Project 870: I Can Haz Sling

I was watching a Youtube video this morning and had a blind flash of the obvious, a single point sling. Duh! Generally I am a fan of 2 point adjustable slings or baring that 2 point slings. However in this case the 1 point has some benefits. Specifically that for many guns, including shotguns, they require no attachment hardware. The other benefit is that I already have one, somewhere. Started looking for it and ended up finding the stuff to make one from my old ghetto rigged 2 point sling. So I decided there was no need to tear apart the house to find the ready made one. A 1 point sling is really just a loop of nylon webbing, a buckle and something to attach it to the stock. In about 5 minutes I had it set up and Project 870 has a sling.

 

 

 

 

 The key to 1 point slings is that the loop which goes around your neck and across your chest under the arm has to be pretty tight. When you get go of the gun the attachment point will drop to the lowest place on that loop. If that loop is big and floppy your gun is going to be in the dirt. Mine is as tight as it can be and still slip on easy.

 As you can see I took an 8 inch piece of gutless 550 cord, looped it through the buckle and tied it together with a double overhand knot. That cord is just looped under itself around the gun's grip. Simple but pretty effective. Also you really cannot beat the price.

The sling had a loop on one end. I hooked the other end through that and held it in place with a generic metal sling thingie. Left about a foot of extra just in case. Better to have extra adjustment and not need it than need it and not have it.

One point slings aren't my favorite for patrol rifles because they are less comfortable for long term carry and when hands free or loosely holding the grip with 1 hand the gun swings around a lot. However for a shotgun that's going to be in my hands for very short periods of time those issues are minimal. Also the price of free is hard to beat.

The Little Stuff

Some little things let you make the most of what we already have.

Maybe you just like shooting and are not all that big into preparing to be a guerrilla or whatever. Spending a couple/ few hundred bucks on a setup might not be something you want to do. However an old school ALICE setup can often be had for less than $30 or you can get a MOLLE rifleman's setup for $40.

You may or may not want to get new cool guy guns. One could argue with some validity that any reasonable choices including revolvers, bolt or lever action rifles and all manner of pump shotguns are just fine. Buy some ammo for your Grandads old .38 or .44 and some buckshot for the bird gun or whatever guns are lying around the house and call it good.

Slings are really useful if you are going to carry a rifle around a lot. Having a well thought out quality sling for your practical rifles is important. For the others at least have something. Heck a half dozen extra cheap slings 1, 2 tacked onto an order at some point might not be a bad idea.  Some folks will be caught short and for 5 or 6 bucks now you could help them out.

The same could be said for holsters except they are more of a hassle. A rifle needs 1 good sling (though it may take awhile to find which one that is) while pistols usually need multiple holsters. Which ones depends on the gun and what you want it to do. For an all around setup for a general type handgun a concealment and an open carry/ tactical type holster are a solid solution. For a smaller gun you might have a pocket holster and an ankle holster or whatnot. This is the benefit of sticking with a platform or two instead of 5 or 6. Getting good holsters for the guns you use and something for the others and a few to spare is prudent. While an el cheap $20 Uncle Mikes holster is nobody's first choice it beats sticking the darn thing in your back pocket or waistband. Beggar friends and neighbors do not get to be choosers.

Good durable work gloves are something that is easy to forget about. Many life patterns these days do not require them often so it is easy to miss. However if you are going to start doing a lot more manual labor like digging a bunch of fighting positions they are important. 2-3 sets per person would not be a bad idea. You could do it for not a lot of money. Also unlike boots they come in just a few sizes which would make them a more practical gift/ charity item if that is your thing.

Needles and fishhooks cost next to nothing. Yes you can fabricate them but literally spending the change from your couch cushions and the console of your vehicle would give enough of both for years. Or course you would need thread and fishing line also but they are not exactly expensive either.

 There are probably a dozen other things that fit into this sort of category I cannot think of right now. While they don't always the basic categories we look for

Happy Thanksgiving

Well it is Turkey Day. This is the second time I have spent Thanksgiving in a war zone. The first was a lot easier, maybe in part because of the rose colored glasses of time but mostly because missing my wife and kid is very different from the rents, siblings, extended family and friends.It was as good of a day as it could be. The dining hall did a bang up job. They had everything I wanted and it was all great. Things were pretty quiet and I got to do some reading which was nice.

I have been thinking about what I am thankful for. I am thankful that we aren't worried about keeping a roof over our heads, buying groceries and other basic things. I am thankful that we are able to have Wifey stay at home with Walker. I am also thankful that they are home with family. She gets a bit of help with kiddo when she needs it and if anything happens I know they are in the best place they can be. That is a huge thing off my mind while I am over here. I am also thankful for preparedness books in kindle format, gymnastics rings, bumper plates, crocks, lightweight boots that you can run in, one point adjustable slings, pmag's and my snuggie. Yes, you heard that right I have a snuggie in Afghanistan and it is great.

Well I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving. Enjoy great food and drink and time with family. Who knows what can happen by this time next year.

Product Review: Vickers Padded Sling

Today I am going to be talking about the Vickers Padded Sling I recently ordered. Today I had the opportunity to put it on a rifle and use it for awhile. Also the day started real early and ended real late so a kinda short post is in order.

The Good: I was initially impressed about how heavy, thick and stuff the webbing on this sling was. It makes my Tactical Tailor slings seem thin and flimsy. Today I put it on and found that it was quick and easy. I got this sling because it is padded and that helps (or at least spreads out the weight) when carrying a weapon for hours. Also I thought the quick adjustment idea was pretty cool. The sling has both more permenant (well not permenant but you would have to take off the rifle, sit down and mess with them) adjustments on both sides of the padded part as well as the quick adjust. I theoretically liked the quick adjust idea, especially going from wearing body armor to not wearing it and changing into heavy winter clothes, etc. My observation is that with a fairly fixed sling I was regularly wishing it was a couple inches longer or shorter, for whatever of the above reasons.

I put the sling on today and used it for awhile. I was quite impressed with it. Also the great forethought of the adjustments helped immensely. Most padded slings have the pad way too far toward the center to be useful when carrying in the low ready. I took a minute and choked up the back adjustment and let a bit out of the front one and it rested right across my shoulder, neck and upper back where it is needed.

The tab adjustment for the quick adjust is something I was really skeptical about. I was very pleasantly suprised. You just grab the tab and pull it the way you want it to go and the sling stays there till you pull the tab again. Can't say why it works but it does. I set it up so that my normal sling length is right in the middle of the quick adjust. This gives me some play in both directions.

I really enjoy this sling.

The Bad: They are expensive. Costing a nickel under $60 before shipping this isn't a sling that most people would buy lightly. To be honest the only reason I got one is because I have tried all sorts of ghetto rigged two point slings and just haven't been really happy with them. Also I carry a rifle a lot so getting a tough, well thought out quality piece of kit is worth it for me. [Sort of like how it is worth it for a professional carpenter to spend quite a few bucks on a hammer or a tool belt where it isn't for an average guy. Someone who frames 25 homes a year has very different needs in terms of comfort, ergonomics and ruggedness than a guy whose big effort is helping on a deck or an addition each summer.]

I definitely don't plan to order a bunch of these. They are cost prohibitive to say the least. I got one for work because if spending a few bucks makes my life easier and more comfortable I will do it. At some point I will order one for my go rifle too.

No Ugly.

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

The early part of the week I was busy with work. Did some good training which I may talk about later. Also I read most of a book on investing. Got home late Friday. Saturday I decided to inventory a bunch of stuff including our cash and precious metals. I had a pretty good idea what we had but now I know exactly.

Put another 20 Euro's into our foreign currency reserves. Also I counted and divide up all of our Euro change. Going to change in E30 at my next trip to the bank and put it into the reserves also. It is amazing how change can add up, especially since there are one and two Euro coins as well as 50 cent pieces.

Ordered a 1,000rd case of 9mm Federal 115 gr JHP from Lucky Gunner for $350. The price is usually $380 which is very competitive already but it is on sale for the awesome price of $350 until the 16th. The holidays are definitely an expensive time of year but if you are a bit light on defensive 9mm ammo and have the cash to spare this is a great deal. Also I was pleased to see that they don't stick it to you for shipping. It looks like they just pass on the actual cost of shipping and forgo the punitive 'handling' charges.

Personally I store 3 tiers of ammo for defensive rifles and handguns. The first is real premium stuff (Federal Hydroshok's, Corbon, etc), ya know the kind that costs around a buck a bullet or more. Stocking up is really cost prohibitive so I just keep a few boxes of this stuff. Next is the more generic type of JHP or soft points. This stuff probably isn't quite as good as the real high dollar ammo but it is at a price where I can actually afford to stock up on it. Certainly I would be better off loading this stuff than ball and it doesn't usually cost that much more. This is the Walmart white box hollow points and the like. Lastly is cheap ball ammo which I store mostly for practice.

I also purchased a nice two point adjustable sling. Did some looking and ended up purchasing a Vickers Padded Sling. For most folks a generic sling works fine but I have recently found them to be wanting. As I spend a lot of time carrying a rifle the added utility and comfort should be well worth the $52.

Ended up reordering a Biachi 100 professional holster for my Glock 19. Thought I had got one already (sometimes unfamiliar websites are finicky AKA I am just stupid) but when I went to check on the order it said I didn't exist. Reordered from another site and actually saved $16 which was an added bonus. Hopefully it will get home soon enough to use it at home.

We are headed home for the holidays which I am looking forward to. Haven't been home in awhile so it will be good to be able to see everybody. It looks like I am going to be able to spend some time with my co author's Ryan and Chad which I am excited about. Unfortunately it doesn't look like it will be the three of us. However between getting a bit spread out geographically, varying travel/ work schedules and grown up type life commitments we have to take what we can get.

The manager of the warehouse which receives and stores stuff for me said I am going to have my own early Christmas just opening everything. I will have to pick up some ammo cans and properly store the ammo in them. Also I need to organize spare parts in some meaningful way. I am definitely looking forward to shooting.

Considering it was a short week in terms of prep time I am pretty happy how it turned out.

What did you do to prepare this week?

I'm Baaack!

It was cold, snowy and just plain nasty. Average temperature was around 20f or so. It snowed a lot and there was a biting wind. The foot or so of unpacked snow played hell with walking, let alone running and other more vigerous activities. However it wasn't too bad. We do have pretty good gear which makes a huge difference. Also I had a warm dry place to go in my off hours and generally got decent sleep which helps a lot.

I did write every day (just no net to post) so next time this happens there will be posts which is good. Been thinking and fiddling with slings a lot lately. Decided I need to just throw down the cash for a purpose built two point adjustable sling. Will announce the winner of our awesome contest as soon as I can.

Got home pretty late tonight. Wifey made a nice dinner and I got to spend some time with Walker which was cool.  He smiles and sort of tries to play now which is cool. Makes him a bit more interesting to hang out with. I am looking forward to a calm weekend at home. Anyway I have nothing else huge to say so I will talk to you tomorrow.

Ryan

Gear Question

I am looking at getting a two point sling that isn't just a generic piece of nylon. Suggestions?