How To Carry a HEAVY Rifle.

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Cosmoline

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I've got a great double rifle that's been a lot of fun at the range, but when I took a little stroll with it for a few miles it turned into a sack of bricks on my back. It's a Kodiak double rifle in .50, which means it has very thick barrels and weighs upwards of 13 lbs. The sling swivels are tiny. I've tried a cobra sling but it's not up to the task. I've tried a military sling but it cuts into my flesh. I've tried a backpack scabbard but it's out of balance and top heavy. So what's next? I almost need a belly harness for this beast.

I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone has experience dealing with a heavy doublegun or heavy barrel rifle for hunting or even just hiking. Is there a special brand that will work better than the standard stuff?
 
A Native Gun-Bearer comes to mind as the solution the English white-hunters settled on as working best for them. :D

rcmodel
 
I've carried my FAL a few miles in the woods. It's got a military sling, and yes they can cut into you. Best advice I can give you is to get a padded sling.
 
I've tried a backpack scabbard
Click to expand...

do you mean a backpack made to put the rifle in? or a Biathlon sling?

If you haven't tried a biathlon sling, I would recomend that, it connects to your rifle sling points, but has two straps to go over either shoulder (depending on which manufacture you go with) and carries the rifle on your back like a backpack.

Like so:

sling2.jpg
 
I was about to suggest a gun-bearer, too. Do you have children, perhaps?

In all seriousness, would a three-point sling actually work?

Alternatively, perhaps try carrying it over your shoulder. There should be a point at which it balances well.
 
I tote a 16# tac rifle cross country for two days at a time for some of the tactical matches and have come to like my 1-1/2" Turner BioThane M-1907 style slings.

#1:
CH249-05s.jpg
#2:
g260-10.jpg

The heavy & stiff BioThane material keeps it's body and doesn't crush down to a narrow pressure point. They're sticky, and you don't have to keep a hand on it or keep hiking it back up onto you shoulder. They're water/weather proof and don't soften when wet and concentrate the load like the leather models.
 
The sling I have on my 700P (around 10-10.5 lbs) is this one: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0005803220723a&navCount=0&podId=0005803&parentId=cat20776&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=perf&catalogCode=XH&rid=0180101070502&parentType=index&indexId=cat20776&hasJS=true. The bastard broke at the rear clip that goes on the swivel, but I used a key ring to put it back on; may have been from mistreatment, but I'm not sure. It's really wide and disburses weight well and is very easy to shoulder while slung, but the weight will still make your shoulder tired the first few times out. This particular sling acts like a 3 point style sling, in the extent that you can carry the rifle horizontally in front of you. It may be worth a shot at $20.
 
No scope and I have tried over-the-shoulder but the rifle is too squat. That method works much better on my longer M91 Mosin or 1911 Schmidt-Rubin.

The biathlon sling is interesting. I'm not sure the safari sling would work with this one but it's worth a try. Right now I'm leaning towards a three point belly holster that essentially wraps tight around the action and holds it with quick release clips. This is a muzzleloader so that would also protect the primer holes while keeping the muzzle pointed down out of the rain.

Either that or finding some Sherpa who can hold it and all my stuff. Alaska is kind of like Nepal without the Sherpas.
 
Buttpad holder (we called it a "boot") that slides onto your belt - you carry the rifle upright in one hand, the butt goes into the boot and it places the weight at your hips.
 
This pup is too much for hip carry alone. It would need a shoulder strap too, with the weight divided. It's twice as heavy as an ordinary rifle. In fact, you know what this weighs the same as.

A BABY

A portly, double-barreled fifty caliber baby with balancing lead in the stock. And it's doing very similar things to this old man's back that carrying a child would. Ditch junior there and shrink the holder down to cradle the balance point of the rifle:

red-castle-sport-baby-carrier.jpg
 
Apart from arms, shoulders and hips as carrying-points, only other thing I can think of is something like a trike or a golf-bag with wheels (we have an old guy who shoots sporting clays - he made one for himself and drags it around).
 
kcmarine, that only helps for the first mile or so. Beyond that the problem isn't lack of muscles it's the skeletal strain and the pressure on the skin. I suppose I could just carry it in one hand but even then my fingers would be in really bad shape by the end of the day. Plus if I'm actually going to take this thing into the Chugach Nat'l Forest for fall hunting I have to have both hands free for scrambling around.
 
I think kcmarine had a good point. After carrying my rifle deer and elk hunting (which is dwarfed by your rifle btw), the more times I carried it the less it bothered me. My shoulders still get sore, but it's not as bad as the first time. A sling with a nice thick pad should do I suppose, and would be more fitting to the rifle than a "tactical" black sling with buckles and such.
 
Got the answer to all your problems have a HEAVY SOB of a savge varmint rifle with a monsterous scope I bought a sling called The CLAW It is a some kind of rubber it will NOT slide off of your shoulder it is wide and cushy I can carry mine just fine with it. 20.00 and problem solved:D
 
get you an older military LBE rig, ride it up a bit high. then put a set of mag holders in the front, at least 2 , if not 4. then you rest your rig right across the back of the top of the mag holders, it will sit between the tops, and your LBE belt. That's the way we humped our rigs around after many miles up and down, in Hawaii, and other crap places for long distance humping...
 
interesting thread... double rifles are way out of my price-range but i do have some heavy rifles and don't enjoy packing them even from the tailgate to the bench range.

look forward to seeing more ideas
 
One of my favorite slings is merely a narrow leather strap, with a wide pad where it goes over my shoulder. Top side, regular leather, slotted for the strap to go through. Bottom, suede. Inside this sewn-together "pillow" is a thin piece of foam.

Non-skid, and spreads the load.
 
The Biathalon sling is an excellent suggestion but will probably be hard to incorporate onto your rifle with the tiny 3/4" or 15mm swivel loops.

The same concept can be incorporated by using one of the inexpensive tactical type vests with Molle attachment points with a gun case attached to the back of the vest.
If you want quick access to the firearm consider using a half size case and allowing the stock portion to extend up from the case.

This type of set-up allows all the weight to bear on both shoulders plus the vest allows multiple attachment points for pouches and knife sheaths to allow you to comfortably carry all the gear needed for the hunt including a bag type water carrier such as a CamelBack.

If you want ideas for carrying lots of heavy stuff, look to the militaries and see what they are doing.
 
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