kellyn Posted January 19, 2002 Share Posted January 19, 2002 Eric W asked if anyone ever uses a shooting sling in practical rifle, I'd give a qualified yes to that. I am a big believer in the shooting sling. It both steadies the rifle and locks the rifle with the shooter which reduces muzzle flip. There are pretty much 3 kinds of slings: the highpower sling, the ching sling, and the hasty sling. The hasty sling is simply created by wrapping one's arm around a normal carrying strap, I don't think that accomplishes anything. The ching sling is a simple strap which is attached at the front of the handguard and the rear of the handguard forming a loop. The strap has a half turn so it is flat against the bicep. There is another strap which goes to the rear of the rifle so the sling is attached at 3 points. The ching sling was designed by gunsite instructor eric ching who was improving upon Jeff Cooper's CW sling which is an updated version of an old British military technique (whew!). The ching sling is very fast to get into and significantly improves one's hold. I have one on my limited-SOF AR15. I've seen Bennie Cooley and Mike Voight use versions of the ching sling when shooting from kneeling. IMHO the ching sling is the best allaround sling for 3 gunning. Finally there is the highpower sling as used by cross-the-course competitors in highpower. It is even steadier than the ching sling but it is slow to get into and to get out of. But with a properly adjusted highpower sling, you are really locked in with the rifle. Very few people use the highpower sling in 3 gun, probably b/c few know how to properly use one and it is slow. However some matches (Myst Mtn and SOF) have let me start with the cuff of the sling on my arm. When that happens, watch out! I can shoot faster with the highpower sling than off the monopod, with a ching sling, or off the bipod. If you ever seen a good military rattle battle shooter, you'll know what I mean - those guys fire almost a shot per second at a 600 yard target. FYI none of the slings do any good from the offhand or standing positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonedaddy Posted January 19, 2002 Share Posted January 19, 2002 Kelly, Thank You!!! I don't know anywhere else I could get this quality of information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted January 19, 2002 Share Posted January 19, 2002 Muchas Gracias, Senor Kelly!! Any clues on where we can get a picture for setting up the Ching Sling? Maybe I'm just deluding myself, but even standing, I think the sling helps me control my muzzle flip - though it does nothing to substantially stabilize the rifle. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyn Posted January 20, 2002 Author Share Posted January 20, 2002 One other thought, your rifle should have a free-floated barrel before you start using a high tension sling. The sling should be mounted on the handguard and not apply tension on the barrel. When I was a junior highpower shooter at the Small Arms Firing School we shot M16s with slings without a free floated barrel. The change in impact was dramatic. You could actually see the barrel bend! It is simple to set up a ching sling on most free floating handguard on an AR, you simply mount a quick detach sling mount on the front of the handguard (on the bottom or on the left side) and one at the rear (on the bottom is best). The aluminum free-floating handguards are best (Accuracy Speaks, EGW, Scott Medesha, Hogue). I'll bet there is a picture of a ching sling on Gunsite's webpage or on Steyr's webpage as all steyr scouts have one. I'd also look on Eric Ching's webpage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Snyder Posted January 20, 2002 Share Posted January 20, 2002 If you plan on shooting the North Carolina Tactical Match, you need a tactical sling with large enough buttstock loop to put head and weak arm thru, as you will have to transition to pistol, and still retain control of the rifle... Blackhawk's (Harris) sling allows the rifle to be dropped and fall across the body, so the the muzzle does not cover any bodily parts... regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyn Posted February 12, 2002 Author Share Posted February 12, 2002 Regrettably no one has come up with a sling that really aids in shooting and has the carrying benefits of a tactical sling. Maybe, mark buchanan and I can come up with something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Perez Posted February 14, 2002 Share Posted February 14, 2002 check out thewilderness version of a chin sling http://www.thewilderness.com/pdf/Chingsling.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyn Posted February 15, 2002 Author Share Posted February 15, 2002 The wilderness makes really good stuff. I have two of their ching slings, 1 on a Model 70 .300 Mag and the other on a M98 .270. Their ching sling is really well-made and functional. I also have 2 Giles Tactical slings, 1 for an AR the other for a shotgun. Again they are excellent. As yet, tactical slings and shooting slings are distinct. Hopefully we can find a way to combine the 2! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNShooter Posted February 18, 2002 Share Posted February 18, 2002 The hottest 3-gun sling going it by Viking Tactics (www.vikingtactics.com) It was designed as a tactical sling by a Special Forces guy with a lot of CQB experience. And is now being used as a 3-gun sling by shooters like Mike Voigt and Bennie Cooley. It's simple and it works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Merricks Posted February 19, 2002 Share Posted February 19, 2002 TN What makes it better than the rest? What shooting positions does it work best in or is the design mainly for transitions to your secondary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNShooter Posted February 19, 2002 Share Posted February 19, 2002 The V-Tac sling is the best of both worlds. It is a for real shooting sling and also allows for easy transitions. It mounts to the topof your butt stock and either the left or right side of your forearm ( which should be a free float tube if you are doing any serious shooting at distance) for left or right hand shooters.It has an adjustable front loop that is easlily operated by your weak hand. You loop it over your strong shoulder and under your weak arm. With the adjustable front half you can go prone sitting ,kneeling, squattingstanding or off hand and you still have the triangulation that makes a cuff sling work, But if you want to transition to your handgun you simply pull the weapon to your weak side as you are drawing and it will hangthere without beating your knees to peices. I have shot highpower, longrange, smallbore ,and used the ching sling , cuff sling, shooting "strap" , Giles sling, HK sling etc. and this is hands down the best shooting sling I have ever used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyn Posted February 25, 2002 Author Share Posted February 25, 2002 Now we're talking! This could be revolutionary! I'll check out Voight and Cooley's rifles at the MMtn 3 gun and report back. But if Cooley and Voight are using it, that probably says enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Snyder Posted February 26, 2002 Share Posted February 26, 2002 kellyn...don't know if you caught the connection but "Kylel" on the 3gun board is Viking Tactics hisself Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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