Rifle slings - I need help here please.

[Catherine]

Does any company make a TYPE of rifle sling or whatever, not your usual leather rifle sling, that will support a weak/formerly broken arm to hold the GUN UP (Support your bad/left arm.) while you hold the rifle and shoot with your 'good/right' arm/hand? This would be for shooting standing UP not at 'bench rest' or sitting on the ground or in a chair. Do they make such a thing to hold UP the gun or support the gun or your arm while you HOLD the rifle?

Do they make STUFF for rifles that would be for disabled people even though I am not disabled only weaker and arthritic in that arm? Range of motion problems with that arm too. I know about hand weights and swimming. I am talking about some permanent damage and it is harder to HOLD up the rifle with the bad arm.

I hope that I am explaining this ok to you and if they do make such things... please let me know. Maybe it has to be a homemade thing that I could sew on my sewing machine... beats me!

I have NO problems holding any of my handguns and shooting them.

It is just the way I start to shake or lower the rifle (Weakness and damage!) when I stand UP to shoot. I already know about bench rest - I don't like to shoot bench rest or sitting down at all.

Thanks for any or all help.

Catherine

 

[markallen]

I can't think of any manufacturer that would make a limited item that you require.
If you have any Rehab Technical Suppliers in your area, they may be able to help. It's probably going to be something that will need to be custom made for you application.
At a bare minimum you can try an arm sling that will hold your forearm in place, allowing the rifle to rest in your palm, transfering the weight to the sling.
Another place you can try is any Orthotic Supplier.

 

[El Tejon]

You mean like a shooting stick with a built-in rest?

 

[strat81]

Have you tried shooting with your opposite/weak hand?

Otherwise, my only advice is to:
a) Seek out lighter rifles
b) Talk to an occupational therapist. Your location is listed as Montana, it shouldn't freak them out up there if you mention scary guns.

Best of luck. PT/OT is not fun.

 

[feedthehogs]

I had a student who also had a weak left arm, right hand shooter, from a bad car crash.

Slings didn't work well at all.

What we came up with that worked good for him was a mono stick with a strap that went around the rifle to hold it to the stick.

I also put a strap on the side of the mono stick that he could put his left hand in that would help control movement and upward recoil upon firing.

I used a 3 section hd camera mono stick that had the snap retainers and was spring loaded for one hand adjustment.

Straps I used were leather from an old saddle bag.

 

[taliv]

if you want to wear a shooting jacket (or sew hooks into some of your clothes) you can use a competition sling to hold your forearm close to your shoulder.

you still hold the rifle in your hand, but your bones are basically supporting all the weight, not your muscles

 

[BobCat]

This may be totally worthless for your purpose since I do not exactly understand your initial question, but here goes.

The cotton-webbing military sling - web sling - is very adjustable and very inexpensive.

The "hasty sling" is a method of wrapping the arm in the sling to support the rifle.

Here are two links, one has line drawings and the other is a video, showing the hasty sling.

http://www.rifleshootermag.com/shooting_tips/sling_0612/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gAso3l7UCU

If the sling is adjusted to the correct length, (assuming a right-handed shooter) the left upper arm (above the bicep) is what is pulling the rifle into the right shoulder. The left palm supports the rifle forend, but the upper arm does most of the work.

I hope this helps. Try a web search on "hasty sling" and see if you find more / better.

Regards,
Andrew

 

[Tarvis]

As BobCat says, I'd recommend a web sling. I was thinking the deliberate/loop sling (as the link shows, I couldn't remember what they called it at the Appleseed I went to) would work well. I suppose it depends on what part of your arm is injured, but while standing using a hasty sling, you should be able to rest the rifle on your hand and rest your elbow on your side and be able to maintain your natural point of aim.

 

[elmerfudd]

What you're describing would be just about impossible to accomplish with a sling, but I'm sure there must be ways to accomplish it.

What I would think would be ideal would be a stick about 2' long attached to the forward sling swivel. When shooting offhand, you would hold the stick to your hip with your weak hand and allow the stick and your hip to support the rifle.

 

[DrPerry]

Sling Sticks

Catherine

There are several slings on Cabelas that are called sling sticks

they are like a tent pole with a shock cord in the middle to make them foldable {sic}

You might also look at a shooting stick

these are longer and generally telescopic so they can compact also.

Any way hope that this helps

Keep shooting straight

DrPerry

 

[feedthehogs]

you would hold the stick to your hip with your weak hand and allow the stick and your hip to support the rifle.

If you want to go this way you can also get a fishing belt that holds the butt of a fishing pole.

You could insert the end of a supporting stick in it and not depend on the ground for support. Be totaly mobile.

The belt goes around your waist and can be shifted to either side center if you need it.

 

[jrfoxx]

what about just using a regular sling, and setting it extra short, and slinging it over your neck, thus using the tension of the sling to help hold it into the right shoulder tighter, and taking a little of the weight off the left arm by having the neck doing some of the supporting?

Not sure if I explained that real well, or how well it would work in reality. Cant test the theory right now, as I hurt my back this morning, and dont really want to move, or be lifting/supporting a rifles weight at all at the moment.

I'll try to test out what I'm saying to see if it seems to really work, and get a better feel for how to explain what I'm thinking better, when I get a chance.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

This might work for your needs. Good luck!

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...at=Google&cm_pla=shooting stick&cm_ite=netcon

 

[ColinthePilot]

The gunpod^ was kinda what I was thinking.

 

[230RN]

I thought she was talking about shooting from the standing position.

With a much longer sling (perhaps custom-made from the webbing that fabric stores sell), you can rig it so that it goes from the rear swivel, around in back of you, up over your left shoulder, and then down to the fore-end swivel, thereby supporting the weight.

When I broke my left collarbone many moon ago, I was going to try this method, so I'm not sure if it will work, but it might be worth thinking about.

I actually bought some 1 1/4" webbing, and since then have used it up in all kinds of other applications. Kind of handy stuff.

 

[ThomasT]

Elmerfudd and FeedtheHogs have the same idea I had. A leather cup that attaches to your belt that would hold a rod that attaches to the front sling stud and fits in the leather pocket might work.

You could use a leg off of a tripod so the length could be adjutsed. Also walmart has monopods. I just got back from there. I didn't look at the total length but they do telescope so they would be portable.

By the way, what rifles are you shooting?

 

[elmerfudd]

I just tried supporting my K31 with a cleaning rod positioned between the barrel band and my hip, and it worked slick as snot. Varying the elevation was easy. All you have to do is move your hips a little. It leaves your left hand with nothing to do but aim the rifle.

 

[Catherine]

Thank you so very much for all of the information!

I had P.T. years ago when I had the bad fall, broken arm, rolled my body when I landed on a stone driveway and really screwed myself up. I had to relearn, after they took off the plaster cast, how to use my fingers, left hand, left arm... my entire left side was really bad and the right side was not broken but banged up too.

The best therapy for me was lifting hand weights, squeezing 'Play Dough' and a small ball and swimming. Massage worked better than some other things too. I do some range of motion exercises too.

I have tried a lighter weight rifle too. I have a Browning BL 22, a Marlin Papoose, a Marlin 30-30 which is heavier, a woods rifle for me, and I still want that Marlin 39A if I can get my left arm to cooperate!

Thanks again to all of you.

Sincerely,

Catherine