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Viking Tactics Rifle Slings

Len Backus

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In 2014 Robb Wiley of Non-Typical Outfitters introduced me to these slings that were developed and manufactured by his good friend Kyle Lamb. While shooting with Robb one day I noticed that he was using a sling style that I had not seen before. He demonstrated it to me and then removed it from his own rifle so that I could try it.

Well, I liked it enough that at the end of my trip with him -- and when he wasn't looking -- I put it into my backpack and took it home with me. I then used it in the field on several hunts and a few western shooting sessions in 2014 and 2015 with the intent to add it to the LRH Store when Andy and I could find the time to do so. And this month we went live with the slings in the LRH Store.

Most hunting slings are simply carrying devices. Their purpose is to comfortably and safely carry a rifle. Few hunters use a sling to shoot with.I had done so over the years myself but not frequently and not very recently. So when I started working with Robb on hunts and shooting classes I was motivated to get back into shooting with a sling in certain situations. The picture below was taken by my hunting partner later that same year as I was about to shoot a mule deer buck in the mountains of Wyoming back in 2014.

0289-vtac-SLING.jpg
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

In the picture above note that the sling is over my right shoulder and under my left armpit.

Most hunting slings are much too short to use for true shooting aids. The VTAC Hunting model sling can be lengthened with a quick tug on a short string loop. And when you are back in carry mode it only takes about a second to shorten the length by again pulling on the string loop. Last fall I used mine while carrying a rather full day pack. Slinging it over my shoulder I found myself easily able to shorten it in order to snug it up.

At the 2016 SHOT Show recently I found a cool accessory that holds the sling in place on the shoulder using no hands -- but is easy to disengage for a quick shot. It also takes some of the rifle weight through the use of the pack's waist belt. More on that item later.

Since 2014 I have used my VTAC slings on numerous hunts while hiking many, many miles.

For quite a few years my primary sling was an excellent double shoulder sling made by Timber Buttes Outdoors. Its main purpose was to carry heavy rifles while walking in to ambush locations. It never was very good in the case of needing to get off a quick shot. I remember one particular situation hunting with Andy where its use was a hindrance.And as good as it is for its intended purpose, it is of no use at all in taking a shot.

But more recently I have been carrying much lighter rifles and the use of a double shoulder sling is seldom on my mind. But -- if I now did want a double shoulder sling, VTAC's new Backpack Sling model is designed primarily as a rifle carry/shooting sling but with the option to use it as a double shoulder sling.
 
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