I’ve had this conversation several times over the past few months and I thought it would be worth memorializing for others to understand. I’ll start with the factual differences and types from a user/collector’s perspective, then I’ll go to the opinion on what is good or bad on a safari.
There are 4 primary types of swivels in existence because there are 3 primary types of sling eyes. If you don’t know this, you’ll buy the wrong one!
1.) Vintage British rifles and early US Winchesters used a large oversized sling swivel stud. These small studs are actually quite valuable ($75 and up) in themselves because they are often missing from vintage guns. They were designed to work with two types of attachments.
The first type was a sling that had rawhide straps at both ends. This was the most preferred by the early great white hunters of Africa because it was absolutely silent. These slings are quite uncommon today, with both Trader Keith and Rigby creating reproductions of the slings. The rawhide tags are soaked in a leather conditioner, a looping knot was fashioned to attach them to the rifle, and when dry the knots would tighten to be virtually foolproof. The consistent complaint of this type of sling arrangement was that you could not get the sling off the rifle and thus you were getting snagged up in the bush hopelessly by a non-adjustable sling you could not remove.
The second means of affixing a sling to the large sling eyes was with a “fish hook” sling swivel. These swivels are vintage and quite valuable. In the US we call these winchester fish hook swivels. In England they call these Parker Hale fish hook swivels. When hooked around the sling studs it allowed the easy install and removal of a sling, but at the drawback that they rattle quite loudly and are quite annoying. While it’s a blessing to see these included with a vintage English rifle, they are collectibles more than practical tools for a modern hunt. The original fish hook swivels can sell from $75 to $250 a pair depending on era and country of origin.
2.) Mid-century to present European rifles. If you own say a best grade Heym double rifle, or a nice mid-century Austrian stalking rifle, they have sling studs on them that look just like American “Uncle Mike’s” sling studs…but they are not! They are smaller in length than American studs and the hole is smaller. Uninformed owners frequently drill the holes oversized thinking they’ve solved the problem of getting sling swivels for these guns when all they did is damage a gun and ensure further damage of a gun so equipped. These undersized European studs and barrel bands are designed for a specific sling swivel made by EAW and Rechnagel in Germany. The sling swivels are quick detach, they do not rattle due to exacting tolerances, and most importantly they have an articulating hinge in them. This articulation prevents the sling swivel from hinging too far and damaging the stock and barrel of the rifle because they cannot clang around to a flat position that would rub the gun. They cost about $45-$60 a set for the sling swivels and they come in both a narrow 7/8” loop width (for skinny slings or skinny sling ends) and a larger 1” loop for the more common width of the end of a rifle sling.
If you take anything from this article, please for the love of god do not drill out the sling stud holes on the barrel and stock of your European rifles. Get the right sling swivel, it isn’t an Uncle Mike’s!
View attachment 624588
3.) Lastly is the design that needs minimal description. The “Uncle Mikes” style sling swivel and studs are ubiquitous, found on 99% of the rifles every reader owns.
Leaving the realm of fact, now let’s go to the opinion of virtually all PHs and historical safari hunters regarding slings. The general concensus is they hate slings because A.) They snag, B.) They rattle, C.) They get in the way of getting on sticks quickly without excess movement blowing your stalk. My opinion is consistent with a century of expert hunting advice that is far more credible than my own opinion.
So a terse conclusion is don’t have slings on your safari rifles, they are as obnoxious as they are inconvenient, ruining more hunts than their utility delivers.
The longer answer is a better answer, however. A.) If you carry your rifle on long stalks you’ll get tired enough that you may drop your gun, B.) due to carry fatigue you eventually start walking right through the thorns scratching the hell out of your rifle’s stock while drawing blood all over your body which is of lesser concern. C.) The over shoulder carry holding the barrel is common in Africa, but it is so unsafe that it is not considered an appropriate carry method in any Hunter Education curriculum AND it ensures you need $1000 barrel rebluing after 1-2 safaris. You will wear the bluing right off the barrel carrying over shoulder, barrel forward.
So the exception to the sling rule is one I was introduced by African PHs. “The Dick Murray Leather Sling”. The Murray sling has a sliding buckle on it that allows you to instantly change the length of the sling. While walking, you have your rifle slinged. When you are nearing final approach, or you’re getting on sticks, a flick of the hand tightens the sling instantly to sit tight-and-flush to the underside of your rifle so that you don’t get hung up. They cost about $100 and they are the absolute best design for this purpose. If you ask many seasoned PHs that are anti-sling, they usually will say “no slings allowed, except Dick Murray slings”.
View attachment 624589
