Carrying a weapon especially a bigger one can be quite tiring. If you're on the hunt for a game animal that doesn't give up easily, carrying a rifle can be excruciating work. But not if you do so with a sling. With a proper weapon sling, your arms will be thankful and far from sore from all that lugging around.
By having a sling to carry your rifle, you also make it a lot better for you to crawl with the rifle. Your hands are free so you can focus on other tasks such as using your binoculars or attracting game animals with a lure. Something as simple as a sling helps you in many ways and makes your hunting or exportation of the wild a lot more enjoyable.
What to Consider in a Weapon Sling
Design
Probably the most important aspect of a weapon sling is its design. The design of a sling will determine its compatibility with your rifle. For example, if your rifle comes with QD slots you'll want to search for proper weapon slings that make use of the same snap hooks. Also, you'll want to go for a sling that can be adjusted for body armour, in case you make use of it.
Comfort
Although comfort is not something that's associated with any sort of equipment related to weapons, when it comes to gun slings things are a bit different. The bigger your rifle is the wider the sling you'll need in order to make carrying your weapon more comfortable. Because the wider the sling is the better it's able to distribute the weight of the rifle. A comfortable sling also has a large pad that is placed over the shoulder to make it less stressful for your shoulder blade.
Material
There are two types of materials used to make weapon slings, leather and synthetics. Leather gun slings are the more traditional option since they make for classic styling but are also quite durable and strong. A leather sling is ideal for shotguns and for hunting rifles.
On the other hand, you have paracord slings which are a more fitting solution for hunting rifles than leather. Paracord slings are robust and durable while they also make a rifle look more tactical. You also have another option known as ballistic nylon which is light and durable making it an excellent solution for a tactical gun sling. If you want a tactical gun sling for long-term use, go for one made of ballistic nylon.
Purpose
We all know about the purpose of a sling but what about the purpose of your weapon? For example, a hunting rifle will be used quite differently than a rifle for self-protection. Make sure you know what your weapon is really going to be used for and based on that information choose a sling that will fit its requirements.
Types of Weapon Slings
Single Point
As you'd expect a single-point sling attaches to one point on your weapon. Although single-point slings are limited to hunting they are great for tactical shooting. This is because their design has a loop that goes around your body.
Two-Point
With a two-point sling, you get a lot more adjustment and support. But this comes at the price of manoeuvrability since 2-point slings are not as easy to transition without taking both the sling and weapon off or having the sling sit on your shoulder loosely.
Three-Point
Although they were once quite popular, three-point slings are slowly being phased out. This is because they are quite limiting when it comes to manoeuvrability but they offer quite a lot of adjustment which can be overwhelming since there are a lot of straps you need to deal with.
How to Carry a Weapon
African-Carry
This type of weapon-carrying technique involves having the rifle placed over your weak shoulder and the muzzle of the rifle pointing towards the ground. While this method protects the barrel of the rifle and it makes for fast deployment it isn't that comfortable.
American-Carry
If you want a more comfortable carrying method then go for American carry. Opposite from the African-carry method, the American-carry method involves having the rifle on the strong-side shoulder with its muzzle towards the sky. While, as you know, this is more comfortable, it isn't as good when it comes to your draw stroke. Also, the muzzle can get caught on tree branches and it's left exposed to rain too.
Cross-Back Carry
With a cross-back carry method, you are wearing your rifle diagonally across your back. This is both retentive and comfortable while it has both your arms free. One thing is for sure though, there is no fast deployment with a cross-back carry method.
Final Words
Using a sling for your rifle is one of the best ways to make it more usable since it shouldn't be in your hands until you actually need to use it. So why not have it at the back where it won't be in your way and it will be easy to get to when needed? Proper use of a sling equates to more efficient use of a rifle.