Everything you need to know about slings and swivels for safaris and safari rifles

[John458Lott]

I use the Galco Safari Ching Sling which I believe was designed by the late Eric Ching a proponent of the scout rifle and the 376 Steyr. Very good value for a full leather sling & very quiet. Importantly for heavier safari rifles it has a wide strap which better spreads the weight on your shoulder. Normally, with wide straps they tend to slip off the shoulder but because these are split I have found it stays on the shoulder. Have not had to use the sling as a shooting support in Africa though as we usually have shooting sticks.

 

[Rule 303]

I have not manage to read all the posts in this thread so please excuse me i this has already been brought up.
Has anybody used the Safari Slings. They fit so the rifle is carried horizontal across the front of the body. I have only just become aware of them and have tried it on the last hunting trip. So far I have found them to be comfortable, no squeaks or rattles and fast to get into action. Just raise the rifle to your shoulder, aim, fire.

Like I said only one trip so hard to make any real conclusions.

 

[steve white]

I use the Galco Safari Ching Sling which I believe was designed by the late Eric Ching a proponent of the scout rifle and the 376 Steyr. Very good value for a full leather sling & very quiet. Importantly for heavier safari rifles it has a wide strap which better spreads the weight on your shoulder. Normally, with wide straps they tend to slip off the shoulder but because these are split I have found it stays on the shoulder. Have not had to use the sling as a shooting support in Africa though as we usually have shooting sticks.
View attachment 633510

Is this the one endorsed by Jeff Cooper?

 

[BeeMaa]

Is this the one endorsed by Jeff Cooper?

It would be difficult to get his current opinion on this vs other offerings seeing as he passed in 2006. Although he is credited with making the Ching-Sling popular with hunters in his writings and use at his (not allowed to say) Academy.

 

[Rickmt]

I place my rifle with sling attached on sticks so that the rifle sits on the sticks just in front of the sling attachment point. If I am using quad sticks the rear of rifle sits on sticks sticks just behind sling attachment point.

 

[PerH]

Andy’s leather make the Ching and Rhodesian sling also . He took over from Ching the creed and Coopers philosophy.

 

[Rule 303]

This is the Safari Sling I mentioned. The rifle can be carried across the body or vertical barrel up in front of the body. If you do this make sure the rifle is long enough you don't have the barrel under your chin. In thick bush if carried like this one hand needs to be used to keep the barrel from smacking you in the face.
It is silent and to use just raise to your shoulder, the sling at the back just slides off the stock.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

View attachment 634341
This is the Safari Sling I mentioned. The rifle can be carried across the body or vertical barrel up in front of the body. If you do this make sure the rifle is long enough you don't have the barrel under your chin. In thick bush if carried like this one hand needs to be used to keep the barrel from smacking you in the face.
It is silent and to use just raise to your shoulder, the sling at the back just slides off the stock.

That’s the sling I use to carry my doubles with. Works perfectly!

HH

 

[roklok]

I recently purchased a Remington 30-S Express made in 1935. It has studs that are much wider than the standard QD studs. .520" wide vs standard .307", does anybody know where to get swivels that fit these ?

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I recently purchased a Remington 30-S Express made in 1935. It has studs that are much wider than the standard QD studs. .520" wide vs standard .307", does anybody know where to get swivels that fit these ?View attachment 654154

I'm guessing the original permanent attached sling swivels were split and pressed together on the studs. Someone cut the hoops off. Probably got fed up with sling squeaking and rattling. I can appreciate that! He left the studs on to fill the holes.

You could try dissecting a set of standard cheap swivels and see if the hoops spread. Might need to heat them up. Then press the spread hoops together on your studs. Presumably all swing swivels are split and pressed together on the studs at the factory. I can't see any other way to assemble them.

Or you could remove the studs and have a machinist/gunsmith reshape them to fit QD sling swivels. But it appears to me the holes are larger than pins on most QD swivels = sloppy and noisy in oversize holes. Hoops seem to vary in thickness. You might have better luck finding a set of swivels with same thickness hoops, remove the hoops, and fit them on your studs permanently. That would be keeping your collector classic.

 

[rookhawk]

I recently purchased a Remington 30-S Express made in 1935. It has studs that are much wider than the standard QD studs. .520" wide vs standard .307", does anybody know where to get swivels that fit these ?View attachment 654154

I'm not certain that is a sling stud. I suspect it was for attachment of an aluminum front hand brace for Camp Perry type shooting popular at the time.

 

[Ericedwinbates]

I use a canvas sling with quality quick detach rings. There easy to roll up and put in your cargo pocket. I will remove it when on a stalk if time and situation allows, which is most often. Eliminates all the prior stated sling issues. My 2 cents.

 

[rookhawk]

@roklok

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I'm not certain that is a sling stud. I suspect it was for attachment of an aluminum front hand brace for Camp Perry type shooting popular at the time.

He said BOTH "studs" look like this. I think we can safely assume they were for a sling not a fore end brace for target shooting.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Try Boyt Harness and Alpine Products found these on a Google search.

 

[roklok]

I thought maybe they had been swivels that had the loop cut off like Ontario Hunter surmised, and that may be correct, however here is a 30 Express currently listed on Gbroker with same setup:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1080577155


It is possible that this rifle also had the loops cut off as well if that is what happened. They are front and rear, and appear to be original. I do not believe it has anything to do with a handstop.

 

[rookhawk]

I thought maybe they had been swivels that had the loop cut off like Ontario Hunter surmised, and that may be correct, however here is a 30 Express currently listed on Gbroker with same setup:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1080577155


It is possible that this rifle also had the loops cut off as well if that is what happened. They are front and rear, and appear to be original. I do not believe it has anything to do with a handstop.

If it were a German gun, I'd have answered that you're not missing the swivel, just half of the stud. Put another way, a C-shaped loop and a threaded bolt. That was a common style. The reason I gave you the conjecture I did rather than it having a loop bolted to your stud is that the face of the holes are crude where you still see tooling marks. If they had metal loops affixed, they would have burnished bright in time and minimized the tooling marks while removing the bluing.

I could be worng, I've been wrong before. My bet was/is that it was to affix a forward shooting aid. The one in the butt could have been to attach an aluminum post or other paraphernalia as seen on pre-64 model 70s set up for match shooting.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

If it were a German gun, I'd have answered that you're not missing the swivel, just half of the stud. Put another way, a C-shaped loop and a threaded bolt. That was a common style. The reason I gave you the conjecture I did rather than it having a loop bolted to your stud is that the face of the holes are crude where you still see tooling marks. If they had metal loops affixed, they would have burnished bright in time and minimized the tooling marks while removing the bluing.

I could be worng, I've been wrong before. My bet was/is that it was to affix a forward shooting aid. The one in the butt could have been to attach an aluminum post or other paraphernalia as seen on pre-64 model 70s set up for match shooting.

This "Express" model would seem to be an unlikely candidate for bench rest target shooting. The similar one shown on Gunbroker was definitely set up for field use, although receiver was tapped for peep sight. That rifle's buckhorn rear sight very much interests me. Note how the leaf can be removed and flipped to change from tight V to wider U.