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Elk hunting this year was a real success as my buddy and I both filled our tags. But one thing that now leaves a bitter taste in my mouth was how awkward and horrible having a pack and a rifle sling on my shoulder wss. I feel like there must be a better way than what I was doing. How do you guys approach this?
Strap it to your pack... or buy a new pack that has a spot already on it for a gun.. i bow hunt so never had this problem because i havent shot one yet :-) but my buddy has and we just strapped are bows to our packs.. plenty of straps on packs to figure this out.. if yours doesnt might be time for a new pack
Are you talking pre-kill, or post kill, or both? For post kill, seems like a pack is the easy answer.
I mean pre kill... hiking around in rough terrain. You want to have it ready to shoot but not flopping around and falling off the shoulder.
I have a silent stalker sling that grips my shoulder or pack strap pretty well, but it still falls off if I walk through heavy brush or something. All the other hunters with more experience will probably have better advice when they get in here.
Well I’m glad I’m not the only one who has had their rifle fall off their shoulder going through brush. Hearing of just one other having this makes me feel so much better. My buddy seems to be immune to this issue and kinda looked at me like I was an alien when I asked.
I break my front sight about every other year. One year, just after I had replaced my front sight, my rifle slid off around my shoulder while I was trying to maneuver across some questionable terrain and the rifle swung around at speed and smashed the front sight right onto a rock.
In my limited experience, if you walk with the loose sling it slides off the shoulder a lot, especially when jumping over downed trees, etc. The best thing we've done is use a tight sling with a quick release pull strap or even a backpack that has a rifle holder with a quick release pull.
Alternatively, you can tweak your technique to more closely match some of the more trashy hunters I see and just hunt from your truck. ;)
Hiked many a mile in and out of black timber. I carry my m77 7mm ~7 lbs in the crook of my off hand. If you hold it close to the body little fatigue. If your arm gets tired stop take 5 and glass. They can see better than you can.
^ This. Once I'm hunting it stays in my hands and rarely sees my shoulder.
I use the Brownells Latigo sling for my hunting rifles. They can be quickly and easily adjusted to any length you desire.
This allows me to pull it tight when I'm sitting or walking with it unslung. This keeps the swivels from making any noise. When I want to sling my rifle I just pull down on the outer part of the sling to the length I need and up it goes.
My packs have full padded shoulder straps with mount points, not just a thin nylon strap like many packs I see. I have cases attached to each of the straps at my breast - one for my radio and one for my GPS. To keep my rifle on my shoulder without slipping, I put the sling towards the center of my chest, whichever side I sling on has a case to catch the sling and hold it, keeping it from slipping off.
I still use the first Latigo sling I installed back in '93 (I've used it almost every year since then). It's held up amazingly and doesn't slip loose when I don't want it to.
I like the concept of that latigo
It's a simple thing but I like a sling with a thumb loop. Your hand is always on the sling but it's comfortable. You don't have to squeeze to hold it. Yet your holding it in place or you can get ready for a shot quick. Not the end all be all but it helps.
I've been using the Sinclair Montana Sling from Brownells for around the past 10 years. Very fast to adjust the length/tension for shooting positions or adjusting to fit clothing. While it can still slip off your shoulder, you just have to hold on if that's how you carry it. I mainly use the sling for shooting positions. Another good sling if you're concerned with carrying it and slipping off your shoulder, is the "Claw" sling with rubber on it.
Montana Sling:
https://www.brownells.com/shooting-a...prod22874.aspx
Claw Sling:
https://www.brownells.com/shooting-a...-prod9933.aspx
I have something like the Claw. I was able to make little slits in the ribbing and now it holds my primers for my muzzleloader as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DFBrews
+1, slings are for hiking.Quote:
Originally Posted by jslo
I prefer to hike and *stalk* with the rifle muzzle down and secured in a muzzle cup mounted to the pack hip belt, while the rifle’s stock is secured to a cross-sternum strap. I keep a ‘tactical length’ sling on all long guns rather than the ‘hunter length’ single shoulder traditional sling.
When the rifle is attached to the pack, it is sling over my neck, but there is no tension on the sling at all. The entire weight of the rifle is riding on the chassis of the pack.
Pros:
-Rifle balances the pack weight
-load is carried on the hips NOT shoulder
-rifle is held TIGHT to the body
-rifle is protected from abuse by riding in front, midline of body
-shooting position is assumed by removing a single snap/buckle (faster than mounting from a single shoulder sling in any position)
Cons:
-Confuses Fudds
-threatens old men who don’t know what they are doing
-requires pack modification
-promotes hunting with ‘military grade, fully semi-automatic rifles’
I developed my strap system and carry method over the course of running the Sniper Adventure Challenge 3 times. If it’s comfy to hike 30 continuous miles off trail in a day, it will work for a 10mile hunting day.
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My buddy from Alaska turned me on to a sling similar to the one below - can't remember the brand I have.
Rifle always at the ready, rifle weight in front offsets pack weight in rear, can't fall off shoulder, carry muzzle up or down
Just an awesome sling for stalking.
http://www.niggeloh.de/index.php/rifle-slings.html - "Rifle Sling 'Driven Hunt'" model
http://www.niggeloh.de/files/Niggelo...-drueck-br.jpg
http://www.niggeloh.de/files/Niggelo...d/drueck-1.jpg
http://www.niggeloh.de/files/Niggelo...d/drueck-2.jpg
I just picked up a Vorn Equipment backpack in 20L. It has a quick release for the rifle and you don't need a sling. They're running a sale through the end of this month.
http://us.vornequipment.com/
I tried to carry my 300WM with a suppressor, and slung over the shoulder, it would be pretty unruly and I had to constantly readjust. With this pack (just tried out at home), the rifle secure and stable. It comes to the ready very quickly.
https://youtu.be/wXHJ_PuPSJc