side mounted sling

[calamity ed]

I went to an appleseed event and learned on how to use a sling correctly. I have a steyr m95 that I like shooting and I wanted to use some if the lessons I learned on it. The sling loops are located on the side of the rifle, would the hold be any different? Or how you would use the sling

[MostlyHarmless]

Depending on how far forward the front sling mount is and where your support hand is positioned on the rifle, it may very well work just fine for you. I often shoot a Sig522/556, which have their front sling points on the left side of the gas block. The side mount works great, and does not compromise my position in any way.

But of course you won't really know if that side mount will work for you until you get into position and try it. It's possible that the mount will hold the sling end too high or too far aft to get your support hand into position. If it doesn't work well, the solution I would try would be an HK style clip. Replace the forward hook on your sling with one of these, and it should allow you to clip in to the bottom of that front sling mount. That should give you enough room to properly run the sling around the back of your hand.



Make sure that you get the 1.25" size if you're using a 1.25" sling. HK clips commonly come in 1.25" and 1" sizes.

[Caliper]

Everything is the same, except you will need to hold your support hand a bit different. The side swivel will want to cant the rifle to that side, but careful placement of the support hand can counteract that.

[scuzzy]

Speaking of side mount slings - here's an email I received today which asked about this very subject:


On 05/07/2014 11:27 AM, David wrote:
  <blockquote> Hello - would the EABCO M1 Carbine 10/22 Tribute be an ideal rifle for an Appleseed event?

Would the sling attached to the side be a problem?

http://www.eabco.com/store/ruger-10/22-accessories/m1-carbine-replica-ruger-10/22-stock-and-tribute/


David

</blockquote>I told him:

Hello Sir,

It looks like it would work - a side mount sling usually isn't a problem. What I do wonder about is how you would detach the sling at the rear in order to use a loop sling. However I would bet it would work well using a hasty sling. Looks really nice - man I might purchase one of those stocks. I'll post on the Appleseed forum and ask if anybody has any experience with these. If you don't hear back from me in say two days please email me back - I get lots of emails and can lose track of things.


*** Anybody have any experience with this particular stock, etc?

[PHenry]

I prefer to improvise and create sling mounts under any rifle as they afford a greater advantage in marksmanship.

[MostlyHarmless]

*** Anybody have any experience with this particular stock, etc?

Yeah, know it well. A friend has one, it makes for a terrific looking replica.

But that forward side mount for the sling is practically useless for position shooting. I've tried, and not been able to get it to work. I would enthusiastically recommend either discretely installing a sling swivel stud or using a sling mount barrel band for the front sling mount. The issue is that the carbine's fore end just isn't very long, and the mount makes it very awkward to wrap the sling around your support hand.

The rear mount is no problem- unless you want a 1.25" instead of a 1". The stock oiler makes a quick, practical attachment point for the sling- but the slot in the stock is only 1" wide and will not accommodate a wider strap. If a 1.25" USGI  sling is to be used, another sling stud discretely mounted on the underside of the stock butt is the way to go.

[Prep40!]

I have that stock on my LTR.  I came across it when I was looking to actually mount my 50th Anniversary 10/22 action in a real M1 Carbine, but decided against it when I came across the EABCO stock.  I found that the tension in the loop sling to cant ever so slightly if you don't have the butt end placed firmly against the shoulder.  However, using a hasty it seems to work just fine.  I found this on amazon, might be looking into. 

http://www.amazon.com/Ruger-Sling-Swivel-Mount-Black/dp/B00B5WF00C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1409967026&sr=8-3&keywords=10%2F22+band

I haven't gone for it yet, and it may take a little work fitting and so fourth but I think it would be a handy addition, allowing for both carry and shooting.   

My grandfather carried an M1 Carbine though the mountains of Italy and into the Po Valley with the 10th during WWII.  I wanted to honor him with my LTR.

   

[eaglescouter]

My AR10 in 308Winchester has the sling stud at 90 degrees to the right and I am a right handed shooter.

This works VERY WELL! 

The sling goes across the back of the hand without taking the long way around, exerting less pressure on the hand.

The only downside?  With a really solid sling and position I can break the handguard lose from the barrel nut, which then causes the sling to no longer be taught and my NPOA shifts.