Been using that front sling attachment point on the end of the forend for years. Had a number of people kid, joke, harass me for such an "idiot" positioning. Glad some others have found out how good it is.
Max

Most Gunsmiths, and most customers, put barrel band swivels on rifles for the same reason Michael Jackson only wears one glove. Nobody knows.

With the American style stock and the long forearm there is no practical reason for having a barrel band. Your hand will not reach forward enough to be hit by it.

The British used them because of the much shorter and thinner forearm that was their style. There was no room for a swivel on the stock, thus on the barrel.

As pointed out, the use of a sling on a barrel band swivel is counter productive as an aiming tool.

DHunter,

I put a leather Chin Sling on my 450 Dakota and can still use it as a carry sling.

this is an Andy Langlois (spelling???) sling. Very nice leather with brass keepers and pacmyr low profile sling swivels.

Never hurt my weak hand shooting this boomer.

I carry the rifle muzzle down on my left shoulder and binos under my right arm with a long wide strap by Boonie Packer in Salem Oregon.

I do have a barrel band in case I ever want to strip down to a very light weight strap but have never used it.

Once you get the Chin adjusted youll find you can carry it fine muzzle down on left shoulder.

Andy

I haven't bought Eric's Safari model yet... though I probably will, sometime... but I'm IMMENSELY sold on his Ching Sling. I have three rifles wearing the nylon version (only available from The Wilderness) and I LOVE how quick (!) I can get "slung up" and how STEADY these slings make me. They make me feel about as steady as when I shot competition, eons of years ago, and they're MUCH faster to get into. For this reason, I fought (literally) with my gunsmith to have him NOT put a barrel band on my .375 H&H Magnum like he did on my .416 Remington Magnum. I prefer to use a sling as something more than just a carrying strap. They're my hunting trips, they're my shots, and by golly, I'm using a sling if I have the time to sling up -- and again, with the Ching Sling, it doesn't take too darn long. I have one on my .280 Ackley Improved, my .375 H&H Magnum, and my .338 RUM. Greatest thing since the electric chair for child molesters.

Russ

I know many here believe that a barrel band is the only way to go, but for those who use a sling for more than a carrying tool, which is better and why? Thanks "D"

i thinc eric ching sling is the way to go ,eric is an expert hunter and his sling is the best.israeli army are good too so giles stock sling.juan www.huntinginargentina.com.ar

D,

I use both of them, and I do have some commentary (imagine that ).

I don't like barrel attachment points because you will change point of impact between slung-up and unslung force on the barrel. The difference can be several minutes of angle impact.

The Ching Sling requires three attachment points, so you need to add one to the typical stock to use.

To start out, I would give the Safari Sling a try. It is fast, steady, and does not require the third attachment point.

jim dodd



Eric posts here, so I expect him to comment too.

As others have commented, any tensioned shooting support sling is probably not appropriate on a rifle with a barrel band sling attachment point.

If you don't want to install a middle attachment point on your rifle, then the Safari Ching Sling is the obvious choice.

Those considerations aside, the Safari Ching Sling is better suited to heavier rifles due to its 2" width, while for lighter rifles and especially carbines, the original Ching Sling is probably a better match. They're about equal in speed once you're familiar with them.

Getting into a Safari Ching Sling is a little more linear in motion in that you're pulling the elbow loop straight back and up with the shooting hand, which then grasps the pistol grip of the stock and pulls the rifle up to the shoulder. By contrast, getting into the original Ching Sling requires wrapping your support forearm through the shooting loop, which involves some side-to-side motion. Whether this additional motion makes any difference in the field (e.g., more noticeable to game) is unknown.

I should also note that the Safari Ching Sling doesn't constrict blood flow in your support arm, so you can stay in shooting support position without your arm going to sleep, whereas the original Ching Sling, like the military shooting sling, does restrict blood flow.

Finally, one user had a serendipitous discovery of a way to use the Safari Ching Sling for "backpack" carry. Depending on your particular physique, you can either leave the elbow loop in place or disengage one side of it, then from a muzzle up shoulder carry simply pull one of the parallel straps over your head and insert your head between the parallel straps. Should be useful in situations where you need both hands for climbing and such, or when you absolutely, positively can't take a chance of the rifle falling off your shoulder.

Eric, Do you have a picture of the latter move with the safari sling? I am not sure I understand exactly where each strap should end up. Eric I like the safari sling myself and don't have the regular ching sling. Thanks "D".