I recently had a conversation with a friend regarding whether or not it is prudent to keep a sling on a long gun that is dedicated for home defense use. This is the long gun that you would grab immediately when you hear a “bump in the night.”
Should a home defense long gun have a sling attached to it or not? Why? Does it make a difference whether it is a shotgun or a rifle? Does your location make a difference?
I honestly haven’t given this much thought until it came up with my friend. So, now I am turning it over to you. Convince me one way or the other. This is your chance to Be Heard. Leave a comment below to join the conversation.
Yes you should have a sling on your home defense rifle / carbine. You need it for retention if things get to that point.
JM sees hand to hand combat as a possibility. I think that’s silly.
I can see however needing to grab a little one and carry them to a safer area of the house.
That’s gonna be hard to do with my M4 without a sling.
Regardless of the reasons you can come up with, being able to sling a home defense rifle is an option worth having. I keep one on my HD carbine. One of those “better to have and not need” situations.
If you have a sling on your gun you need to wear it it. A loose sling not being worn is a liability that can get caught on things. If you’re not going to wear the sling you’re better off not having it on the gun at all.
A compromise is to use a single point sling and roll it up with a rubber band so if it hangs loose from the gun, it’s not likely to get caught on stuff; but you can still rip it open for use.
My bedside, dedicated HD longarm is a Mossberg 500 ATP. The sling is a section of flat bungee material that is long enough to be useful for all the usual sling functions and short enough to not get in the way.
One of my Brothers impressed upon me the importance of muscle memory and consistency. I have to think that a HD gun should have a sling for all the same reasons that one might sling any other longarm.
If you have the gun strapped to your body, the bad guy can’t take it from you. That half a second it takes to throw the strap over your neck can save your life.
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Hmmm… I’ll pass on the sling and keep my bayonet attached to my HD gun.
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JM and Chris hit the nail on the head…RETENTION.
Having the ability to get your rifle out of your hands to manipulate objects without setting it down is incredibly useful- and if you are going to set up any rifle for serious use, it needs a sling.
I use a 1 point sling on mine and agree with the retention argument as well as being able to go hands free for any reason and still have your rifle on your person.