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READY TACTICAL SLING
let go of the rifle, my 9 lb. rifle felt more like 3 lb. or 4 lb. hanging
on my chest. The angle of the rifle did not allow the rifle to extend
my silhouette or get caught up as I walked through the doorways
of my house.
As I pressed the rifle out to a freehand shooting position, I
felt a tightening in the sling across my back as the RTS quickly
stretched into place. Then tension of the sling’s stiff elastic material
gave me a rock solid “push / pull” feeling on my position. At
first this was almost too much pull back but with less than 1/4”
adjustment on the front buckle, the tension was perfect for a solid
extended hold on target. At no time did I feel any squeezing or
cutting into my skin by the material.
I spent the next week wearing the sling on and off for hours
around the office while doing daily work duties at my desk,
up and down stairs, in and out of doorways, etc. The sling felt
comfortable sitting down, walking and even jumping up and
down to test for any unnecessary bounce. What I discovered
was the sling performing more comfortably than my expensive
traditional two-point slings. I was looking forward to getting onto
the range soon to do some live fire testing with the RTS as soon
as possible.
With a Defensive Shotgun course coming up I was scheduled to
teach with fellow writer and Swanson Training Group instructor,
Clint Steele, I put in a second request to Ready Tactical Slings.
Due to the unique weight distribution and stable carry, I asked
Chad Spriggs if we could get a sling without the rifle QD mounts
attached to mount on my Benelli M4 shotgun for class. Within a
week, the shotgun sling arrived. Straight out of the box, the sling
mounted up perfectly and did not need any adjustment to hang
comfortably on my chest. Unfortunately, good looks and comfort
don’t mean jack if it doesn’t perform on the range, so it was time
to load up and roll out.
FIELD TESTING
The first opportunity to get some time on gun with the RTS would
the following week at the private training grounds affectionately
known as “The Swamp”. Live fire drills with the sling cut shot
groups in half from those working with a traditional two-point
sling. Movement drills were quick around barriers even when
switching from strong side to weak. This was a major concern
going into field testing based on the right shoulder cuff design.
To my delight, the rear quick disconnect buckle between the
cuff and rear rifle QD was easy to unhook and quickly free the butt
of the rifle to swing to the opposite shoulder. What I didn’t expect
is the amount of tension and support the sling continued to offer
while shooting weak side around barriers. When transitioning
back to strong side, I could quickly snap the buckle back to the
rifle and put it back into play fully supported. This offered a faster
switch without the need to pull the sling over my head or change
arms through the loop to put it into action. This could save much
needed time in a fire fight.
Working in and out of vehicles such as a Chevrolet Suburban
and a Dodge Charger, two vehicles common to special operations
and law enforcement, the RTS performed well by holding the rifle
close to the body and quickly deploying onto target upon exit.
Even with the sling placed over chest rigs and body armor, the
rifle remained clear of the magazines in the pouches mounted below.
A few weeks later, our team traveled to Leesburg, Florida to
teach a Defensive Shotgun course with the RTS mounted onto the
Benelli m4 shotgun I use as an instructor training tool. Over the
8-hour course, I demonstrated and run several different courses
and oversaw students doing the same as my shotgun hung from
my chest. With the recoil of full power 00 Buckshot loads, the
sling tension offered a great opportunity to press out hard for
recoil mitigation.
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