We all know about slinging up, but doing it right is always a question for those who are not well versed in its application or use. Let’s take a look at traditional sling positions, and then we can explore another method of slinging up which gives even greater stability to the tried and true USGI web sling.

The proper steps to sling up are thus:

• Cradle the rifle in the arm and detach the rear of sling from the rifle
• Make a loop by pulling the sling through the middle of the slider buckle and put your arm through the loop
• Slide the loop above the bicep, and tighten the loop
• Unlock the keeper and pull the sling strap until you have removed the slack and close the keeper
• Bring your hand to the forearm, coming from above the sling. It should wrap around the back of your hand as shown above
• The sling should feel tight everywhere, if it feels loose… take up more sling slack and settle back into position

There is a clockwise twist to the sling that is done before you loop it over the arm. The strap should smoothly transition from your arm, over the back of the hand, and on to the swivel. If its twisted over somewhat, its not correct.

Once slung up, you will feel a constricting pressure above the bicep and your arm veins may bulge. You may feel your pulse in the bicep. These are signs of proper sling tension. Yup, it’s that tight. Properly applying the sling gives you a stable shooting platform for whatever reason you might need to steady the shot.

Slinging Up Ver 2.0

If we explore the sling further, we can make some changes to our setup that puts the sling in a much better position than with a stock A2. Moving a sling swivel down the forearm gives us two new advantages: 1) the sling swivel will act as a natural hand stop and 2) the angle of our arm increases to reduce sling slippage.

Now keep in mind that everyone’s arm length is different. What works for me might not work for you. About midway down the hand guard, I could mount the sling swivel to act as a hand stop which bends my elbow closer to 90 degrees. This 90 degree bend keeps the loop up on the arm and prevents slippage. If I were to put my hand at the sling swivel on the USGI A2 swivel… the angle would be great and the sling creeps down towards the elbow. That’s due to my arms being too short for the length of the stock sling swivel setup.

Getting closer to that 90 degree angle and keeping my hand in place with a hand-stop locks me into the sling hard. What’s nice is with carbines, is that your stock sling swivel might be set up in a good spot to act as a hand stop and give you that 90 degree elbow bend… no changes necessary.

Modern Shooting Slings

There are a few products which make things *even better*… More better you say? Yes I did. I use a Short Action Precision Positional sling, which is something I recently purchased. It is a modern shooting sling, and it has all the benefits of a traditional shooting sling, but it is both faster and easier to use. Setup like this, I can lock myself into the gun quickly, and get out of the sling quickly as well. There are a few other products out there as well, such as the Armageddon PRS, the TAB gear shooting sling and a few others, so do some research.

Adding and using a traditional or even a modern shooting sling to your equipment lineup is a great way to get more mileage from a sling than simply a means to carry the rifle.

-TheNewRifleman

I was forwarded this via email from the local 3 Gun match director Mark Meek. I think a good many people don’t realize how quickly a situation can escalate, and how hard it can be it identify the good guys from the bad guys. Many anti-gun people believe that their mantle of innocence is a shield from violence. That belief leads to impotent inaction which can cost them, or their loved ones their lives.

In the first part of the series, I quoted from  the study on infantry weapons in the Korean war and some of the lessons learned and other points of interest.  Leaving off at the point of  the rifleman holding his fire until the enemy was within a range the rifleman felt he could hit the target due to either lack of confidence in his marksmanship skills, enemy exposure or weapons type. This will pick up from there.

“this; the one point which seems deserving of particular emphasis is that the BAR greatly compounds the stopping effect of rifle fire at ranges considerably in excess of those at which unaided rifle fire is potent. It has long been prized as a mop-up agent, for depressing final resistance in a conquered area, or liquidating tenacious elements infesting the rear. There is perhaps need to emphasize that it adds body to the rifle volume at any range”

“What is said here is meant to reflect in no degree whatever on the accuracy of the standard rifle; the men who use it in battle swear by it. Junior officers frequently said that they had seen it do decisive work in excess of 250 yards range. When the question was raised whether this was in combination with heavier fires from other weapons, the answer was invariably yes”.

“Rifle practice at the longer ranges is still desirable. But the rifleman needs about five times the amount of practice now given him with live ammunition if the weapon’s potential is to be fully exploited in combat.”

Once again the Army was told the more training for longer ranges by rifleman was needed with more time devoted to it. It seems the average unit may have felt that longer range shooting at the enemy was to be left to the heavy and light LMGs with them adding their rifle fire, either from lack of confidence in themselves of the rifle. Though officers noted that the rifle was effective at longer ranges but seemed to not have given it much thought.

“The Korean experience proves substantially that the fighting posture of the line is most sound when automatic fire is combined with slow fire in its weapons complex.This subject will be treated more extensively in the data bearing on evaluation of the various weapons. Suffice to say now that any trend toward eliminating the semi-automatic, hand-carried weapons in favor of full-automatic weapons in the hands of all infantrymen should be vigorously combated. In perimeter defense, the time almost invariably comes when the automatic weapons run short of ammunition, with the local issue still to be decided. This is the crisis of the contest, when decision may swing either way, depending on which side is most capable of delivering the last few volleys”

Once again we see this debate pop up in history.  It is interesting to see the  military go from the M1 to the M14 on full auto, learning it was ineffective, then going to the controllable M16, then the pointless 3 round burst, and now back around to the general issue of the M4A1.  It seems the military can not get a handle on full auto weapons for the rifleman, No doubt because of the fear of the cost of training a man to use.

“In the infantry company data from Korean operations there are numerous examples wherein the retention of the position depended finally on fire from the M1, and rifle fire finally decided the issue. The troops who carry the weapon almost unanimously recognize the vital importance of this factor. On the basis of their experience, they would not concur in any suggestion that the line could be strengthened by fitting it exclusively with full-automatic power.”

The effectiveness of accurate, effective semi auto fire by a rifleman has been proven over and over.  In a time when it is so popular to place so much importance on the hyper violent rapid firing and weapons manipulation for close range because it is so sexy, it is  always worth pointing out the  past experiences learned that the individual marksman who can make effective hits at long range  will always be able to make a difference.  The skill should constantly be kept up for the serious shooter and rifleman.

“the rate of ammunition expenditure in night engagement will be from two to four times as rapid as during day-light fighting, depending upon the extent of battle seasoning of the ranks and other variable factors such as the degree of control exercised by junior leaders. There area number of reasons for this, most of which are rooted in psychological rather than material factors. When men see targets in the clear light of day, or at least sense the general area from which they are drawing enemy fire, they tend to be more conservative of ammunition than when, under darkness, they are brought under a general fire but cannot identify its source. In daytime, the men who are carrying flat trajectory weapons,and are on ground where they cannot bring the enemy within line of sight, will not spend their ammunition uselessly; moreover, unless they are urged and commanded,in the majority they will not advance or shift to ground which will give them a more favorable target opportunity. By the same token, in night fighting, there is an excess of firing through the access of fear. Men in night engagement do not suffer the same cramping and instinctive feeling that any act of firing will increase personal jeopardy through greater exposure.”

“This sense of relative freedom, combined with fear reaction to the sudden attack, builds up the fire volume. There will be a greater number of willing participants in the fire contest; also, on the average, these participants will shoot off more stuff than in daytime engagement.”

The development in  night vision devices and the military’s ability to operate in darkness to a level probably equal to their abilities during the day time is widely know and no doubt feared by hostile forces in modern times.  I found  the above information fascinating and would be very interested to see how this compared to modern tactics.

This was considerably shorter that the first part for various reasons and was longer coming that promised.  Due to new T&E products arriving a few times a week now that warm weather is coming, I will try to update with the next parts as soon as I can. If you found these interesting keep checking back.  You can also comment on the looserounds facebook page to so we can judge the level of attention this series may be gaining and if enough people as about it, more updates will follow quicker.  Tshame.

A couple of weeks ago. the giant Military collectible , “show of shows” was held in Ky, the state I live in. Among other distinguished guests of honor, including Medal Of Honor recipients, was Major John Plaster.   Major Plaster is the writer  of The Ultimate Sniper and several books on the history of MACV-SOG and his experiences while in SOG.   I bought the fist book he wrote on SOG in the mid 90s and had a copy of his excellent sniping manual before that.   It was a real pleasure and honor to meet the famous One-Zero. He not only autographed this picture, but also a copy of his Photo History of SOG.   To my surprise, he also got his fellow former SOG One-Zero, Larry White to autograph the book on the page Mr. White’s picture during the war, appears on.   To me, that was the sign of a great guy.   He was really awesome and asked me if I wanted a picture with him and Mr. White.

The Major is on the left, and Mr. White on the right with the hideously deformed writer in the center trying not to look intimidated by the legends who were kind enough to be seen with such a oaf.

While I wish we would have these legends with us for many many years, sad to say they are leaving us to recon the after life. If you have a chance to meet these heroes, you should take it.  We do not know how much longer we will have the honor of their being among us.

One note I would like to make is the  actions of some of the men who stood in front of me to meet these guys.  They demanded too much in my opinion.  The gentleman did not have to be there and the jack asses asked for book after book to be signed. Obviously to make there way on to Ebay within the hour I had no doubt. And they treated these men like it was a zoo. intruding upon them, especially the older WW2 veteran MOH winners.   I did not over stay my welcome nor push it. When I saw the older WW2 guys getting tired, I did not do more than shake hands and thank them.  I know we all get excited by meeting these legendary heroes, but when you do get there, remember to treat them with respect and courtesy and pay attention to body language and be sensitive to their needs.