The idea of hooking your pinkie through anything when you are in a situation where you could be required to shoot at human beings and have the potential of being shot at... doesn’t make much sense.
That dog don't hunt.
Remember your training (if you have not had any, make that the first priority on the list) motor skills deteriorate...
Eric acknowledges that there IS the potential for a hazard with the sling by advocating the “Gelhaus pinkie techniqueâ€.
As for the sling hanging up on doors, furniture, etc. When you mount the shotgun hook the sling with the pinkie of your support hand. You'll to practice this, so that you have enough slack to run the action. Doing this should defeat the tendency to have hang so low that it catches.
Now that we agree there is a potential for the sling to hang up disastrously… The simple act of opening a door (on the way to collect your children) will necessitate dropping the sling from your pinkie. Try then to re-acquire the sling with your pinkie in the dark while someone or something rushes/attacks/throws/shoots something at you...
Eric alludes that the sling is to the shotgun as the holster is to the pistol.
It 's the equivalent of a holster for your shotgun...
I couldn’t agree more.
However, let me ask a question. If you were going to use your pistol as primary in a home defense situation would you first strap on your holster? The holster for you pistol would be of absolutely no concern, and no benefit, because the pistol would be in your hand leaving the holster (making the holster therefore completely redundant) the instant a threat is detected.
The field sling to the long arm is like the holster to the pistol when in the
field. Allowing one to keep the SG comfortably close at all times.
Unless you are going to walk around your house with the SG slung over your shoulder all the time a field sling is more of a potential hazard than a benefit.
The argument that it would aid in retention when transitioning to another weapon in the “in house fresh out of bed scenario†is also IMHO suspect. In the home defense scenario if you have strapped on a pistol and you have run the SG dry or it has become inoperable dumping the weapon would be advisable as you transition to the handgun. Transitioning to a hand-to-hand situation it would be, in the home defense scenario, advisable NOT to sling the SG and rather use it as an impact weapon. If the H2H is so close that grappling will occur the SG dumped across the chest, over the shoulder can become a huge disadvantage.
I would be interested in hearing about a reputable firearms trainer advocates the use of a
field sling in the "in house" home defense scenario discussed here.
(All if the above rant does not apply to the TACTICAL type 3 point H&K style slings. Which allow the weapon to be fired WHILE the weapon is slung and are designed for exactly this situation).
Regards and with respect for everyone’s opinion,
HS/LD
is of course possible the problem is you are further complicating an already complicated scenario.
