Sling fit

[Yogachick]

I've been noticing that when I have my sling high enough on my arm for stability and tight enough that it doesn't slide down, I start to get some numbness in my arm/hand.

I know that I'm compressing one of the nerves in my arm and not only does this decrease the stability of my NPOA but it can also do long-term damage. Has anyone had this problem and found a good solution?

If it's a product, I would love it if you shared a link to it!!

Thanks in advance 😁

[BrotherPilot]

Pretty much any sort of padding.  Shooting jackets are heavy and stiff partially for this reason.  You might make a cuff out of a (large) old sock and some blue foam like from a roll up camping pad or one of the really thick yoga matts.

[Yogachick]

Thank you!!

[Geek]

As a future Project Appleseed Instructor, you could always look for a shooting jacket too.  It will help with the sling.  It will also give you an awesome way to display all the patches you will accumulate 

[NJrefugee]

I have the same issue with a GI sling. Usually I have a ton of popped capillaries in my support arm by the end of the day. The best solution I've found is to switch to an Armageddon Gear sling that has a shooting loop with adjustable H buckle inside the sling loop. This allows you to stop the loop from fully constricting the arm. So I can get it tight enough to be stable and not slip, but not crazy tight. An in between solution could be to install an H buckle on a GI sling to serve the same purpose. I have not tried this yet, but I imagine it would help.

[jtdiver]

The sling should be rotated to the outside of support arm. Then once pulled snug it will not continue to tighten and cause the numbness you experience

[dond]

For many years I  have been carrying some appropriate sized sponges for shooters troubled with this. They are originally soft, so I soak  them in water and let them dry. They get hard that way and work well. They can also be held in place by a rubber band. Another solution is to lower the sling a little on your arm, but still above the bicep.

[La Victoire Ailee (Timothy_D)]

If you only use a sling in the loop sling configuration for all three positions, consider one of these:
Jim Owens No Pulse service sling

I love mine.

[Mrs. Smith]

For many years I  have been carrying some appropriate sized sponges for shooters troubled with this. They are originally soft, so I soak  them in water and let them dry. They get hard that way and work well. They can also be held in place by a rubber band. Another solution is to lower the sling a little on your arm, but still above the bicep.

Yoga Chick, this is the answer you're looking for, coming from our Chief Master Instructor.

[Yogachick]

Pretty much any sort of padding.  Shooting jackets are heavy and stiff partially for this reason.  You might make a cuff out of a (large) old sock and some blue foam like from a roll up camping pad or one of the really thick yoga matts.

Thank you!

[AnthonyC]

For many years I  have been carrying some appropriate sized sponges for shooters troubled with this. They are originally soft, so I soak  them in water and let them dry. They get hard that way and work well. They can also be held in place by a rubber band. Another solution is to lower the sling a little on your arm, but still above the bicep.

I have had this same problem with arm numbness. 
Are you talking about regular kitchen-size sponges?

[dond]

An old one that I have measures 2.5 x 4.5 x 3/8. It was probably a little larger originally. But remember that you can also lower the sling some on your arm too.

[ChuckA]

Note to self... add some spongy materials to my box o' stuff for shoots, stored right next to the stock build up materials.

Would gun case type pick foam work? I have some of that spare.

[dond]

Gun case foam is too soft. It needs to be fairly hard in order to spread the force of the sling out over a larger area. That's why I soak them in water, squeeze it out and let them dry. They become harder that way. Initially they are just too soft. It's possible that a section of noodle foam might work. I haven't tried that. 

[malabar]

Neoprene works really well for this. Hold it in place with Velcro.  You never know what you'll find in your local craft store.

[upacreek]

Are you guys taking the slings off in between strings of fire?  I had left a sling on while plinking at home one day and it took a while to figure out that the sunburn looking marks on the underside of my arm was from prolonged sling use and not some freaky sunburn spot.  Be sure to give your arm a break (plus, newer Appleseeders need the repeated act of taking the sling on and off at events so they can put it on at home too)  If my sling is adjusted too tightly, I get numbness.  Snug, not tight, is just right.

I'll add the sponges to my list too, thanks.

[CarrollMS]

I use a very large safety pin on my very old 10x shooting jacket and also on sweatshirt I use for CMP Sporter 3-position shooting (3-4" see Amazon for instance). I place the sling loop in the safety pin, and it never slides down the arm even though not tight. I use both the GI sling and a 1907 sling: No Numbness and No noticeable Pulse movement.  I leave the sling on, in the pin, when not shooting and use a quick disconnect for the front sling attachment.
 Some shooting jackets I have seen have an adjustable built-in loop on the jacket to keep the sling high.