Which sling for Mini 14: non-removable 1" swivels.

[leroyjenkins]

I convinced my buddy to come out to his first Appleseed, the April 21/22 shoot in Burlington Flats, NY.  He's going to shoot his Mini 14.  We just hit the rifle range at the local club for some plinking and I noticed that his sling swivels are 1" and not easily removable.

Also, I know from experience it's really really handy to have a quick detachable front sling attachment point.  I'm thinking that a 1" GI-type sling with the clip from the rear on both ends would probably work.

Do y'all have any suggestions for a 1" sling that'll fit a Mini 14?

[oladcock]

A normal 1 1/4" with the hook ground to something less that 1". I'm changing all my loaners over to that configuration so they fit everything....O.L.

[2 clicks low]

You can get extra J-hooks here: http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Detail.aspx?pid=408900&filter=sling+hook&catid=0

I use a dremel tool with a cutting wheel to take them down to 1".

Or just go old school with one of these: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1021134479/hunter-military-shooting-sling-leather

2cl

[Roland]

Or just go old school with one of these: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1021134479/hunter-military-shooting-sling-leather

I use one of these ( or something similar) for smallbore, and it's great! Easy slinging and unslinging up.

[boscohurn]

That 1" leather would have been nice but I wanted the quick detach option so I dremeled (I s'pose that's a verb now) off the original swivel , slightly drilled out the hole and use KNS swivel.  I have had not problem with Uncle Mike's but the KNS feels and looks like it's slightly better made.

[2 clicks low]

That 1" leather would have been nice but I wanted the quick detach option so I dremeled (I s'pose that's a verb now) off the original swivel , slightly drilled out the hole and use KNS swivel.  I have had not problem with Uncle Mike's but the KNS feels and looks like it's slightly better made.

It's also available in 1 1/4"

[didactic]

For shooters who show up with rifles with fixed 1" swivels, with or without any kind of sling, here's something that's not very elegant-looking but WORKS.

Take a 1 1/4" (loaner) web sling with any brand of QD sling swivels, and attach THEM to the fixed 1" swivels.  There's an extra linkage at each end, but it doesn't hurt a thing.             

Can you say adapt, improvise, and overcome?  I thought you could.

[Roland]

You can fix anything with zipties and duct tape. For this, put a ziptie through the front of the sling, and cinch it around something. The swivel, the tip of the forend, anything. If SB allows, you can even put the ziptie loop around the forend each time, so you can leave the sling on your arm. When you go back down, just put the loop back over. This may be against the rules though, with the "no hands near the muzzle" obsession in the new Instructor manual.

[aragornelessar86]

Anyone have more... elegant solutions? I'm trying to figure out the best way to sling up my Mini, but I don't like having a front J-hook digging into my hand, and QDs are kinda ugly in my opinion. I'm about to just fab up some larger loops myself and weld/solder them on.

[BeSwift]

Don't know if this qualifies as elegant, but it's simple.. I have 2  standard GI loaner slings that I cut the metal end keeper off of, for use on 1" slings swivels.. It ain't pretty, and you have to take a lighter to the end of the webbing, but it works.. no grinding, and takes 15 seconds to accomplish the entire job...   My 02.   BeSwift

[2 clicks low]

Anyone have more... elegant solutions? I'm trying to figure out the best way to sling up my Mini, but I don't like having a front J-hook digging into my hand, and QDs are kinda ugly in my opinion. I'm about to just fab up some larger loops myself and weld/solder them on.

Send a PM to Foppish Dandy , he was talking about making 1" web slings not too long ago.

[dond]

Tech-Sights now has one inch GI slings in stock, in addition to their 1 1/4 slings. They are good slings. That would be the best choice. I have just purchased some of both to take to events for shooters. Previously I have been purchasing just the 1 1/4 ones, and they sell quickly. I only charge the shooters my purchase price, and it really helps their shooting. I also take swivels.

[Caliper]

You can get a 1 1/4" GI sling through a 1" swivel.  Fold the sling at a 45* angle right below the metal tab so you can slide the tab through the swivel sideways.  The sling will be a bit pinched right at the swivel, but it's really not very noticeable and definitely does not affect the shooting any.  I did this on my Finn M39 where the sling is a bit under 1".  It took a bit of pushing to get the folded over sling through but works great. 

[mac66]

There are a couple ways to fit a GI sling to a Mini.

Once way is remove the front swivel loop and then file/ground/countersink the hole just a tad bit bigger so a QD swivel will attach. Then replace the rear swivel/loop with a QD stud. I did this on my Mini years ago.

Second way, as was mentioned is to simply grind the 1.25" hooks on the GI sling to an inch. I've done this to a couple of my loaners and it works well. 

[Charles McKinley]

Attach the 1 1/4" QD swivel the the permanently attached swivel.  That was the solution to my brothers 77/22.

[leroyjenkins]

Tech-Sights now has one inch GI slings in stock, in addition to their 1 1/4 slings. They are good slings. That would be the best choice. I have just purchased some of both to take to events for shooters. Previously I have been purchasing just the 1 1/4 ones, and they sell quickly. I only charge the shooters my purchase price, and it really helps their shooting. I also take swivels.

PERFECT!  Forwarding my buddy to the Tech-Sights store now.

Thanks!

[AlaSprout]

A couple of years ago, I purchased a brand new Mini-14 with the ATI folding/collapsible stock.  (See my avatar.)  The stock front sling mount was 1 inch wide and simply clamped around a notch in the forend.  I used Vise-Grips to pull the fixed mount off and then drilled the notch clean through so I could install an Uncle Mike's QD 1-1/4 inch sling mount.  It was a bit nerve wracking to take a drill to a perfectly good firearm, but it worked just fine.  I purchased a GI cotton sling from the AS website and off I went to my 2nd Appleseed event.

There are a couple ways to fit a GI sling to a Mini.

Once way is remove the front swivel loop and then file/ground/countersink the hole just a tad bit bigger so a QD swivel will attach. Then replace the rear swivel/loop with a QD stud. I did this on my Mini years ago.

[AlaSprout]

A couple of years ago, I purchased a brand new Mini-14 with the ATI folding/collapsible stock.  (See my avatar.)  The stock front sling mount was 1 inch wide and simply clamped around a notch in the forend.  I used Vise-Grips to pull the fixed mount off and then drilled the notch clean through so I could install an Uncle Mike's QD 1-1/4 inch sling mount.  The rear of the stock came with a regular sling swivel from the factory.  I purchased a GI cotton sling from the AS website and off I went to my 2nd Appleseed event.  It  was a bit nerve wracking to take a drill to a perfectly good firearm, but it worked just fine.

There are a couple ways to fit a GI sling to a Mini.

Once way is remove the front swivel loop and then file/ground/countersink the hole just a tad bit bigger so a QD swivel will attach. Then replace the rear swivel/loop with a QD stud. I did this on my Mini years ago.