountains calling bears with a Marlin 30TK. I make him carry the rifle and I carry all of the calling "stuff". The levergun has a sling and a scope....I'm not sure if that is levergun legal, but it works for this type of hunting.

There is just something about the way a leveraction fits in the the palm of a hand that screams fall, hunting, and America!

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I have a carry strap on my field rifles - it doesn't much get in the way when the gun is in the hand, and it's nice to have the option to free up a hand if needed.
 
I like a sling, but I've really grown to love the 2 point slings on AR's where you can hold it in front of you, strapped tight for walking, and quickly loosen for a shot. I just don't know how one would work with a lever gun because the attachment points are all wrong, and I don't think I'm going to install qd sockets in the side of the stock..
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My Marlin 30-AS had no provisions for sling mounting when I got it so I did without a sling for a while until I realized that there are times when I really like having a sling. Had to put sling studs on it myself but I'm glad I did. It's nice to have two options on how to carry it.
 
When my dad gave me his Marlin 336 it had a basic leather sling on it, and I'm glad it did. When humping the hills in NW Pennsylvania there are times when you need 2 free hands. When dragging the deer out of the woods a sling sure is handy, and when shuffling back to the truck on some old logging road, after a day of chasing whitetails, you can't beat one
 
I think all my leverguns have studs. I am pretty cheap, so they don't all have slings on them . I prefer the type of sling with the really sticky padded shoulder piece, so it doesn't slide around. I only have a couple of them. I also like a plain old leather strap with no adjustment made to the proper length to go over my coat.

What do ya'll think of this? (Don't answer that!) Its my single point AR sling attached to the saddle ring of my carbine.......I think not, but it works just fine
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i use these slip on slings.
 

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Slings on 100% of my hunting rifles. My old Glennfield 30-30 got a sling swivel stud drilled into the stock and barrel band added. The sling is easily removed if you want it out of the way.

As shown above, no drill options exist, but I haven’t tried them.
 
I added sling mounts to my Marlin 336. A simple $10 or something sling I got from Wal-mart helps keep the wood stock from getting dinged up when I have it slung across my back. Nothing fancy and it works. Most costly part of the whole setup with finding a high quality sling stud to go on the magazine tube.
 
I don't sling any of my rifles, especially levers. Because my style of hunting is to walk and stalk, a shot that may present itself would usually be a surprise jump on game; so I walk with rifle on the ready as much as possible. Unless I'm getting tired I throw it up on my shoulder barrel forward pointing down wards the ground a bit (which is NOT on the ready!)

Lever gun in the offhand grabbed by the action (fulcrum point) is just nice. Quick to shoulder carries easy. Keep it oiled when not in use though, your blueing will wear thin/off around the action belly
 
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