I've been curious how most folks shoot with sling support on rifles that have the front sling attachment point mounted on the side of the rifle. Examples of what I'm talking about include the M1 Carbine, Japanese Arisaka, German Mauser, Swiss K31, etc. Do you attach a standard GI sling to the side mount and deal with it as best you can, or is there a better way?
Thanks for any advice!
Agrivere
On my Swiss K31, I retrofitted it with a 1911 rear handguard band which has the swivel on the bottom. BTW, this is a permissible modification per CMP military rifle comp. rules (they also allow the use of a USGI sling on these rifles). Got the part from Numeric for around $9
Side mounting works okay for the loop sling, works great for hasty.
What is more difficult is trying to attach the sling to the sling loop; most side-mounted options are simply a ring, so you need something that clips to it.
I recommend the HK Sling Clip, in 1-1/4", found at Brownells:
CLICK ME (http://www.brownells.com/shooting-accessories/slings-sling-swivels/tactical-sling-mounts/1-hk-style-sling-snap-hook-sku080000798-41303-77721.aspx?cm_mmc=cse-_-Itwine-_-shopping-_-Hk-Style%20Spring%20Snap%20Sling%20Hook&gdftrk=gdfV21820_a_7c187_a_7c1021_a_7c080000798_d_080000797_d_10118)
The side mount on Swiss rifles works fine with GI web slings. K-98 pattern rifles should also do well with them.
On my swiss guns, I just loop to the front side and clip to the rear and sling up as normal for prone.
Like everybody has said, it works fine. A little more modern than the M1 Carbine, but I have a QD sling attachment point on the left side of my AR quadrail where I mount my tacticool Magpul MS2 sling; I run it in 2-point mode most of the time and with the MS2 mounted on the left side, I can carry it around in a low-ready position like I prefer when "in the field."
FYI, the MS2 makes a darn good shooting sling when utilized properly.
You can get a bottom attachment point if you want, but it is not necessary.
My .02