doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Anybody Like Slings on a Nice Light, S X S 16?

I've never had a sling on a shotgun except for a turkey gun. But, the older I get the more I like the idea.

I'd always taken the sling swivels off my SXS's because they were aesthetically displeasing to my eye. Then I hunted mearns quail in a rough area of southeast Arizona. Fortunately the SXS I was using was new to me and I hadn't taken the swivels off yet. After one day in the field I went out that evening and purchased a sling for the gun. To hell with aesthetics!

Steve

Proven fact...a slung gun will cost you game.



The English didn't need a sling because they mostly shot driven game from stations or either had someone tote their guns for them.

Nice sling. I bought s few of these on my last trip to Stockholm. I always use a sling and its really a great thing to have when you need to walk. Personally I don't mind the look nor care.

Slings have a following and to those shooters the loss of slings hurts resale value. If your hunting style involves a lot of walking I would try it before you remove the slings. Slings are an acquired taste but so are doubles and the two can go together.

The common folk over there do a fair amount of "rough shooting", Joe. Walking up birds (and ground game) behind dogs. Also, especially early in the season, pointing dogs are used for grouse on the moors. Lots of walking, shooters carrying their own guns.

As far as driven shooting goes, much of it nowadays does not involve a stuffer/loader. You load your own gun. And you tote it in a slip (with a sling) when walking to your assigned peg.

Meanwhile, Stateside . . . my first classic sxs was a pre-WWII Sauer 16 with swivels and a cheekpiece. I found a narrow European sling for it. Comes in handy if you're going to snap a photo of the dog on point, retrieving a bird, whatever. And nice to sling arms when you're walking back to the vehicle with a limit in your vest. A sling works especially well for open country birds. Pheasants, huns, prairie grouse, etc. Grouse and woodcock, if you're in the thick and nasty, a sling can get in the way, hang up on stuff, etc.

Every hunter can relate to this.

Being lazy slings appeal to me but i can guarantee the moment i chuck that gun on my shoulder something bolts or happens to pass over. I have trouble enough getting on them quickly when the guns loaded and in my hands! In all seriousness i can see the appeal of slings for certain shooting ( Bolting rabbits with ferrets when your carrying loads of stuff )

I will not willingly hunt with a gun that does not have a sling.My favorite type(although I have others)is the German "quick shortening"type.The German Gun Collectors Assn. has a few of these for sale.They fit the small swivels.
Mike

I'm much in agreement with Mike's post just above mine, and with Larry Brown's post. I much prefer to hunt with a sling on my shotgun for the style of hunting that I have commonly been involved in, lots of walking in sometimes fairly rough cover. A good sling is great to take the load of the gun on the long walks, and there is simply no problem at all in swinging the gun quickly into position for quick use. Once you have done it a couple times, it becomes just automatic. I currently have several European S x S guns with original slings, and a couple with "repro" slings on them. My favorite slings seem to be a couple of original woven leather narrow slings about 3/4" wide on a 1920's Merkel 16 ga S x S and on a late 1930's BSW 16 ga S x S.

This is my favorite sling-no swivels, when it is off the gun, you can't even really tell the gun is equipped with a sling.



The dog in the photo was 13, and was good for about a half day of hunting, at that point in her life. I never had to carry her out of the woods, but, I carried the 15 year old dog that came before her out plenty of times (I was younger then, also).

I also had my Dad out one time pheasant hunting before a big snow storm. We were up against darkness, and the fastest route back was through the cat tails, which, Dad really wasn't up to at that point in the day, or at that point in his life. He slung the Darne, I carried the Beretta, and carried him, piggy-back across the slew.

I bet we looked hilarious. But, it was way better than leaving him at home.

Best,
Ted