Best way to use a AR sling?

[cclaxton]

I shot the Shoothouse 3Gun this weekend and one stage required me to use a sling to hold the unloaded rifle while I ran shotgun and pistol, then access rifle, load and shoot rifle targets. I ended up slinging it over my left shoulder and right side loose with the muzzle pointed down and rifle behind my right shoulder. I then grabbed the handguard with my right hand (I am right handed) and pulled the rifle up allowing the sling to work around, being careful not to get caught on the pistol. Without releasing the sling, I mounted the rifle and went to low cover and did the rifle shots, allowing the sling to fall wherever it was.

I have seen others who strap the rifle tight to the front of the body with the sling over the left shoulder and right side, then release the sling tension and mount the rifle. Remember the requirement is to shoot shotgun, right shoulder mounted and still have access to shotshells in caddy's in the front, then draw pistol right handed and shoot targets, also having access to reloads.

Is there any one technique better than another? It may depend on how the shotshell caddy's are mounted.
Thanks, in advance, for any suggestions or help.
Cody

[SamuelBLong]

In situations where I have to have both hands free to do other things, I sling the gun on my back.

I'm right handed, so I go muzzle up, behind my right shoulder, with the stock by my left hip. I snug the adjustment down so that it isn't jostling around while moving / climbing / working. When it comes time to access the rifle, release the adjustment on the sling, reach up and grab the barrel and pull the gun around into the standard left arm & head through sling position.

[Dan_S]

In situations where I have to have both hands free to do other things, I sling the gun on my back.

I'm right handed, so I go muzzle up, behind my right shoulder, with the stock by my left hip. I snug the adjustment down so that it isn't jostling around while moving / climbing / working. When it comes time to access the rifle, release the adjustment on the sling, reach up and grab the barrel and pull the gun around into the standard left arm & head through sling position.


Interesting.

I'm right handed, and usually sling muzzle down, pointing toward my right, with the stock up, behind my left shoulder. This allows me to bring it up under my right arm and shoot fairly quickly should the need arise.

[SamuelBLong]

Interesting.

I'm right handed, and usually sling muzzle down, pointing toward my right, with the stock up, behind my left shoulder. This allows me to bring it up under my right arm and shoot fairly quickly should the need arise.

I'll preface the rest of this post by saying this all depends on how & where your individual sling attaches to the rifle. Front & Rear of the receiver attachment will let you get away with more than a end of the rail and stock attachments, or even the front of the receiver & stock attachments.

My preferred position keeps the rifle away from the pistol no matter if it's in your hands being used as primary, drop or controlled roll style transition to the handgun, or being brought from slung on the back to the standard position.

I find if you step into the sling using the right arm vs the left, assuming you are a RH shooter and carry the pistol strong side, it gets in the way during mounting to the shoulder, as well as during the transition.

Obviously if you're like the LAV and shoot a carbine LH and pistol right or vice versa, you've got to change it up to make it work for you, but I believe a key point is to make sure the rifle doesn't ever get in the way of a transition to handgun.

[JeffJ]

It's pretty unusual to sling a rifle in 3 gun, isn't it? I think you're going to have a real cluster-kitten no matter how you do it. The shot shell caddies, need to shoot another long gun, etc. are going to make most sling techniques problematic.

[cclaxton]

It's pretty unusual to sling a rifle in 3 gun, isn't it? I think you're going to have a real cluster-kitten no matter how you do it. The shot shell caddies, need to shoot another long gun, etc. are going to make most sling techniques problematic.
In Tidewater 3gun, it is always included in at least one stage. We were all trying to figure out the best way. Some kept it in the front, most put it behind them. I have two 4x4 Shotshell caddies mounted on my belt center and a little right, just ahead of my pistol holster. That left about a 3" gap between caddies that I could use for the sling to traverse. But many people had no real-estate left on their belts, so it was hard to put it where it would not knock loose shotshell rounds.

Cody

[Dan_S]

I'll preface the rest of this post by saying this all depends on how & where your individual sling attaches to the rifle. Front & Rear of the receiver attachment will let you get away with more than a end of the rail and stock attachments, or even the front of the receiver & stock attachments.

My preferred position keeps the rifle away from the pistol no matter if it's in your hands being used as primary, drop or controlled roll style transition to the handgun, or being brought from slung on the back to the standard position.

I find if you step into the sling using the right arm vs the left, assuming you are a RH shooter and carry the pistol strong side, it gets in the way during mounting to the shoulder, as well as during the transition.

Obviously if you're like the LAV and shoot a carbine LH and pistol right or vice versa, you've got to change it up to make it work for you, but I believe a key point is to make sure the rifle doesn't ever get in the way of a transition to handgun.



All good to keep in mind. I should have mentioned in my post, that under most circumstances when I do that, I don't generally have anything on my belt, and need to do physical work with both my hands.

[TAZ]

In situations where I have to have both hands free to do other things, I sling the gun on my back.

I'm right handed, so I go muzzle up, behind my right shoulder, with the stock by my left hip. I snug the adjustment down so that it isn't jostling around while moving / climbing / working. When it comes time to access the rifle, release the adjustment on the sling, reach up and grab the barrel and pull the gun around into the standard left arm & head through sling position.

This is sort of how I use my carbine sling the majority of the time. When I'm not using the carbine it's in a low ready across my front. It has never gone across my back from this position. I can't see the across the back variant being very useful if you are at a match and need to transition to or from the carbine while it's across your back. Also a good chance that I'd be violating a lot of range safety rules with a skyward muzzle.

I've seen people sling across the back with the muzzle down and to the right side of the shooter for a right handed shooter, but this is generally done when carrying a carbine on base or other relatively safe facility. The shooter can reach around and bring the gun forward to load and shoot depending on the ROE, but that won't help much if you're carrying a side arm.


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[SamuelBLong]

Slinging the gun on your back is only really done & is useful when you must have both hands free for other tasks - medical care, climbing, breaching, etc. Ideally I wouldn't recommend it for competition, but it remains the most viable method in the context of the OP's 3 gun stage constraints of starting slung with shooting the shotgun to start, and not knocking all your gear loose or getting entangled on the transition to the rifle.

I don't see how you'd be violating safety rules, as the gun is on safe with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction the whole time.

Grabbing the barrel to pull around the gun allows you to control where it's pointed the entire time (as opposed to pulling the stock to bring it into the forward low ready... Doing that flags everyone behind you).

[cclaxton]

I have this VTAC sling. This runs a bit fast but it does seem to have all the ways to sling the AR.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhojNCdksYw Slinging the rifle in the front muzzle down and to the left does seem like the best option for a right handed shooter.
Cody

[Dan_S]

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