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I fart around with leather some. Anytime most of your gear you use for your job is made from one material a person tends to learn a little about it. I have been kicking around the idea of making some slings and cartridge carriers to sell for a little extra cash. Winter is coming and setting in the house for 5 hours before bedtime with nothing to do drives me nuts. So this question is for people who like to use slings and prefer them in leather. The question is what style do you like? What would you like to see on one that noone else is puting on them? What kind of price are you wanting to pay? Any help would be helpful! | ||
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I like military slings and most of what are available aren't quite big enough for me. I would consider a military sling made for my dimensions especially if it could be made from leather acquired on one of my hunts. | |||
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Copy the Butler Creek sling with cartridge loops. A little wider at the top and at least inch and s half at the bottom and adjustable by pulling on the tail. kinda like this... http://www.uncle-mikes.com/adtemplate.asp?invky=9006030...35&subcatky2=3850977 Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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El Caballero, I like the 'Montana' sling, which is a pretty simple leather sling, I'll try and find and post a link, I know they sell them in Cabela's 'shooting' catalog. I'd pay a little more to get one from a craftsman and fellow AR member though--maybe with my initials or name on there somehow???? Regards--Don | |||
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Thank you for the responses! Grumulkin, When you say big enough do you mean length or width? Military type slings seem pretty simple. Mike, I have made some very similar to the Butler Creek slings before and with only minor changes could be almost identical. Fish, I would love to see a picture. I don't know how much of a craftsman I am but initials are not a problem. I don't plan on charging alot just want to cover expenses and put a little in the safari fund. I live about 2 hours from a Cabela's and plan on being up there soon. I will take a look at everything they have to offer. Thanks again I will post progress as it comes. Wes | |||
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Width isn't the problem; available slings aren't quite long enough for me. They work but barely and if I was wearing a bulky jacket, they wouldn't work. | |||
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El Caballero, I don't know if this gives you much info, Montana sling @ Cabela's but if you're at Cabela's you obviously could fondle one. | |||
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Thanks fish, I will look at them when I get up there later this month. It seems to be a simple enough thing. | |||
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I agree. Plus the adjustable slings are both bulky and NOISY. I recently took a knife and ripped apart all my Uncle Mike's synthetic slings and turned them into simple slings. My leather adjustables are absolutely worthless. Way too bulky, more so than the synthetics. I prefer sticks anyway and I'd rather use the sling for carry rather than shooting. That being said, width doesn't matter to me, as long as it doesn't slide off when I have a pack!!!!I don't care about the cartridges carrier, I keep one on my stock. There are two types of people in the world: those that get things done and those who make excuses. There are no others. | |||
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Copy the Brownell's Latigo in a better grade of leather - shoot for something like the old Lawrence company used to make. I buy them off of every pawnshop rifle I see. You might make it in three lengths: kids/women, average guys, big/tall guys. Also, any time this discussion comes up, someone whose opinion I respect asks where to find the sling that Townsend Whelen designed. I've seen pictures of them, but never handled one. Jack O'Connor was a big fan of them. Okie John "The 30-06 works. Period." --Finn Aagaard | |||
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The Hunter Company makes a 1" version of the Whelen sling. See: (210) 1" Whelen Sling Suggested Retail $27.25 Whelen gives the specifications somewhere in one (or more) of his books. It's essentially a single strap that is long enough to run through both front and rear swivels and double back on itself on each end, with a substantial overlap. To the 'rear' end is attached a conventional two-prong frog in the manner of the old military sling. The other (front) end is double-punched for the frog every inch or so for about two-thirds the length of the strap. This end is tied off to itself, forming a fixed loop for position shooting. The other end holding the frog is then employed to alter the length of the sling for carrying and/or 'parade'. The main advantage of the Whelen sling is that no futzing with frogs is ever necessary to get into a sling-assisted shooting position quickly. Neither is it possible that the front frog will come unattached accidentally, potentiall dropping your piece into the creek. A distant third is that there is no front frog to mess up the 32lpi checkering inside the skeleton grip cap of your bespoke deer gun that cost you many large. The Hunter version is ok - not great, but ok. I have had several made by the AE Nelson Leather Co. of Scio, OR, but had to send them an old sling to use as a pattern; these were also just ok. Ultimately, as mentioned by somebody above, the best were made by Lawrence, which had superb materials and workmanship, and lots of handstitched keepers. All of the Lawrence slings had the best frogs ever seen short of a WW1 military sling. Sadly Lawrence is no longer extant. I've never seen a Lawrence Whelen-type sling available at second-hand. Good luck, and good shooting. Jim | |||
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A Whelen style sling of the quality Geo. Lawrence Co. used to make would be nice to see again. I've got an old #55 scabbard they made. Nice stuff. I've never been too crazy about any of the leather products from Hunter Co. | |||
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El Cab, If you make that Uncle Mikes in leather as I described...I will buy it. Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue. What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Ya'll will probably think I'm nuts, but I'd like a leather version of the padded super sling. I'm not sure where you'd get the padded part though. _____________________ A successful man is one who earns more money than his wife can spend. | |||
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